Personal Loans questions and answers

APR stands for Annual Percentage Rate of charge and is the amount of interest you’ll pay along with other charges such as arrangement fees. It also helps you compare the cost of borrowing between different lenders. A representative APR means that over half the people who’ve taken out a loan of a particular size from a lender have been given this rate.

Repayments on personal loans are made monthly. You can choose your own payment dates, so that (for example) the payments come out of your account just after your wages go in. If you’re not worried about setting a specific date, we’ll base them on the day your loan begins — if you get your money on the 10th, the first payment will be due on the 10th of the following month, and so on.

Once you’ve made your first payment, you can change the payment date if you need to.

No, we don’t charge arrangement fees on personal loans.

Yes, it doesn’t change. It’s always the same as it was on the day you took out your loan.

No, it’s unsecured, so we won’t ask you to give us a mortgage over your home.

People borrow for all kinds of reasons, like home improvements, buying a car, paying for a wedding or taking a special holiday. In fact, some of the things you can’t use your loan for include business spending, mortgage deposits and household bills. Other than that, it’s up to you! If you can’t see your reason for applying on our application form, just select 'Other'.

If you’re thinking of borrowing to sort out existing debt, you might want to check out our debt management guide first — there could be a better option open to you. If you’d like to talk to someone about money worries, that’s what we’re here for – just call 0800 141 2261.

Before we answer that, it’s important to say don’t panic. If you know in advance that you might struggle, get in touch right away. We know things don’t always go smoothly in life. We don’t want to add to your stress, and we’ll do everything we can to help you through.

If you don’t get in touch, and end up falling behind on repayments, it’ll cost you more in the long run — financially and emotionally. Missing or late payments can result in:

• Extra interest charges.
• Added charges for late or missed payments. You can find information about those in your loan agreement.
• Court proceedings leading to an order to pay us back (called a Judgment) as well as extra interest and charges.

We don’t want it to come to this for any of our customers. But if we don’t hear from you, we have to take measures to get the money back, and that means it’ll cost you more, because we can increase both your usual monthly payment and the overall amount you owe. It could also have a negative effect on your credit rating, which could cause problems if you need to borrow again in the future.

Always remember we’re here to help in any way we can. If you’re worried about your repayments for any reason, get in touch on 0800 141 2261 8am to 9pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 5pm on Saturdays.

Yes, you've got 14 days after signing on the dotted line to change your mind. Once you've told us you want to cancel, you've got 30 days to return the money, plus any interest and charges involved. Otherwise you'll have to stick with the original terms of the loan. Alternatively, you can pay it back early which would include up to 58 days interest on the amount you repay. Remember, you'll need to make any repayments on time if these are due before you pay the money back in full.

Absolutely! The way it works is that you apply for a new loan for the higher amount. So, for example, if you owe £3,000 now and you want another £1,500 you’ll apply for £4,500.

We’ll then assess your new application. If it’s successful we’ll process the application and automatically repay your existing loan, putting the balance that’s left in your account. It’s important that you keep up existing repayments until your new application is approved and the money has been transferred to you.

You can do this online. You’ll need the sort code and account number of your current loan, which you can find through your internet banking or Virgin Money app, or by calling our support team on 0800 121 7365.

If the amount you want to borrow is £7,500 or more, and less than 50% of it is for debt repayment with us, you might be able to extend the repayment period over six or seven years.

If you miss a payment we may use money in other accounts you have with us, which includes Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank, to pay the missed payment.

To apply for a loan you must have a Virgin Money current account or be a Clydesdale Bank, Yorkshire Bank or B customer. If you do not have any of these products but want to apply, you will need to open a Virgin Money current account first.

Before you apply for a loan in the mobile banking app you will have the option to check your eligibility with no impact on your credit score.

If you apply between 8am and 10pm, Monday to Saturday, or between 8am and 9pm on Sundays, we’ll try to give you an immediate online decision. If we can’t do that for any reason, or if you complete your application at a different time, we’ll let you know the result within two working days.

Sorry, no. However, we’re available on 0800 707 6471, or +44 141 951 7320 if you’re abroad, to help with your application.

