Since I passed my driving test I've been driving around in a Volvo 340. By itself that doesn't sound too bad now does it? But what if I also mention that said Volvo 340 is twenty-one years of age, still not so bad? Well, I'm only nineteen years of age; hope that puts things into perspective for you. And, as if that wasn't bad enough since I've been driving said car the fan belt, the water pump, the spark plugs, all the tyres and the battery have been replaced, out of pure necessity. So, I wanted to get a new car, from the day after I passed my test. As, with most people I cannot afford to go out and buy a brand spanking new car, but what I can afford to do is to get a loan and buy a much newer car.

The application I completed online was pretty standard. You give your personal details, employment status and income, all the usual questions. One of the questions I quite liked was Additional Income? This will obviously not apply to many people, but as well as my day job I do some paid work for my parents on our farm, this obviously increased my total income and gave me a better credit rating. I never released that having credit cards, etc. made you more eligible for a loan as it shows you have a credit history and are used to dealing with repayments, etc. I have two and so I was again pleased. The application also asks for what you require the money, there are many categories on a drop down list, and the first is Car/Bike. After I had completed the application, I expected an answer in minutes as the advert had publicised, I was just given a telephone number to call.

When I called all the operators were busy and my reluctance seemed justified. But I was not waiting much more than fifteen seconds before I was talking to a real person. She took a few details to verify my identity, address, telephone number, and date of birth. She had to read me some terms and conditions, which were surprisingly concise. I was also told that by making the phone call the status o my loan had changed, to advised, but there was still no obligation to accept it. There were a few more questions about whether I would need any insurance, etc. I said no, I already have a very comprehensive policy. One question which really surprised me was "how much money do you spend on leisure and hobbies each month?", I had no idea about that. I made a rough estimate. She asked how much was outstanding on each of my credit cards and what the limit was on each, by this time I was expecting "NO", but instead she said I could increase the loan to cover them. I couldn't believe it but I refused as the amount I had requested meant comfortable payments without having to stretch myself.

I was also amazed to learn that I would get a payment holiday at the beginning of my repayments, which meant I wouldn't have to make a repayment for three months but my gap cover payment would be taken the month before my first payment. This affectively gave me a two month payment break, still it was nice to have.

My agreement was delivered within the two days I expected. I made my application and phone call on Saturday and my agreement arrived on Tuesday. I quickly signed the agreement and sent it back in the post that day. I was told on the phone that I would receive the money within three working days of the signed agreement being received by the AA.

The money was in place on the Tuesday and the following weekend I went and bought my car. A nice Kia Rio (see the DIAMOND review), a few years old but not twenty one, not even a quarter of that.

Pictures of AA Personal Loan

1

• 
• 
• 
• 

©Expired-Account

UPDATE 28/09/2007

The AA continued to take their normal payments for a few months, however in May 2007, after moving in with my boyfriend, I had run up huge debts on my credit cards, so I decided to ask the AA for more money. The easiest way to contact the AA Loan Service is simply to phone them, I had to give the operator my current agreement number and all the generic security questions. To begin with all I wanted to do was see if I could increase the size of my loan. They instantly agreed to give, no I shouldn't say give, I mean 'lend' me an additional £5,000. However increasing the size of my loan increased my interest rate as I had not made many payments on my original loan. The rate I was now offered was 11.4%, I decided to pay this off over three and a half years, as this meant my repayments were £279.46, however I also have their insurance for an additional £40 a month. I didn't really want this insurance, but by the time I realised I had it, it was too late to cancel and to be honest if anything did happen to me I wouldn't want my boyfriend to have to pay it off.

Another piece of helpful advice, I don't know if this applies to all loans but certainly with the AA, I was told this by an adviser. Instead of increasing your monthly payments, if you ever have the option of doing this, put the excess money into a high interest savings account and then when you think you have nearly enough to pay off your loan give your loan company a call. This was any interest that would apply will be refunded and you will not pay your insurance charges if you have taken this option. However, if you make higher repayments you will pay the full amount of interest and insurance for the originally agreed loan term.

I would recommend the AA Personal Loans to anyone.