Warning: Late repayment can cause you serious money problems. For help, go to moneyhelper.org.uk.
Please note: High-cost short-term credit is unsuitable for sustained borrowing over long periods and would be expensive as a means of longer-term borrowing.
Important: Likely Loans has been replaced by Finio Loans. You can compare alternative personal loans.
For those who feel let down by mainstream lenders, either because they don’t meet eligibility criteria or because their credit history is less than perfect, specialist lenders including Likely Loans (named to suggest a better likelihood of approval) can provide invaluable access to finance.
You don’t have to be a homeowner or have perfect credit to get approved for its loans, and soft-searching processes mean that you can find out whether or not you’re eligible without affecting your credit record.
With an emphasis on building or rebuilding a positive credit history, specialist lenders typically assess applicants on how affordable a loan would be rather than on their credit rating.
The downside, however, is that due to the higher risk these loans represent to the lender, realistically, interest rates are likely to be significantly higher. To reduce risk levels, some lenders will ask for a guarantor – that’s a friend or relative of the borrower (who typically needs to have good credit) who promises to step in if the borrower fails to make a repayment on time.
Alternative lending
There are a few innovative new lenders such as Drafty, that offer alternative takes on short term borrowing for less-than-perfect credit scores. Drafty was primarily designed to help people avoid expensive unauthorised overdraft fees.
We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
Chris Lilly is Head of publishing at finder.com. He's a specialist in personal finance, from day-to-day banking to investing to borrowing, and is passionate about helping UK consumers make informed decisions about their money. In his spare time Chris likes forcing his kids to exercise more. See full bio
Chris's expertise
Chris has written 602 Finder guides across topics including:
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