Frequently asked questions

1. How much can I borrow?

Any amount from £1,000 to £15,000.

2. Over what timeframe can I borrow?

You can get a Zopa loan for 36 or 60 months if you borrow via the Markets. If you apply via the Listings you can borrow over 12, 24, 36, 48 or 60 months.

3. Can I repay my loan early if I like?

Yes. At Zopa, unlike at other loan providers, you can repay early, or in lump sums, at no extra cost. Because Zopa calculate the interest on your loan on a daily basis, this means you can save yourself lots of money if you choose to repay early.

For example, a £5000 loan over 36 months at 9.0% APR would cost a total of £5695 if you took the full 36 months to repay. But if you made your normal repayments and then repaid the whole of the remainder after 12 months, it'd cost a total of just £5373 - saving you £322. If you repaid in full after 18 months, the total cost would be £5509, and after 24 months it'd be £5609. So you can see the earlier you repay, the more you save. And Zopa don't charge a penny for this facility.

4. Can I choose the repayment date for my loan?

Yes you can. When you apply for your loan, you'll be asked which day of the month you'd like to make your repayments on. So you can pick a day which suits you best. Your first repayment will be taken at least a month after you take out your loan.

5. Can I get a personal quote before I apply?

Before applying for a loan, you can see what rates are available on the marketplace by checking the loan calculator. Here you'll see what rates are being offered in the A*, A, B, C and Young markets. If you're creditworthy enough to borrow at Zopa, you'll be put into one of these 5 markets and offered the best rate for that market. We do not provide personal quotes until you apply for a loan and let us get your credit score, as we can't tell you which market you'll be able to borrow from. Please note: Zopa only carry out a quotation search when you start your application which does not affect your credit rating; it is only changed to a credit search once you submit your loan application.

6. What rates can I expect to pay?

The rate you're offered will be based on your credit-worthiness. As Zopa is a live market place the rates can change daily too depending on what rate the lenders are offering at. As you go through the application process Zopa will match you to the best rate available on the market place at that time.

Everyone looking to borrow is risk assessed and then put into the A*, A, B, C or Young market. For details on we work out which market you fit in please read this question.

7. How do you work out what market I can borrow from?

To become a borrower at Zopa in the A*, A, B, or C markets, you will be 26 years of age or more and your credit data over the last three years will show:

• a responsible use of credit
• you've been on the electoral register for each of your addresses
• you've not increased your borrowing recently

We'll also need to be able to confirm all the information you give us and the loan has to be affordable for you.

The exact market you end up in will depend on you credit score, with A* borrowers having the highest credit scores, followed by A borrowers, then B and then C borrowers. C borrowers have higher credit scores than most of the British public.

To become a borrower at Zopa in the Young market, you must be aged between 20 and 25 years old.

Young borrowers often find it hard to get unsecured loans because they have unblemished but also unproven debt histories. Zopa lenders can therefore choose to give you the benefit of the doubt, provided that you have also:

• not increased your borrowing recently
• been on the electoral register for as long as possible at each of your addresses
• not failed to repay any previous debt so far

We'll also need to be able to confirm all the information you give us and the loan has to be affordable for you. Affordability calculations will take any repayments on student loans you have into account.

8. What type of credit search does Zopa carry out?

When making a loan application, you give Zopa permission to access your credit records at one or more of the UK's credit bureaux (e.g. Equifax, Call Credit, Experian).

Initially Zopa requests a Quotation Search. This type of search is visible only to you and the company performing the search, but not to other lenders. This type of search therefore does not affect your credit score.

The only time that your credit score will be affected is when you submit an application to Zopa. In this instance, a Credit Application search is made and this search is visible to other credit providers in the country. This is the same as a Credit Application search made via any bank, as all companies accessing credit records on behalf of individuals must subscribe to a standard set of rules and procedures laid down by SCOR (the Standing Committee on Reciprocity). If you make all your repayments on time for your Zopa loan, any impact on your credit score will be positive.

9. I have a bad credit history - can I borrow at Zopa?

Probably not - all Zopa borrowers have a good track record of repaying debt, or if they're in our Young Market, they have no history of bad debt.

10. How is the APR calculated?

APR stands for Annual Percentage Rate, and is a way of comparing the cost of loans from different providers. It takes into account all the interest and charges that are payable on a loan, and so shows you the actual cost of the loan.

