I have been a customer of First Direct bank ever since they started and I honestly cannot fault them. Incidentally they came top in the survey done by Watchdog so I'm obviously not the only one who thinks so!
When we decided to buy our cottage last year we thought that we would be able to ... Read review
Advantages: Easy to set up, easy to repay by DD Disadvantages: None for me
...have been a customer of First Direct bank ever since they started and I honestly cannot fault them. Incidentally they came top in the survey done by Watchdog so I'm obviously not the only one who thinks so!
When we decided to buy our cottage last year we thought that we would be able to sell our house quite easily. Sadly this wasn't the case and because of the credit crunch we still own both properties although we have got tenants ... ...me and I checked out First Direct.
As I said earlier I am a customer, which did make it easier, but all I had to do was log into my account and request loan information. They immediately told me, without asking me any further questions, how much they would be prepared to lend me! All I had to do was to say how long I wanted to take to repay the loan and I was then notified how much I would need to pay each month.
I have been a customer of First Direct bank ever since they started and I honestly cannot fault them. Incidentally they came top in the survey done by Watchdog so I'm obviously not the only one who thinks so!
When we decided to buy our cottage last year we thought that we would be able to sell our house quite easily. Sadly this wasn't the case and because of the credit crunch we still own both properties although we have got tenants in the house now which does help a bit with the finances.
When we came to pay the deposit on the cottage we had to raise the 15% deposit that we needed without having the income from the sale of the house that we had been expecting. To top up the money that we had already saved we needed a loan of £14,000 and we began doing some research to find the best deal.
We were quoted various ridiculous interest rates and were asked to almost jump through hoops by some companies until the obvious struck me and I checked out First Direct.
As I said earlier I am a customer, which did make it easier, but all I had to do was log into my account and request loan information. They immediately told me, without asking me any further questions, how much they would be prepared to lend me! All I had to do was to say how long I wanted to take to repay the loan and I was then notified how much I would need to pay each month.
I looked at the details of their loans on the website (http://www.firstdirect.com/loans/) to see if there was any small print that I should know about and I also needed to find out if I could repay the loan early without much of a penalty too. The idea is that, when the house sells, we will redeem the mortgage on that property (obviously) and repay the First Direct loan before using the rest of the money to reduce the mortgage on the cottage to the minimum level possible.
The small print all looked OK and the early repayment fee was just £150 so I just logged onto the loan page, requested £14,000, told them I would repay over 7 years (£212.68 per month) and that was that. The money appeared in my current account within 24 hours. I was well impressed. The written information was in the post within a couple of days. I think from memory I had to sign a copy and return it to them.
At the time the loan was available at a fixed rate of 7.4% which I suppose sounds high now in the light of the current interest rates reductions but having said that the current rate available at First Direct is 8.9% for loans between £5,000 and £25,000.
I set up a direct debit from my current account in order to pay the £212.68 each month and I drew up a spreadsheet on my laptop to keep track of how much I have paid off, ready for the day when we sell the house! It is also nice to see that even though the loan has only been in place for about 15 months we have already paid off over £2,000.
So there you have it - a very simple way to apply for and get a loan. As usual a big thumbs up to First Direct!
Advantages: helpful people, done by telephone or Internet at any hour of day or night Disadvantages: none that I can identify
...FD customer since the bank first appeared, mainly because I liked the idea of dealing with my finances over the telephone (and now through the Internet). I've had a personal loan with FD for about 6 years now. I originally borrowed a sum of money to pay for a bathroom conversion, and renegotiated it halfway through in order to get cash for a loft conversion. Both times, I set up the loan over the phone. I remember the first time round I did it at ... ...the things I lke so much about FD; the fact that I can organise money matters at times that suit me! Because I am an FD customer anyway, the loan was agreed instantly and the money was in my account on the Tuesday. The agent was pleasant and knowledgeable, and, most importantly, did not try a hard sell on me when I said I did not to pay extra for insurance. My experience with the renegotiation was equally good.
There has not been a single problem ...
tehuti 08.02.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of First Direct Loans
Advantages: Fast, competitive Disadvantages: Have to be an exisitng borrower - I think
...am now on my fourth First Direct loan. This is about FD loans (with a few asides about the full service)I could write one about the banking service some other time.
No, I'm not a loan junkie - I've just needed to increase my cash lines and/or consolidate my credit cards several times over the last few years (oh and get married for a 2nd time!)
I also want our kids to get further education etc etc
The best part has been that, although I confess ... ...I have never increased my repayments.
I have also seen the rate drop from 12.9% to the latest existing borrowers rate of - wait for it - I did this yesterday - 7.9%!!!!
I haven't been able to find a better rate. Sure, I may have good references, steady job and so on, but it's great to be able to just pick up the phone, try and remember all your security details and get an immediate agreement on the way.
I use FD for online banking and have no ...
IanGair 18.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of First Direct Loans
Promptness of service
Efficiency of service
Competitiveness of char...
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Advantages: Amazing service well beyond what you would expect, hardly ever need to queue at the bank Disadvantages: The cost of a local rate phone call
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Advantages: Usually a good service Disadvantages: Not 100% of the time
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