Post Office Loans Reviews, Loan Calculator and Complaints

(13 customer reviews)

Average Customer Rating

Is this you?

Acceptance Criteria

You need: your employer's address, 3 years address history, bank details and incoming/outgoings details
You must have a good credit history
You must be 21 years of age or older to apply

You must be earning a minimum of £8,000 per year
You must have been a UK resident for three years or longer
You must have a bank account or building society account

You must have always managed previous credit commitments well
You cannot have any CCJ's registered against you

Loan Details

APR

7.4% - 14.9%

Representative APR

7.4%

Loan Amount

£2,000 - £25,000

Repayment Period

Minimum Terms 1 year

Loans up to £25,000 - 7 years

Repayment Method

Direct Debit

Speed To Payout

7 working days

Arrangement Fee

No Fee

Payment Holidays

2 months payment breaks per year

Payout Method

Transferred into your bank account

Income Protection Available

Yes

Average Customer Review

(13 customer reviews)

Loanfinder Ranking

18th for APR of 423 loans in the UK (See Lender League Table By APR)
124th for Customer Satisfaction (See Customer Reviews)

About Post Office Loans

Post Office offer personal loans between £2,000 and £25,000. The interest rate on their unsecured loans is reasonable, compared to other high street lenders, which you can have over 7 years. Bear in mind that Post Office can only lend up to 75% of your total annual income.

Their loans are "front-loaded" which either means the payments are bigger at the beginning of the loan period, or the interest is a larger percentage of each payment at the beginning, even though the payments are equal. If you wish to pay off a "front-loaded" loan early, it may end up costing you a lot more.

The application process is relatively simple and pretty similar to other lenders, you can apply online. Once you have completed their online application form, they will give you an instant provisional decision. If you are provisionally accepted, they will email you and they will then send the loan documents to you in the post which should arrive within 4 working days. Once you receive them, carefully read through them and sign the agreement. As soon as you have signed and returned all the documents (make sure you include any other documents they may request), they transfer the funds directly into your account which should take about 3 working days.

In principle, loans from the Post Office look affordable and are from a reputable company. However, the reviews would indicate otherwise. Many customers complain about having to wait around for long periods, not getting the initial APR quoted and poor customer service. If you are accepted make sure you check the APR stated on the loan agreement before you sign anything. With this in mind it might be worth looking elsewhere.

Charges

Default Fees	None – if you think you are going to miss a payment you need to call them to sort out a different date for payment
Early Settlement Fees	They do not charge a fee but because the loan is "front-loaded", it may work out more expensive to pay it back early
Late Payment Fees	Direct Debit fails - Your bank will charge you this fee