The APR on Zopa loans covers both the interest you pay to lenders and the £124.50 Zopa fee. The amount of interest you pay to lenders is determined by the rates they're offering their money at - Zopa is a marketplace, and the rates on Zopa loans are set by our lenders.

11. How are repayments calculated?

As with all personal loans, the interest you pay on a Zopa loan is based on the outstanding balance of your loan. It's calculated daily, although you make repayments monthly.

While your repayments will be the same through out the course of a loan (except for maybe your first one), you'll be paying less interest and repaying more capital each month.

The first repayment you make will be slightly higher than the rest of your repayments if more than a month passes between you taking out the loan and making your first repayment. Whether this happens depends on which day of the month you chose to make your repayments on.

12. What is my credit score?

When you apply for a loan at Zopa we calculate a score for you based on all the personal details you give along with the details we obtain from the credit bureau. This score is used to place you in one of the Zopa Markets. Therefore the score given to you by a credit bureau and your Zopa score are very different.

Equifax are our main credit report provider, if you want to find out the details of your credit report you should contact Equifax directly.

13. What personal information can lenders view about me?

Your lenders can see your username you create, your age and the county you come from.

14. Are there any hidden charges?

Absolutely not. Borrowers are charged £124.50 of the total loan amount, which is paid up front, and then that's it. If you want to repay early, or repay in lump sums, you can do so at no extra cost (unlike at some loan providers).

15. I am in the forces. Can I become a borrower?

Provided you've been on the electoral roll for 6 years or more, have a credit history of at least 6 years and a UK address then you can apply for a Zopa loan. If you have a BFPO address and experience any difficulties getting through our address checker it may be because Equifax our address provider do not hold your BFPO address as it is not in the UK. You will need to enter a UK address to register with us, therefore please enter the address you would use if you were living in the UK; this can be your parents address.

16. Do you offer payment protection insurance?

No, however you can of course obtain insurance from a third party.

1. Can I make one-off payments?

Yes you can - and at no extra cost. Making an extra payment on your loan will reduce the amount of capital outstanding, and therefore your monthly repayment amount will reduce as a result. The number of monthly payments will remain the same, however.

To pay using your Direct Debit, sign in to your account and select Borrowing from the left hand menu. Then click on the Make Extra Payment button on the panel showing your active loan (which will have a status of Paid Out). Please note that if you have a payment in processing this functionality will be disabled.

2. Can I change the amount I borrow after applying?

Unfortunately not - but you might be able to cancel your loan application and apply for a new loan. If your existing application has not yet been disbursed, you must cancel your application by logging in to your account and using the cancel button on your Borrowing screen. If your exsiting application has already been disbursed, your right to cancel is as per the loan conditions and you should click here to contact us as soon as possible.

3. Can I borrow more than once?

Yes you can, however your current borrowing amount cannot exceed £15,000.

4. How do I cancel my loan?

If you wish to cancel your loan before it is disbursed, you must inform us by logging in to your Zopa account and cancelling via the Borrowing page. Under these circumstances, you will not have to pay the Zopa fee.
If you wish to cancel your loan after it has been disbursed, you must inform us by sending written notice of cancellation using this form. Under these circumstances, you must repay the whole loan amount, including the Zopa fee. If the whole loan is repaid within 14 days of giving us notice, interest won't be charged during this period. Should the whole loan not be repaid by this time, you will be deemed to have accepted the loan such that our normal terms and conditions will apply and interest will begin to accrue and will be backdated as if the loan had not been cancelled.

5. How do I change my bank details / set up a new direct debit?

You can set up a new Direct Debit through the Zopa website by following these instructions:

• Log in to your account on the Zopa site.
• Go to 'Borrowing' via the link on the left hand side. You will then see a list of your loans and loan applications.
• On the panel for your active loan(s), it will have status of 'paid out'; click the 'Change Direct Debit' button.
• This takes you to the Direct Debit details page which will be pre-filled with all your old direct debit details. Please change all your details to those of your new bank account accordingly. When you're finished, click on 'Next'.
• You will be asked to confirm your new details, then click on 'Next'.
• Finally, you'll see a complete Direct Debit mandate form with your new details. Please click on 'Finish' and you're done!

Please note that you can't change your Direct Debit if there are less than 9 days to go before your chosen repayment date, so please go through the above steps as soon as possible to stay up-to-date with your repayments.

