Lending Stream Loans – Overview And Alternatives

What is Lending Stream?

Lending Stream provides short-term loans to people who may otherwise seek a payday loan. Whilst payday loans often have to be paid back in one go, Lending Stream Loans are paid back in instalments.

Lending Stream’s focus is on speed. It claims the application process can take around 5 minutes and that, once approved and you accept the credit agreement, the money can be in your account within 90 seconds.

Is Lending Stream a legitimate company?

Yes, it’s part of GAIN Credit LLC which also owns the Drafty lending brand. The company is authorised and regulated by the financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

In the UK it is based in Leicester and it also has operations in the USA and India. GAIN credit was founded in 2003, with the Lending Stream brand starting in 2008.

As of August 2022, Lending Stream had nearly 17,000 reviews on Trustpilot with an ‘Excellent’ rating.

What loans does Lending Stream offer?

For new customers, Lending Stream offers small short-term loans up to £800. Existing or previous customers who have managed their accounts well can apply for up to £1,500. Repayment terms are either 6 or 12 months.

Lending Stream will also consider an application for a further loan, even whilst you’re paying off an existing loan, although there is no guarantee it will be accepted.

Who can apply?

To apply for a loan with Lending Stream you must be at least 18 years old and a UK resident. You must also be in employment with a regular income of at least £400 per month.

You must also have a bank account for Lending Stream to deposit the loan into and a debit card to enable your repayments to be taken. Applications are made online through the company’s website.

How much interest do they charge?

The APR, which is the total amount of interest and charges you would pay over a year, depends on how much you borrow.

For example, if you borrow £200, the repayments are spread over 6 months. You’ll make 6 monthly repayments of £64.44 and repay a total amount of £386.61. The representative APR for this is 1333%.

If you borrow more and have an £800 loan over 12 months, you’ll make 12 monthly repayments of £130.26. In this case, you’ll repay a total of £1,563.20, with the representative APR being 325%.

You can repay the loan early if you wish and there are no early repayment penalties for doing this.

How are repayments made?

Lending Stream collects payments from your bank account by continuous payment authority (CPA) using your debit card. The date of each repayment is set when your application is accepted although you can ask to change the repayment dates later by calling their contact centre.

It is possible to cancel the CPA and make your repayments through an alternative method such as online via their website, or by standing order. They also accept cheques through the post.

You can repay your loan early if you wish and this will save on the amount of interest you pay. You can check your balance through your online account to find out how much you would need to pay back to clear your loan.

If you miss a repayment, they may apply a charge of up to £15.

Can you get a Lending Stream loan with poor credit history?

Yes, like many short-term lenders, Lending Stream will consider you even if you have a poor credit history. They will conduct a hard credit check and take this into account but will make a lending decision based on whether they believe you are able to afford the repayments. 

Is it easy to contact them?

Lending Stream has a chat facility which can be used by logging into your online account. They also have a contact centre which can be reached on 0203 808 4440.

Are there alternatives to Lending Stream?

There are a number of other specialist lenders who provide loans to people who find it hard to access credit from traditional banks.

Little Loans offers customers the opportunity to help them find flexible, transparent loans from a range of specialist UK lenders for amounts ranging from £100 to £10,000. You can apply online for an instant decision and, if approved by one of the lenders on our panel, your cash can be sent to your bank account within minutes*.

It’s worth remembering that each time you apply for credit, a note of the application is made on your credit file. For this reason, Little Loans’ free loan eligibility checker allows you to see whether you are likely to be accepted before you apply, without affecting your credit score. Representative 79.5% APR.