£4,000 Loans

Can you get a £4,000 loan?

My Community Finance work with credit unions who offer an ethical, affordable way to borrow £4,000. When you apply for a £4,000 loan via our website, we’ll match you with one of our credit union partners.

Credit unions are not-for-profit organisations. Any profits made through lending are either returned to members as interest on savings or reinvested into improving and expanding their services.

Who can get a £4,000 loan?

You must meet the eligibility and membership criteria to apply for a £4,000 loan from one of the credit unions we work with.

Membership criteria can vary between credit unions, but the ones we work with accept applicants from most fields of employment and members of organisations such as the Co-op or the National Trust.

To get a £4k loan, you’ll also need to:

Be between the ages of 21 and 65
Be employed (not self-employed) and earn £18,000 a year or more
Live in the UK (excluding Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man)

Your ability to borrow £4,000 will also depend on your credit history and affordability checks, which will be performed by the credit union when you apply.

What can I use a £4,000 loan for?

There may be several reasons you’re looking to borrow £4,000. For example, you could be looking to:

Consolidate high-interest debts into one affordable monthly payment.
Spread the cost of a large purchase such as a wedding, family holiday or car.
Cover unexpected expenses such as the cost of replacing a boiler.
Fund minor home improvements such as redecorating or a new bathroom.

How much will a £4,000 loan cost?

The total cost of a £4,000 loan will depend on your loan term and your personalised interest rate.

When you apply for a £4,000 loan via our website, you’ll receive an interest rate based on your financial circumstances.

The length of your loan impacts the overall cost because it determines how long interest will be charged on the amount you owe. A longer period means you’ll be paying more interest over the term of the loan.

You can use our loan calculator to see an example of the total cost of a £4,000 loan.

It’s important to remember that the loan calculator should only be used as a guide as it uses a representative APR, which stands for Annual Percentage Rate. This shows the total cost of borrowing, including interest and fees, expressed as a yearly percentage.

The representative APR is the rate paid by a typical borrower and your personal rate may differ based on your financial circumstances. The actual overall cost of your loan could therefore be higher or lower than the example provided.

What would the monthly repayments be on a £4k loan?

The monthly repayments on a £4,000 loan will vary depending on your personalised interest rate and loan term.

Typically, if you choose a longer time to repay your loan, you will have to repay less each month, but the total amount of money you have to pay back will be more. This is because you will be charged interest for a longer period.

When you apply for a £4,000 loan via our website, you can choose how long you repay it over. It's important to consider how much you can comfortably afford to repay each month and how the time period you choose will impact the overall cost of the loan.

How do I apply for a £4,000 loan?

Applying for a £4,000 loan with one of our partner credit unions is easy to do via our website.

Here’s a guide to the application process:

First, you must decide how long it will take to repay your £4,000 loan. The credit unions we work with offer loan terms from 12-60 months.
You’ll then request a personalised quote. To provide you with this, we’ll perform a soft credit check which won’t affect your credit score, and only you’ll be able to see a record of it on your credit report.
If you meet our partner credit unions' initial eligibility criteria, we'll inform you of the APR you’ll be offered on your £4,000 loan. This is valid for 30 days, so you have some time to think about if it’s right for you.
If you want to go ahead with the loan, we’ll perform a hard credit check on your credit report, which other lenders or organisations with access to your credit record can see.
We’ll also send you a loan agreement, along with the terms and conditions of the loan contract. Once you’ve read and are happy with your £4,000 loan terms, you’ll sign your loan agreement.
The credit union will aim to make a decision on your personal loan within two working days of you signing your loan agreement (working days are Monday - Friday excluding bank holidays). If successful, you should receive your £4,000 loan within two working days of it being approved.

Can I get a £4,000 loan with bad credit?

The UK has three leading credit reference agencies - Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Each has a slightly different scoring system, but will place you in one of four categories:

Bad
Fair
Good
Excellent

Our partner credit unions offer loans to those with “fair” credit scores or better. If you have a bad credit score and you suspect you’ll be turned down for a loan, there are a few things you could do to try to improve your credit score. These include:

Pay bills and debt repayments on time and in full.
Ensure all the information on your credit report is accurate and up to date. If you do spot a mistake, contact the credit reference agency to get it fixed.
Try not to apply for multiple new credit products in a short period, ideally no more than two within six months. Multiple credit applications can make lenders think you’re having financial problems.
Aim to keep your credit card utilisation below 25%. Credit utilisation is the amount of money you have actually borrowed divided by the total amount you are eligible to borrow (such as a credit card limit).
Avoid using credit cards to withdraw cash - this can make lenders think you’re in trouble financially.
Make sure you’re on the electoral roll by registering to vote. This helps to prove your fixed address.

How long will I have to pay back a £4,000 loan?

When you apply for a loan of £4,000, you will be asked to choose a repayment period. Our partner credit unions provide loans of £4,000 over 12-60 months.

When choosing your loan term, don’t forget that it will impact your loan's monthly and overall cost. Although a shorter repayment period will lower the overall cost of borrowing, your monthly repayments are likely to be higher.

How quickly can I get a £4k loan?

If you’re approved, the credit union will aim to get your £4,000 loan to you within approximately four working days of you signing your loan agreement (working days are Monday - Friday, excluding bank holidays).

In some circumstances, this process may take longer. We use advanced technology to confirm as much as possible when you apply, but sometimes our team will need to spend time looking at your application or request additional documents from you.

You can check the status of your application at any time in the My Community Finance portal.