Oakbrook Personal Loans Review: Pros, Cons & Features

Oakbrook personal loans: At a glance

Oakbrook Loans offers loans of £1,000 to £5,000, a smaller amount than many other lenders but it may be able to transfer the money to your account on the same day you apply. Oakbrook Loans also offers flexibility as you can choose your payment date at the point of applying, and change it during the loan term if that day no longer works for you.

You don’t necessarily need a perfect credit history for Oakbrook to consider your application. But it’s a bad idea to apply for loans you are unlikely to get because unsuccessful applications will have a negative effect on your credit score. 

And remember, if you’re considering a loan it’s sensible to only borrow what you need and pay it back as quickly as possible based on what you can comfortably afford to repay each month.

Promotion

Oakbrook Personal Loans

• Representative APR
  19.9%
• Representative Example
  Representative APR 19.9%. Based on a loan of £2,000 over 24 months at an interest of 19.9% p.a. (fixed). Monthly repayments of £100.16. Total amount payable £2,403.84. Maximum APR: 34.9%.
• Available amounts
  £1,000 to £5,000
• Available Terms
  1 to 3 years
• Joint Loans
  No

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Eligibility Criteria

• Must be aged 21 or over
• Must be a Permanent Resident of the UK (excludes NI, Channel Islands, Isle of Man)
• Must earn at least £18,000 from employed or self-employed income

Oakbrook loans pros & cons

The pros and cons featured here are chosen by us based on a combination of our expert opinions from our research of the personal loans market and an exclusive survey of UK consumers conducted on behalf of NerdWallet UK in February 2023 to identify the features of personal loans that people feel are most important. They are unlikely to be the only product features and restrictions that you should consider. Pros and Cons are subjective and you should align them to your own personal circumstances. Information was correct at the time of publication but may have changed since.

Oakbrook Loans overview

Online lender Oakbrook Loans was founded in 2012 by parent company Oakbrook Finance and started offering lending to consumers in 2014. This non-bank lender offers unsecured personal loans from £1,000 up to £5,000 that you can use to cover a variety of costs, including a new car, home improvements or a wedding. You repay these loans in fixed monthly instalments over a period of one to three years.

While these loans are smaller than those offered by some lenders, Oakbrook does say it considers applications from people with less-than-perfect credit histories. You can check your eligibility for an Oakbrook loan before applying, which will help you see your chances of approval without affecting your credit score.

You could also consider using a loans eligibility service to conduct a soft search across multiple lenders and provide you with results of your likelihood of a successful application against several different loans, without affecting your credit score. But do check the details of the service you use, to make sure it only uses soft searches and how many lenders it checks.

Where Oakbrook personal loans stand out

It aims to get funds to you within a couple of hours: Once you have completed your application and it has been approved, Oakbrook aims to transfer the money to your account within a couple of hours, although in some cases you might have to wait until the next working day. This is faster than many other lenders, some can take several days to send you the money.

You can choose the date of your first payment: When you fill in your application for an Oakbrook loan, you can choose your payment date. This means that your first payment will be made from your account on a date that suits you, rather than automatically going out one month after applying, as is the case with some lenders.

It will consider applications even if you don’t have perfect credit: Unlike some lenders, Oakbrook doesn’t specify that you need a good or excellent credit score to qualify for a loan. It says that it will consider applicants who may not have the best credit history, as long as they haven’t been made bankrupt in the past year. You may find you are offered higher rates if you successfully apply for a loan with bad credit.

Where Oakbrook personal loans fall short

Joint loans are not available: Oakbrook only accepts loan applications from individuals. If you want to apply for a loan with a friend or family member, you will need to find another lender that offers joint loans.

You can only borrow up to £5,000: The maximum amount you can borrow from Oakbrook is £5,000, which is considerably lower than other personal lenders. Other lenders can offer personal loans of £25,000 or more, but you are likely to need a good credit history and a secure income to get a bigger loan from one of these lenders.

It offers a shorter maximum term length: You can take out a loan for between one and three years with Oakbrook, compared to other lenders that may offer terms of up to seven years. But it’s worth remembering that a longer loan term isn’t necessarily better, as it means you could pay more in interest than if you borrowed over a shorter period.

What type of loans does Oakbrook offer?

Unsecured loans

The personal loans that Oakbrook provides are unsecured, meaning you don’t need to use your house, or any other valuable item, as security.

You can borrow between £1,000 and £5,000 from Oakbrook, over a term of one to three years. This is more limited than the sums and terms offered by other lenders, so you would need to consider another lender to borrow a larger amount. 

However, you should only ever borrow the amount you need, so don’t take out a larger loan than necessary just because you can.

Joint loans

You can’t apply for a joint loan from Oakbrook Loans. You can only borrow money as an individual.

If you want to get a joint loan with your partner, for example, you will need to go to a different lender.

Loans for bad credit

Although Oakbrook doesn’t specifically offer ‘bad credit loans’, you don’t necessarily need a perfect credit history to be approved for a loan.

Oakbrook only asks that you have built up some personal credit history and that you haven’t been made bankrupt in the past 12 months. If you meet these criteria and Oakbrook’s other requirements, then Oakbrook should consider your application.

However, you are not guaranteed to be accepted for a loan if you have a bad credit score. As with all lenders, Oakbrook will only offer you a loan if you pass the necessary checks and it’s confident that you can afford to make the repayments in full and on time.