It’ll help you get through your application faster and more accurately if you have:

• All your addresses from the past three years (including the postcodes).
• The name of your employer, the date you started working there, and the full amount you get paid (before tax).
• Your mobile number, so you can register for internet and telephone banking.
• Details about your monthly expenses, including your mortgage or rent, any existing personal loan repayments, credit cards and/or hire purchase agreements (usually for your car).

Absolutely. We can provide those in large print, braille or audio formats — just call 0800 707 6471 for more details.

You can use a personal current account – but it doesn’t have to be with Virgin Money! Sorry, but you can’t use a business or savings account to pay back a personal loan.

Not a problem. As long as you complete your application within 28 days of starting it, you can click or tap the ‘Save and Exit’ button as often as you need to. To get back to it whenever you like, go to our personal loans page and click or tap on 'Finish your application'.

No. We will only accept sole customer applications.

We can’t include every single job title on our list; it would be too long! If your specific job isn’t listed, choose the one that matches it best. If you’re not sure what that is, give the team a call on 0800 707 6471 and they’ll help you find it.

If you own 25% or more of a business, and have done for more than two years, we think of you as self-employed. We’ll need proof of your income, which means we’ll need to see:

• Three years of full accounts (audited or non-audited) — no draft copies, please!

OR

• 2 years of full accounts (audited or non-audited), along with a projected third year from your accountant.

We’ll send all your documents back by first class post.

We’re sorry, but if you’ve been self-employed for less than two years you can’t apply for a Personal Loan, unless your current profession is related to your previous one.

Yes, you can. An apprenticeship counts as a fixed-term contract for the purposes of applying for a personal loan, so that’s what you should tell us on your application. But before you start, think about how you would cover repayments if your apprenticeship was to end before the final repayment is due.

This usually means children under 16 (or under 18 if they’re still in full-time education), but it can be anyone you have a legal duty to support.

So, we can work out whether you can afford the loan you’re asking for, we need to know:

• How much you earn, before tax, each year. You can include your salary plus any pensions, allowances, regular overtime or commission payments and any additional income from, for example, rentals or interest from investments.
• How much you spend each month on mortgage or rent, personal loans, credit cards and any hire purchase agreements.

You might be aware of some life events that are likely to affect what you earn or what you spend each month. This could be reduced working hours, a change of job, maternity leave or retirement. Maybe you’re planning to buy a new car in the not-too-distant future. There’s a section on your application form where you can tell us about those. It’ll ask you if your financial circumstances are likely to change. Just click or tap ‘yes’, then fill in the details it asks for. Easy!

Your money will be with you quickly once your application has been approved. This will usually be within 2 hours or at the very latest by the end of the next day.

Credit scoring is how we decide whether you’re likely to pay the loan back. It’s based on your credit history, your income and the amount you spend each month. Essentially, it’s all about statistics: our scoring system allocates a certain number of points to the details you provide in your application, which is why it’s important to be absolutely accurate. We also look at your bank account(s) and ask a credit reference agency to create a historical report of your credit activities. The result is a score that helps us decide whether or not to lend to you.

We send email or text updates to the contact details you gave us on the application form, so start by making sure they’re correct. If they are, and you still haven’t received anything from us, check your junk mail or spam filters. If there’s still nothing, call us on 0800 707 6471 — we’ll give you all the information you need.

Our loan calculator or advertising shows an example of the representative interest rates available. We can only give you a specific rate once we’ve received your application and reviewed your individual circumstances

We’ll look at your credit rating before we make a decision, but it’s not the only thing we think about. We also consider factors like:

• Existing and/or previous borrowing or finance agreements and how you’ve handled them.
• How often you’ve applied for new credit.
• The amount you’ve asked us for, and the time you have to pay it back.
• Monthly income and outgoings.
• How you’ve managed any accounts you have with us.

Those are just some of the things we consider. The point is to make sure you can afford the loan — as a responsible lender we don’t want to put you in a situation where you’d end up with bigger financial problems in the long term.

