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PersonalLoans.com- Best For: People who have poor credit and not a lot of other options.
- Pros: You can qualify with poor credit and don’t have to justify what you’re using the money for. You’ll get a decision quickly and get a competitive rate if you land on the lower end of the APR range.
- Cons: It can get pricey if you land on the higher side of the APR, and you’ll likely face fees with your lender too. Since it’s a lending platform, and not a lender, it’s extra important to read the fine print of the loan offer -- there could be some surprises. Be ready for a potential hard pull on your credit, which can negatively affect your score for a while.
- APR
Generally 5.99 - 35.99%
- MINIMUM CREDIT
600 for peer-to-peer loans, 580 for personal installment loans and bank personal loans
- TERMS
90 days - 72 months
- ORIGINATION FEE
Depends upon which lender you go with, but peer-to-peer options will generally charge 1 - 5%.
- Best For: People who have poor credit and not a lot of other options.
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When you need a loan but you don’t have stellar credit, your options can be limited. PersonalLoans.com is one of the lending platforms you can use to see what loans may be out there for you.
Table of Contents
PersonalLoans.com Overview
What Is PersonalLoans.com?
Any PersonalLoans.com review should tell you upfront that the site is not a lender. They won’t issue a loan to you, and you won’t send your payments to them. What they’ll do is hook you up with an offer from a lender.
You can think of them as your middleman.
They are an Online Lenders Alliance member, and they state that they take protecting their customers’ personal information seriously.
PersonalLoans.com Highlights
With PersonalLoans.com, you can borrow from $1,000 to $35,000 for any reason you’d like. It’s up to you whether you spend it on home renovations, medical bills, debt consolidation, a piece of land, or taking a once-in-a-lifetime family vacation.
Through PersonalLoans.com, you can obtain a couple of different types of loans, including:
- Peer-to-peer loans: This type of loan is financed by hooking up investors directly with borrowers. You won’t be borrowing from a bank at all — you’ll get your money straight from another person or company. PersonalLoans.com works with several lenders who offer peer-to-peer loans.
- Personal installment loans: This is the type of loan most people think of when they hear the words personal loan. These types of loans are fast, fairly straightforward, and are the kind of arrangement most people are used to when borrowing money. With this type, you pay back money a little at a time to your lender, generally in the form of a monthly payment.
- Bank personal loan: PersonalLoans.com also helps link up borrowers with their local banks, too. But, if you already know which bank you’d like to get a loan from, you could skip this step and contact the bank directly yourself. It would be just as easy because, with this option, you’ll likely be asked to finish the loan request at the bank anyway.
PersonalLoans.com Details
Let’s look at each category we’ve rated and go over why we’ve assigned them that particular score.
APR
The APR range you see listed on PersonalLoans.com’s website is 5.99 – 35.99%. And that’s not too terrible on its own, if you can manage to land on the lower side of that range.
That APR is better than some other lending platforms, where you might see the lowest amount at over 6%.
But what stopped us from giving a 6 rating instead of a 5 rating to PersonalLoans.com is that they disclose the range could be even higher than 35.99%. Since they work with tribal lenders, who might have higher rates, you really don’t know what your highest rate might be if you’re a customer in those circumstances.
You need to keep in mind that the APR you are eligible for will be partially based on the rules of the state you live in.
Fees
Peer-to-peer lenders who work with PersonalLoans.com will generally charge a loan origination fee of 1 – 5%. With personal loans and peer-to-peer lenders, the fees can vary though, depending on which company you get a loan from.
You have no way of knowing what fees you might face until you get a loan offer. That’s why it is of the utmost importance that you very closely read any agreement you’re considering.
Look for any origination fees, late fees, prepayment fees, or any other possible penalties they list.
Once you sign that contract, you can’t claim later that you didn’t understand if you realize too late the terms are too strict.
Transparency
This site’s transparency could be better. But in part, it’s not PersonalLoans.com’s fault.
Because they are the middleman, it can be hard to disclose any terms that will help a potential applicant make an informed choice.
They do take some steps to inform people that there may be out of the ordinary circumstances that could drive the APR higher than their listed range. They do attempt to inform people who might use a tribal lender that they could face higher APRs than other people seeking loans.
But on its rates and fees page, PersonalLoans.com could offer more examples of what could be expected when taking a loan with the companies it does business with.
It could provide instruction about late fees and origination fees with the companies it works with, but instead, it just gives a general overview of industry standards. While industry standards can be helpful to understand, it doesn’t give you any idea about the terms your lender might present to you. They might deviate considerably from industry standards.
Flexibility
A lending period of 90 days to 72 months is pretty good for a personal loan. That offers some real flexibility to customers, whether they are seeking a short-term loan or a longer-term one.
There isn’t much flexibility from PersonalLoans.com other than the term length, though. Again, that’s partly not its fault by the nature of being a middleman.
But once the deal is done between you and the lender you choose, PersonalLoans.com is out of the picture.
It won’t have any vested interest in helping you further unless you seek another loan. It does give you instructions on how to handle difficulties with paying back your loan, but that’s all it will do.
Funding Speed
After you apply and are accepted, you might have your money in one business day. It’s hard to beat that for people who need money quickly for emergencies.
Accessibility
PersonalLoans.com scores high in this category because they offer a range of products that can work for different customers. They are open to a good range of minimum incomes, including:
- $2,000 a month for peer-to-peer loans.
