If you are considering a payday loan then it is really important to make sure that you do not just pick one and go for it. Like with all loans, it is sensible to compare the different options to make sure that you are getting the one which is most suitable for you. It is easy to be in a panic when looking for a loan and just pick one quickly but this is not wise as you could end up with something that is not suitable for your needs or that is too expensive. Therefore you need to make the time to compare the different lenders and the products that they have on offer.
Comparison website
The place many people will go to first, if they are not sure what lender to use is a comparison website. These are really useful, but need to be used with caution. You need to be aware that companies who run comparison websites do it for a reason! They get commission on the leads that they get. This means that when someone discovers a lender through their site, they get paid commission for it if they go ahead and take out a loan. This means that they may only include lenders that pay high commission and not include those that pay no commission or very low commission. Therefore you are not comparing all payday lenders but just a selected few. It is worth looking at more than one comparison website because they may compare different lenders. However, you will still find that there are some lenders which are not included.
Lenders websites
It is wise to visit lenders websites as well as comparison sites. Not only because some lenders do not appear on them, but even for lenders that do. This is because you will find out all sorts of information about lenders from their website. You will be able to find out how long they have been in business and what they do. This is important as even if you know the name of the lender, it does not mean that you know much more about them and so it is wise to just find out before you apply for a loan with them. You may need to use the lenders website to apply for the loan or once you have it, so it is important that it is easy to navigate and use.
Compare lenders terms
As well as comparing prices between different lenders you should compare their terms as well. This means things like when you will have to repay and how much and what they do if you cannot repay or make late repayments. It is worth being aware of all of these things if you can be so that you can compare the different lenders. You may feel that you will repay on time and so it will not be relevant to you. However, we never know what might happen and if two lenders are very similar with regards to everything else, this could be a way of choosing which you think might be the best.
Consider customer service
The customer service could be really important and so it could be worth looking to see what type you get with those lenders that you are considering. Consider how you would like to contact customer services and make sure that they allow that. Then contact them and ask some questions so that you can see how quickly they respond and what sort of response you get from them. Think about how polite they are and how knowledgeable they seem as well as how well they answer your question. If you telephone then think about how long you are on hold, or if you message think about how long it takes them to respond. If you email then it may take longer to get a response so compare that.
Conclusion
Once you have gathered all of this information you will have an idea of what each lender is like. Then you will be able to decide which you think will be the best for you. It is important to make sure that you prioritise the things that are most important to you when you are comparing them. For some people it might just be the cost, but for others the customer service may be the most important. It might be that you have a feeling you will not repay on time so you want to compare the late repayment fees or that you want to be able to approach them face to face so you choose a company with a local branch. We are all different in the things that we like and dislike and what is important to us and therefore we need to choose according to what we think will be best for us.