Bear in mind that if Oakbrook approves your application, you are likely to face a higher rate of interest than someone with a better credit history. So, if possible, it may be worth taking some time to improve your credit score before applying for a loan.

It’s a bad idea to apply for loans you’re unlikely to get because unsuccessful applications have a negative effect on your credit score.

Am I eligible for an Oakbrook loan?

For Oakbrook to consider your application, you will need to:

• be aged between 18 and 73 years old
• be a UK resident
• have a UK bank account
• not have been made bankrupt in the last 12 months

As with any lender, you will also need to be able to afford the monthly payments for Oakbrook to offer you a loan.

Like many lenders, Oakbrook uses open banking as part of its application process, which allows it to view the transactions on your bank account. You need to give Oakbrook permission to access this information. If you don’t agree to share this data, Oakbrook won’t be able to consider your application.

Oakbrook loan features review

The features of an Oakbrook loan are typical of most personal loans. Find out more information below.

Making payments

When you apply for an Oakbrook loan, you can choose your payment date. This gives you some flexibility as you can choose a date that suits you, instead of having to pay on a date chosen by the lender. 45% of respondents to our NerdWallet survey considered this an important feature of a loan.

If your circumstances change, Oakbrook also allows you to choose a different payment date during your loan term. You can do this on your online account. However, there could be an impact to the interest charged, either more or less depending on the change so make sure you check. 

Your repayments will automatically be set up via direct debit. If you prefer to pay another way, Oakbrook may allow you to pay by bank transfer or over the phone.

Overpayments

If you have money to spare, you can make overpayments on your Oakbrook loan without facing any additional charges. If you make an extra payment, your monthly payments will stay the same but your loan term will shorten. 

You can also contact Oakbrook directly if you want to make an additional payment, or partial settlement, that reduces your monthly payments but keeps your loan term the same.

Making extra payments, on top of your usual monthly payments, helps you to pay off your debt quicker and reduces the amount of interest you pay.

Like Oakbrook, many other lenders also allow you to overpay your loan without any penalty fees. However, you should always check the terms of the loan as it is likely there may be limits on how much you can overpay.

Paying off a loan early

You can pay off your loan in full via your Oakbrook online account. Although there are no specific early repayment fees, you will need to pay some interest charges to clear your debt.

Oakbrook can charge 28 days’ interest when you pay off your loan early, to account for the period between your last repayment date and the settlement date. Many lenders will set these charges when you want to settle your loan before the end of the term.

» MORE: Paying off a loan early

Additional borrowing

It may be possible to increase your loan from Oakbrook, but this will depend on your individual situation. Oakbrook will review your account and contact you if you are eligible to borrow more (if you consent to be contacted by Oakbrook).

You are more likely to be offered the opportunity to top up your loan if you have managed your account well and paid your last six payments on time (as a minimum).

But be aware that borrowing additional amounts could result in a higher rate than the initial loan and that it will consist of a new application based on your circumstances at the time you apply including your affordability.

Customer support

If you have a question about Oakbrook Loans or you need help with your loan, you can contact Oakbrook in a number of ways. 

You can call their customer services team or, if you prefer, you can also send a text or email. Oakbrook also has a live chat tool on its website that could help to answer your question relatively quickly.

When you borrow from Oakbrook, you can manage your loan via your online account. For example, you can make a one-off payment, change your repayment date and edit your details, which means you can make changes without contacting the customer service team directly. 

Customer ratings

Oakbrook Loans has an excellent 4.7 star rating on Trustpilot, based on over 250 reviews.

Fairer Finance doesn’t have any ratings for Oakbrook on its site.

This information is correct as of 12 April 2023.

How can I apply for an Oakbrook loan

Oakbrook has a loan calculator on its website that you can use to see how much a loan would cost you. It also allows you to see how much you would repay each month, based on the term you choose. While this can be a useful tool, remember that it uses the representative APR to calculate the costs, which may be different to the rate you get if you apply for a loan.

You can see if you’re eligible for a loan from Oakbrook without affecting your credit history. Oakbrook will review the information you provide and run a soft credit check to check your eligibility..

If you then choose to apply for the loan, Oakbrook will conduct a hard credit check to view your credit history. This will be recorded on your credit file.

Oakbrook will also use open banking, a secure system for reviewing your banking transactions, which can help it spot any potential problems that could stop you from paying back the loan. This won’t appear on your credit file.

Once Oakbrook has performed all of its checks, it will tell you whether your application has been approved or not.

What information do I need?

When you apply for an Oakbrook loan, you will need to provide Oakbrook with the following details:

• your name
• address history from the past 12 months
• contact details, including email address and phone number
• your annual income

Oakbrook will assess this information and perform further checks to make a decision on your application.

In some cases, you may need to provide Oakbrook with supporting documents or information, which you will be able to send online.

How long does it take to apply?

Once you apply for a loan, you should hear back from Oakbrook relatively quickly.

If your application is approved, Oakbrook says it aims to transfer the loan into your account within a couple of hours. However, depending on when you applied, you may not receive your funds until the next working day.

About the Author

Rhiannon Philps

Rhiannon has been writing about personal finance for over three years, specialising in energy, motoring, credit cards and lending. After graduating from the University of Cambridge with a degree in…

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