Directory service 118 118 launches unsecured loans business

Directory enquiries firm 118 118 has launched 118118money.com, a web-based loans service with customers able to borrow between £1,000 and £5,000 in unsecured loans.

Annual interest rates will range between 36% and 80%. The company says it is targeting customers who have had previous loan applications rejected by banks.

118 118 chief operating officer Paul Noble said that the web-based service will function alongside a manned phone line, so that customers can talk to employees as well as using computers. “This means people who might normally have been rejected through automated systems may not be by us.”

The company said that research showed that almost one million people were rejected for unsecured personal loans last year.

“Our findings show that 28% of people don’t understand why they are rejected for a loan and 88% don’t know their credit score,” said the company’s non-executive director Mark Mayhew.