Lending
Bad credit loans
We specialise in loans for less-than-perfect credit. So whatever your score, we're here to help you.
- Secured and unsecured loans
- Quick and easy to apply
- No impact to your credit score to get a quote
Personal loans: APR Representative (variable) Secured loans: 12.70% APRC Representative. You must be a homeowner to apply.
How can I get a loan with bad credit?
Getting accepted for a loan can be trickier if you’ve got a poor credit history, but there is light at the end of the tunnel and companies, like us, specialise in finding a loan for people like you.
How to make a loan application with Ocean Finance:
- You tell us the loan amount you want to borrow and how long for.
- We’ll ask you for a few personal details, like your name, address and employment status.
- We’ll search 100s of loans and let you know if it’s a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ there and then.
- The best bit? None of it affects your credit rating.
If we find you a lender, the next steps will depend on which type of bad credit loan you applied for. If it was a personal loan, we’ll pass you over to your provider of choice to fill the rest of the form in.
And for secured bad credit loans, providing you’re happy with the deal we give you (including the interest rate), we’ll take over and do all the legwork to get your newfound credit wheels in motion.
You are likely to be offered a higher interest rate if you have a poor credit history, but you can improve this by borrowing responsibly and repaying on time for the full loan term.
Personal loans: Ocean Finance is a trading style of Intelligent Lending limited. We are a credit broker working with a panel of lenders to find you a personal loan.
Homeowner loans:
Homeowner loans are secured against your property. We are a broker and we arrange secured loans from a panel of lenders. We receive commission upon completion. Any quote is inclusive of the Broker Fee and all associated costs which is calculated as 12% of the net loan amount, capped at a maximum of £4,495. Loans are subject to status, and the rate you are offered may change based on your individual circumstances.
How easy is it to get a loan with bad credit?
Easy is a relative term and there are a couple of things that’ll affect how likely you are to be accepted:
1. How bad your credit history is. For example, one late payment four months ago will have much less of an impact on your chances than a recent County Court Judgement (CCJ). You can check your credit score for free with our partner, CredAbility.
2. Who you apply with. Some providers don’t lend to people with poor credit, others do. You might find lenders who offer you credit at a higher interest rate. We don’t believe your past actions should shape your future so getting a loan with a bad credit rating could still be easy with us.
To make things easier, it’s well worth spending some time working on your credit rating before you start applying for any type of loan. Here are a few pointers:
- Stick to all your credit commitments on time and in full
- Reduce your credit utilisation ratio to around 25%
- Make sure you’re on the electoral roll
- Don’t make multiple applications in a short space of time
- Check your credit report for any errors.
Try our loan calculator to see what your payments could be
The amount we show you is just an estimate. To get a personalised quote, we’ll ask for a few more details.
Estimated monthly payments:
Illustrative Rate 8.90%
£0Based on your loan request, you could be suitable for an
Get my quoteRepresentative Example: If you borrow £22,150 over 10 years, initially on a fixed rate for 5 years at 8.645% and for the remaining 5 years on the Lender's standard variable rate of 8.695%, you would make 60 monthly payments of £316.93 and 60 monthly payments of £317.31. The total amount of credit is £25,403 (this includes a Lender Fee of £595 and a Broker Fee of £2,658). The total repayable would be £38,149.40 (this includes a Lender Exit Fee of £95). The overall cost for comparison is 12.70% APRC representative. This means 51% or more of customers receive this rate or better.
The amount we show is an estimate based on an Illustrative Rate excluding fees. You can choose to pay the Broker Fee separately or have it added to the total amount of credit, which would increase the amount of interest you pay overall. Arranged rates from 8.90% to 25.20% APRC. Repayment terms between 3 and 30 years.
Can I get a bad credit loan with no credit check?
Nope. Whatever type of credit you apply for - personal loan, secured loan, credit card, overdraft or otherwise, credit checks are mandatory, and that’s because without it lenders have no idea what kind of borrower you are.
For the lender, looking at your credit file gives confidence they’ll get all their money on time, in full and without hassle.
And for you, they help prevent unmanageable lending. If lenders kept giving you money without any regard for your financial situation it could quickly lead to an unhealthy spiral of debt.
Can a bad credit loan improve my credit score?
Yes, depending on how well you use it, but the benefits won’t be immediate.
In the first instance, a bad credit loan could have a slight negative impact on your credit rating because it’ll a) increase the amount of credit against your name, and b) leave an application trace on your report (the more applications you made the greater the damage).
However, if you use your bad credit loan responsibly - and by that, we mean sticking to all your monthly repayments on time and in full - over time you could gradually improve your score and show lenders you’re less of a risk.
Learn more about how to improve your credit rating for good.
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Take a look at genuine reviews from our happy customers who we’ve helped get accepted for an Ocean credit card, loan or mortgage.
How does a bad credit loan work?
They’re no different to your typical high-street loan. Whether it’s with us or someone else, you let the lender know:
- How much you want to borrow
- If you want a secured or personal loan
- How long you want to borrow it for
- What you plan on using the money for
- Your name, marital status and address
- Residential and employment status
It's not just your credit rating that can affect your eligibility for a loan. As well as the health of your credit score, there are a few other things that influence whether or not you’re accepted, like:
- Your employment status. Although being unemployed or self-employed doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be rejected, the lack of steady income could make getting a ‘yes’ that bit harder.
- Your income. The more you earn the more disposable money you’ll have left after paying your essential bills and the more likely you are to afford your monthly repayments. It’s as simple as that.
- The type of loan. If you apply for a bad credit homeowner loan your property will be used as collateral against the credit and that gives lenders greater peace of mind which could make them more likely to accept you. You can always borrow with an unsecured loan if you don't own your home.
Bad credit loan advantages & disadvantages
Advantages:
- You’ve got more chance of being accepted for the credit you need - whether you’ve got a patchy history of managing money or not.
- If you stick to the terms of your agreement and repay your loan on time, you could actually improve your credit score and unlock more competitive offers in the future.
- With us, you could find out if you’ll be accepted before you apply, so your credit score doesn’t take a knock.
Disadvantages:
- Because you’ve got a bad credit history, there’s a good chance the interest rate you’re offered will be higher and this could make borrowing more expensive.
- Not all lenders accept people with poor credit histories so you may find you have fewer options to choose from - but quality over quantity, right? We’ve still got your back.
What happens if I don’t pay my loan back?
Hopefully, it doesn’t come to this, but if it does, the important thing is to act fast; the sooner you speak to your lender the better. Once you’ve brought your payment worries to their attention a couple of things could happen.
If you think the issues only temporary and your lender is satisfied with your explanation, they might give you a bit of extra time to find the funds. If you’re lucky, they might even agree not to report the late payment to credit reference agencies meaning your credit history stays intact.
When it looks like the problem’s going to be longer-term things can get a bit trickier. You should still speak your lender ASAP and then it could go one of two ways:
- They give you breathing space for a longer spell and point you towards organisations like Citizens Advice, Money Advice Service, National Debtline and StepChange.
- If they wanted to, they’d be within their rights to refer you to a collection agency, in which case a failure to receive payment could mean the matter is taken to court.
And remember, if you’ve taken out a secured bad credit loan your home could be at risk too. The lender can repossess your home under serious circumstances.
To avoid finding yourself in this position in the first place, you should only ever take out a loan if you’re absolutely certain you can afford the repayments throughout the timeframe of the loan.
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