- $2,000 a month for personal installment loans.
- $3,000 a month for bank personal loans.
Furthermore, the other requirement for landing a loan are:
- A credit score of at least 580.
- Living in the U.S. You can secure a loan anywhere in the country. They don’t list any states on their website that they don’t serve.
- Being at least 18 years old.
- Having a checking account.
- Having a valid identification.
PersonalLoans.com gives those with less-than-stellar credit an opportunity to get a loan, but be sure to read the fine print.
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How to Apply at PersonalLoans.com
If you’re curious about the application process, we’ll walk you through it.
You’ll just need a few minutes to wrap it up, and you’ll need some basic information at your disposal. So grab any potential paperwork you need before you get started.
Step 1: Complete the request.
Complete the quick online loan request at PersonalLoans.com. This can be done at any time of the day or night at your convenience.
Step 2: Wait.
From there, the site will try to hook you up with a lender partner or lender from the entities they work with. There is nothing for you to do but wait at this point. It shouldn’t take long though — you’ll have a response quickly.
Step 3: Review your agreement.
If you are approved, you’ll receive a loan agreement to read over and review. This will spell out the conditions and terms of the loan.
Step 4: Accept the loan.
If you want to proceed, you’ll have to accept the loan by agreeing to the terms.
Step 5: Receive your deposit.
You’ll get your money through your bank account. That step may take one to five business days, depending upon who your lender is.
Step 6: Repay your loan.
You’ll start repaying your debt by sending in a payment by the first due date.
PersonalLoans.com Consumer Reviews
One key component of any PersonalLoans.com review is examining customer reviews.
Better Business Bureau
PersonalLoans.com has received a C+ rating from the BBB and is not BBB accredited. The low score has been earned because PersonalLoans.com did not respond to one complaint that was made against them.
If you’re not familiar with the methodology and purpose of BBB ratings, here are a couple of things you should know.
- A BBB rating is based on how probable it is the business will interact with its customers who reach out to them.
- BBB grades go from A+ to F, with the F being the lowest grade, just as in school.
There are currently no reviews of PersonalLoans.com listed on BBB’s site.
User Reviews
There are only eight reviews of PersonalLoans.com on Trustpilot, a huge consumer review website.
Those reviews are all positive. It currently ranks 4 out of 5 stars.
A customer named Cody wrote, “I am really happy with how prompt and efficient this process was. I needed a loan right away and they connected me with a lender who could provide the funds almost immediately.”
Another client, named Angelo, had this to say: “I have mostly positive things to say about personalloans.com.
Everything was pretty easy to understand and I felt safe using the lenders in their network. My only complaint is that I didn’t get my loan the same day.”
A reviewer named Jennifer Katz said she needed a loan for remodeling but didn’t want the complication of going through a bank, especially since her credit was only good, and not great.
“This was plain easy. I called the customer service line to make sure I was doing it right and they talked me through the entire application process,” she said. “I was approved right away and got to pick my own loan from the options presented to me. The money was available the next morning.”
On Sitejabber, another online platform that helps consumers get firsthand reviews of online companies, there are 13 reviews for PersonalLoans.com. The site gets an average of 3.5 stars out of 5 here.
Tanya W., one reviewer, left this comment:
“There was no confusion about the process or finding a loan. Really easy and let me get my money quickly without having to go to an actual bank. I was skeptical about loan sites like this but this one actually worked.”
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APR
5.99 - 35.99%Maximum Loan
$35,000Minimum Credit
580PersonalLoans.com Pros and Cons
Want to know what’s great and what’s not-so-great about doing business with PersonalLoans.com? We’ll give you the inside track.
PersonalLoans.com Pros
- Easy to get. You can get approved with a credit score as low as 580.
- Quick process. Easy application, and you can receive money quickly.
- Freedom to use funds how you see fit. The money can be used for a variety of reasons.
- Low APR if you qualify for the best rates. A 5.99% APR is an attractive rate.
PersonalLoans.com Cons
- Fees. It’s hard to say how many fees you will face. That depends on your lender. It’s an unknown chance you’re taking when being matched up with a lender through a lending platform.
- High APR if you don’t qualify for the best rates. You could face a 35.99% APR, or higher if you are on tribal lands.
- Unknown flexibility of lender: Since you don’t know when applying who your lender might be, you have no idea how flexible they’ll be about working with you if you run into repayment issues.
- It could hurt your credit. There is no guarantee a lender won’t do a hard pull on your credit score to decide if you are eligible.
PersonalLoans.com Frequently Asked Questions
- Will applying affect my credit score?
- Can you get a loan if you don’t live in the U.S.?
- If I’m not comfortable filling out information online, can I do a loan request through the telephone?
- What methods can I use for repaying the loan?
- What factors give me better odds of having my loan request approved?
Alternatives to PersonalLoans.com
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Author:
Shannon is a mother of two and an award-winning journalist and freelancer who lives in Illinois. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in English from Illinois Wesleyan University before beginning her 20-year career in newspapers. When she’s not spending time with her children, she is often pursuing her favorite hobbies — running, metal detecting, kayaking, and reading about personal finance.
Reviewer:
Logan is a practicing CPA and founder of Choice Tax Relief and Money Done Right. After spending nearly a decade in the corporate world helping big businesses save money, he launched his blog with the goal of helping everyday Americans earn, save, and invest more money. Learn more about Logan.