6. Can I change my repayment day of the month?

Yes. For full details and instructions on how to do this, see section 7.11 of the Zopa Principles.

7. How do I settle my loan early?

You can settle your loan in full early by using your direct debit you already have set up.

Sign in to your account and select Borrowing from the left hand menu. Then click on the 'Make Extra Payment' button on the panel showing your active borrowing (which will have a status of Paid Out). Please note that if you have a payment in processing this functionality will be disabled. This will navigate you to a screen where you will see the option 'Settle in Full'

8. What happens if I get into financial problems and I can't pay?

If you think that you may not be able to honour your repayment commitments to your lenders, you should click here to contact us immediately. Select 'Loan Payment Issues' from the subject list with your message.

We will get back in contact with you as soon as we can by email or phone to talk through the options with you.

If you are late in making a payment, the Collections Agency reserves the right to charge you an administration fee for the work they do in attempting to collect your repayments. The fee will be based on a percentage of the amount that is overdue to your Zopa lenders, including any interest that accrues on overdue amounts. A percentage of 22.5% will be applied; where a field agent has been employed as part of the collections process, a percentage of 40% will be applied.

The Collections Agency reserves the right to change the percentage charged, which Zopa has no control over.

9. I've applied for a loan what happens now?

Once you've submitted your loan application, our underwriting team will review your case. This can take up to three working days, depending on how much further information they require and how quickly you (or anyone else necessary) can get back to them.

They'll typically get in touch over the phone before resorting to emails, so please keep your phone(s) to hand so you can pick up their message as quickly as possible, if not answer their call straight away. Our underwriters do try and make a decision as quickly as possible, but not all loans can be reviewed and approved on the same day - so if you don't hear anything straight away, don't panic. You'll always speak to one of our underwriters before your application can be approved.

Once a decision has been made, you'll receive a notification at your registered email address of whether you've been successful or not.

If the loan is approved we will send the funds to you by BACS transfer, which typically takes 3 (and occasionally up to 5) working days to reach your nominated bank account, which is the one you provided when setting up your Direct Debit.

Should you need the funds sooner, you can request faster processing, which costs £57.50, this amount is deducted from your loan when it is disbursed to you. If you request this we'll aim to review your application within 24 hours and if approved disburse it to you so that it reaches your bank account within one working day of approval. If you didn't opt for this when applying for your loan, please ensure you mention this in your conversation with our underwriters.

10. Why was I declined?

If you've been declined you should have received an email informing you of this which gives you the following information below.

Zopa isn't a bank, but a lending and borrowing exchange in which real people's money is loaned out to borrowers. We therefore have a responsibility to credit check each application, just as a bank would, to make sure that lenders are protected as much as possible. We unfortunately cannot give any specific reasons as to why you were declined as it is our policy not to divulge any details of our decision making policy since this would expose us to potential gaming of the system. However, there are some key things that can influence the end result:

• How much debt a person has
• What changes in credit profile have taken place historically
• Previous payment history to other providers does not fit our lending criteria
• The credit bureau may not have sufficient information for us to be able to make a safe decision

I'm very sorry we can't help you on this occasion, but you may be able to reapply in a few months' time if your personal circumstances have changed.

11. Why was my Listing cancelled?

You should have received an email informing you that your listing has been cancelled and if you have not cancelled it yourself then it will have been cancelled by our underwriting team. If they haven't been in touch inviting you to relist then I'm afraid your listing was cancelled because you do not meet Zopa's minimum borrowing criteria. We're unable to divulge any of our borrowing criteria in order to prevent 'gaming' of the system.

12. What happens in the event of a borrower's death?

In the event of the death of a borrower the loan contract still stands. Once Zopa are informed and sent a certified copy of the death certificate we would give the executor all the details of the loan and a settlement figure. The estate can either pay off the outstanding amount or set up a new direct debit to their own bank account to continue the monthly payments.

Where funds were paid to a borrower into a joint account, any outstanding sums become the liability of the borrower's estate and are immediately repayable out of the estate assets as outlined and agreed by the borrower in the Zopa Principles and Loan Conditions.

The borrower's estate will not become a Zopa member in the ordinary course and further funds may not be borrowed by the estate of the deceased.

The debt remains part of the estate and is subject to our existing contractual obligations. If no payments were received then the debt would be referred to our Collections Agency in the usual way - though obviously with tact and understanding.