Guaranteed Loans
The honest truth: nobody can promise you a loan before you apply.
"Guaranteed loan" is one of the phrases that brings people to our website, and it is also the favourite line of loan fee fraudsters. This guide explains what the word can really mean, how the scam works, and what genuinely gives you a better chance of an offer.
Representative Example: Borrowing £1,500 over 11 months at £169.69 a month. Total amount repayable £1,866.59. Interest £366.59. Interest rate 46% pa (fixed). Representative 57.1% APR. Rates range from 22.3% APR to 112.5% APR depending on your circumstances. Quick Loans Ltd is a credit broker, not a lender. Warning: Late repayment can cause you serious money problems. For free, impartial help, visit MoneyHelper.
One Word, Two Meanings
When people search for a guaranteed loan, they usually mean one of two very different things.
Doesn't exist
Guaranteed approval
A loan you are certain to get, whatever your income or credit history. No genuine lender offers this. Every lender authorised by the FCA has to check you could keep up the repayments, and some applications will always be turned down.
Real, but not offered here
A guarantor loan
A loan where a family member or friend signs up to repay it if you can't. It is a genuine type of credit, explained further down this page, but there are no guarantor lenders on our panel.
What The Advert Says, And What It Means
"Guaranteed approval"
No regulated lender can say yes before it has seen your application and checked you can afford it.
"No credit checks"
Lenders have to look at your credit history and affordability. What you can expect from us is a soft search first, which has no effect on your credit score.
"Pay a small fee to secure your loan"
This is the scam itself. A genuine lender makes its money from the interest you repay, not from a payment you send before the loan.
"Accepted whatever your credit"
Nobody accepts everyone. Lenders turn down applications every day, most often because the borrower would struggle to keep up the repayments.
"Decide now, the offer ends today"
Pressure is a warning sign. A real offer gives you time to read it, and once you sign you still have 14 days to withdraw.
How The Upfront Fee Scam Works
It nearly always follows the same four steps. The person being targeted believes the loan is certain, so the fee feels like a small price to pay.
The promise
An advert, text, email or phone call says your loan is guaranteed, even if you have been turned down elsewhere.
The fee
Before the money can be "released", you are asked to pay something first, described as an admin, insurance, arrangement or processing fee.
The payment
The fee is usually wanted by bank transfer, gift card or voucher, which are very hard to trace or get back once sent.
The silence
The loan never arrives. Sometimes a second fee is asked for, with a new excuse, before the contact stops altogether.
Our rule is simple: Quick Loans never charges you a fee, and neither do the lenders on our panel. If anyone asks you to pay money before you receive a loan, stop and treat it as a scam.
Criminals sometimes pretend to be us. Our fraud warning page shows how to check you are really dealing with Quick Loans, and what to do if you have already paid.
What About Guarantor Loans?
Some people who search for guaranteed loans are really looking for a guarantor loan. With this type of loan, a family member or friend agrees to make the repayments if the borrower can't. Because the lender has two people it can ask for its money back, a guarantor can make an offer more likely, especially for someone with a thin or damaged credit history.
Guarantor loans are real, and they are not a scam. They do carry a serious responsibility for the guarantor, who can be chased for the full balance if the borrower stops paying.
As far as we know, though, no lender in the UK currently offers them. Amigo, the best-known guarantor lender, stopped lending in 2023 after regulatory concerns and a large number of complaints about loans it should not have made, and its lending business is now being wound up. Others have left the market too, and no new lender has stepped in to replace them.
That is why Quick Loans has no guarantor lenders on its panel. Loans through our website are in your name only, and no one else needs to sign for them.
What Really Improves Your Chances
There are no guarantees, but there is plenty you can do to give yourself the best possible chance of an offer.
Start with a soft search
Applying through us uses a soft search, so you can see if a lender will make you an offer without leaving a mark on your credit score. A lender may only run a full credit check if you accept its offer.
Let lenders compete
One short application goes to up to 40 lenders, rather than you trying them one by one.
Ask for a sensible amount
If your credit history is poor, lenders are more likely to say yes to £1,000 or less. Asking for what you need, not the most you could get, helps too.
Get your details right
Use your name, address and bank details exactly as your bank holds them, and make sure your income and outgoings are accurate.
If No Lender Makes You An Offer
Sometimes none of our lenders can make an offer. When that happens you will simply see that there is no offer this time, without a reason given. Each lender makes its own decision against its own lending rules.
A few things are worth doing next:
- Wait around a month before applying again, as lenders usually only reconsider the same person every 30 days or so.
- Check your credit file for free with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and ask them to correct anything that is wrong.
- Think about whether a loan is the right answer. If money is tight, MoneyHelper and StepChange give free, confidential help.
Most of all, don't let a no from genuine lenders push you towards someone promising a guaranteed yes. That is exactly the moment fraudsters are waiting for.
Guaranteed Loan Questions
Are guaranteed payday loans real?
No. Any lender offering payday or other loans in the UK must be authorised by the FCA and check affordability first, so none can promise a yes in advance. A website that does promise one is either exaggerating or setting up a fee scam.
Can a broker like Quick Loans guarantee me a loan?
No. We are a credit broker, so we pass your application to our panel of lenders, and each of them decides for itself. We will never tell you a loan is guaranteed.
I've paid an upfront fee for a guaranteed loan. What should I do?
Contact your bank straight away, as it may be able to stop or recover the payment, then report it to Action Fraud. Don't send any more money, whatever reason you are given. Our fraud warning page has more detail.
Can I add someone to my application to improve my chances?
Not as a guarantor. There are no guarantor lenders on our panel, so the loan is assessed on your own details. If you are worried about being accepted, see what lenders weigh up on our bad credit loans page.