Can students with no credit history get loans?
Mark BristowAug 10, 2018(1 min read)It is possible for students with no available history of borrowing or managing money to get a personal loan, though it may be more difficult and/or expensive than for borrowers with a good credit history.
Having no credit history means having no credit score. While many lenders may consider having no credit score to be better than having a bad credit score, they may still consider it riskier to lend to an unknown borrower and may charge higher interest rates or fees than to borrowers with good credit scores.
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A person is deemed to have ‘bad credit’ when they have a poor history of repaying debts.
Your credit score will improve if you demonstrate that you’ve become more credit-worthy. You can do that by minimising credit applications, clearing up defaults and paying bills on time.
Another tip is to get the one free credit report you’re entitled to each year – that way, you’ll be able to identify and fix any errors.
If you want to fix an error, the first thing you should do is speak with the credit reporting body, which make take of the problem or contact credit providers on your behalf.
The next step would be to contact your credit provider. If that doesn’t work, you can refer the matter to the credit provider’s independent dispute resolution scheme, which would be the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
AFCA provides consumers and small businesses with fair, free and independent dispute resolution for financial complaints.
If that doesn’t work, your final options are to contact the Privacy Commissioner and then the Office of the Information Commissioner.
Several dozen lenders offer bad credit personal loans. These are generally smaller lenders that aren’t household names.
If you’re having trouble being approved for a loan of less than $2000, and urgently need to purchase household essentials, there may be emergency loan options available to you.
For example, the No Interest Loans Scheme (NILS) allows low-income borrowers to take out interest-free loans of up to $1500 for essential goods and services.
For further assistance, consider contacting a financial counsellor, or calling the National Debt Helpline on 1300 007 007
Most negative events that appear on a personal’s credit file will stay in their credit history for up to seven years.
You may be able to improve your credit score by correcting errors in your credit report, clearing outstanding debts, and maintaining good financial habits over time.
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