What that means is that it’s difficult to say why your application wasn’t successful. But it might help you to ask our credit reference agencies — Experian and TransUnion (formerly CallCredit) for copies of the information they have about you. You have a legal right to a free copy of their reports, and it makes good financial sense to check them to make sure all the information is correct. Get in touch about any errors immediately – they could be having an effect on your credit score.

If you think there are special circumstances related to your application that should make us think again, give us a call on 0800 707 6471 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Saturday and 10am to 5pm on Sundays.

If you’d like to change the amount you’ve applied for once you’ve hit ‘submit’, call us on 0800 707 6471 (8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays). We’ll do what we can to help.

We might post an authorisation code out to you as part of our verification process — it helps us make sure the application isn’t fraudulent. If you’ve received one, log in to your account and find your saved application, then select 'Activate'. Make sure you enter your authorisation code exactly as it’s shown in your letter, and select 'Submit Authorisation Code'.

If you haven't received a code and you need one, or if you've lost it or entered it unsuccessfully, give us a call on 0800 707 6471.

Just go to the personal loans page and select ‘Finish my application’. You’ll be asked to verify your details and enter the passcode we’ve sent.

Yes, you can ask for a new passcode online by logging on to your saved application and using the ‘re-send passcode’ link under the box where your passcode should go.

If your passcode didn't work properly, call 0800 707 6471 and we’ll help you sort it out.

There are 3 ways you can do this:

• At the end of your online application you will be prompted to register.
• Once your application has been approved, you will receive an e-mail from us confirming this. There will be a link within this e-mail where you can register for online service.
• If you are an existing customer who has not yet registered, you can register now Link opens in a new window.

The quickest way to do this is through online service. If you’re already registered, login to check your balance. If you haven’t yet registered, you can register Link opens in a new window in less than 2 minutes.

Please note that any balance viewed online will not include accrued interest which only updates monthly.

You can find out in minutes how much it will cost to pay off your Personal Loan early using our online form.

Simply provide us with a few basic details to help us locate your account, then we will send you a text message which contains your settlement figure.

The settlement figure is only valid for the day it was sent to you. If you plan to repay your loan tomorrow, you'll have to request some new figures then.

Request settlement figure

The easiest way to pay off your loan is to make a transfer from any bank account using your loan's sort code and account number. For other methods, please get in touch.

You can change the account you pay your direct debit from, or your regular payment date using our online form.

Simply provide us with a few basic details to help us locate your account, then we’ll make the changes requested

It takes up to 14 days to change your Direct Debit account details, and up to 8 days to change the payment date of the Direct Debit. If your next payment is scheduled within either period, your changes won't take effect until the following payment date.

Change Direct Debit details

You can find this out by calling our contact centre on 0800 707 6471 phone or visit your local branch.

You’ll need to apply for a new loan to do this.

The way it works is that you apply for a new loan for the higher amount. So, for example, if you owe £3,000 now and you want another £1,500 you’ll apply for £4,500.

We’ll then assess your new application. If it’s successful we’ll process the application and automatically repay your existing loan, putting the balance that’s left in your account. It’s important that you keep up existing repayments until your new application is approved and the money has been transferred to you.

You can do this online. You’ll need the sort code and account number of your current loan, which you can find through your internet banking or Virgin Money app, or by calling our support team on 0800 121 7365.

If the amount you want to borrow is £7,500 or more, and less than 50% of it is for debt repayment with us, you might be able to extend the repayment period over six or seven years.

That’s totally up to you — we like to keep things flexible so you can pay extra when and if you want to. It’s important to remember, though, that anything that reduces the overall time of your loan will create a cost for early repayment. More about that later.

You have three early repayment options:

• Pay everything.
• Make one (or more) extra payments to reduce the overall amount you owe.
• Make one (or more) extra payments to reduce your monthly payments.

The easiest way to pay off your loan is to make a transfer from any bank account using your loan's sort code and account number. For other methods, please get in touch.

All three options mean we count up some of the interest we'll be losing (up to a maximum of 58 days' worth, starting from the day you tell us you want to pay more). Not sure how that works out for you? No problem — just give us a call on 0800 707 6471 and we'll talk you through your options and all the numbers involved.