Egg Loans

I have an Egg credit card and I was really happy with the service that I received from them. I had received an email about personal loans and I was previously with HSBC and certain that I was paying too much interest so I decided to shop around.

My criteria was to find an unsecured loan with as low an interest rate as possible, flexible monthly payments and good service. I first looked at Cahoot, but the on line application form wasn't working so I turned to Egg, and I'm glad I did.

Applying
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You can apply on line, which is quick, easy and relatively painless. Plus if you have an Egg credit card you don't need to submit as many details because they already have them. Once you have filled in your details you provide a contact number and someone from Egg underwriting will call you back with the decision.

If you need to know straight away you can call 08456 000 291 and they will tell you there and then.

I applied on line and within 24 hours a very helpful Egg representative called me back with the answer I wanted to here - Yes you can have all that money! Yippee. I was advised that the paper work would be sent out that day and for me to sign and return one copy of the documents and then all that lovely money would be transferred into my account.

Before I received the paperwork I decided that I wanted to borrow more money to buy a car. This wasn't a problem, my case was simply re-underwritten for the new loan amount. My new paperwork was then sent out for me to sign and return as before.

The applying process is very simple and streamlined. It takes less than a week from you applying to receiving the paperwork. I was extremely impressed with the swiftness of service and the professional and friendly staff.

Why choose Egg
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Apart from the application process being a doddle, Egg have got many other features that make them an excellent choice for someone looking for a loan.

- The APR on my loan is 6.9% which is very competitive, but at the moment the offer they are doing is 7.9%.

- The APR is fixed - this means that during the term of your loan the rate will never increase. This is really good, especially with the Bank of England increasing the base rate quite frequently at the moment.

- The website has some really good tools if you are just trying to get a rough idea of a monthly payment for the amount you want to borrow. It also offers a guide that works the other way in that you type in how much you want to pay per month on the loan amount you require and it tells you how long the term needs to be. There is also Egg Money Manager, which is a fantastic idea - you list all your accounts with everyone you hold and you can just click on the link that takes you straight to them with no need to sign in and log on again.

- You can protect your loan by adding payment protection. This is your decision and you are not forced to take it. Obviously the reps do try to push for a sale as a lot of commission is made on these products, but if you think it is of value to you it can be added as an extra but will bump up the monthly payments somewhat.

- Flexibility. This is the best thing about the Egg loan for me. I have found that with other loans you can only pay the set monthly payment and if you decide that you want to pay extra you get charged for doing so and it never works out worth while. With Egg you can pay as much as you want each month as long as you pay the minimum. After I had been conducting my loan for 3 months I received a letter from Egg reminding me of the benefits of this service, and that because I had been a good customer I was allowed to take certain 'payment holidays' and that I was also allowed to overpay.

Why Egg may not be right for you
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To be honest I am struggling with this section, but in order to provide a balanced review I am sure that this company may not suit everyone...but the only thing I can come up with is people who do not feel comfortable or confident in dealing with their finances online. And so it would also not really be suitable for someone who didn't have access to the internet as they would miss out on many of the great features provided by Egg such as the Money Manager and online statements.

My Conclusion
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In my opinion it seems that Egg loans have taken the best bits from a credit card and combined it with lower interest rates and an innovative support network that makes them one of the best personal loan companies around.
I can remember applying for my first ever loan and how it took so long for the cheque to arrive. Egg have streamlined this process to make it as efficient as possible without losing sight of what is important - the customer.
You can really tell that Egg cares about it's customers because they are always coming up with new ways to help you manage your money and control your accounts in an easier way. I think this is what makes them stand out, especially in a market place where companies prey on people that are in a financial mess.

For more information please visit www.egg.com

Thanks for reading

Ruth