Last updated: 29th Sep 2021

Creditspring Review

About

Creditspring offers a unique credit product in the UK, offering two loans in a year as and when needed by the borrower. The lender works on a subscription model, whereby members pay a monthly subscription fee and, in return, gain access to a fixed amount loan facility. According to the lender’s website, there is no interest rate charged on the loan amount, and the only fee charged is the monthly subscription fee. The company behind Creditspring is called Inclusive Finance Limited, which is registered in England and regulated/authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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Types of loans

Creditspring has a subscription-based loan service, offering two loans in a single year.

The company offers two membership plans, each with its own unique set of features and benefits for the members. Under both the plans, members can only request their second annual loan after the first one has been fully repaid.

1) Core Membership

As part of the Core membership plan, members would have the option to borrow an amount of £250 twice in a single year, as and when needed.
The monthly membership fee is £6, which amounts to £72 per year.
The plan allows members to repay their outstanding loan obligation in four equal instalments spread over 4 months, from the date that the loan amount is disbursed.

2) Plus Membership

The Plus membership allows members to borrow an amount of £500, two times in a year. A total of £1,000 can be borrowed in a single year.
The monthly subscription for a Plus membership plan is £8, which amounts to £96 in a year.
Under the Plus membership plan, borrowers can repay a single loan amount over 6 months.

The target market for this credit facility are those individuals that usually require funds on an urgent basis once or twice in a year but don’t wish to pay exorbitant interest rates as charged by payday lenders in the UK. Instead of charging a fixed interest rate, Creditspring has a fixed monthly fee, which must be paid regardless of whether a member requires the loan amount or not.

However, if a member no longer requires a loan facility and wants to cancel the Creditspring membership, then any outstanding loan obligations must be settled and any due subscription fees must be cleared before the membership plan cancelation request is processed by the company.

Membership expires every year, and if a member is eligible to have their plan renewed, a Creditspring representative reaches out to them a month before the expiration to process the renewal.

Not all applicants are given the option to opt for a Plus membership. Most eligible applicants only have the Core option available during registration, while some have both options available. For most members, Creditspring offers the Core membership and, if they show a good repayment record, they are invited to upgrade to a Plus membership.

Eligibility Criteria

Creditspring does not specify an exact eligibility criteria on its website. Instead, applicants are encouraged to provide details to the company on its website, after which the company decides whether an applicant is eligible or not for a Creditspring membership. Checking the eligibility is also the first step of its application process.

However, applicants should consider satisfying the following criteria:

Be over the age of 18
Have a valid UK address
Have a bank account in their own name
Have a mobile phone number
Have sufficient income of over £20,000 per year
Have a good credit history
Must not have any CCJ, IVAs, or any bankruptcies in their name in recent times.

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Pros & Cons

Subscribing to a Creditspring membership has the following pros & cons for the borrower:

Advantages

- Funds are readily available

Borrowers do not have to wait for their loans to get approved when they need money, as a membership with Creditspring automatically entitles them to take out two loans worth £250 or £500 each in a year without requiring any further approvals.

- Fixed charges and no interest expense

The company does not charge any interest on its loans. The only charge applicable on the loan is the fixed monthly membership fee. This makes Creditspring loans cheaper compared to many other short term loans available in the UK market. Also, borrowers have a peace of mind as they know exactly how much they have to pay in a year for the service.

- Ability to repay early

The company allows its members to repay their loans earlier than the stipulated loan term. Once a loan has been completely repaid, members can request the second loan as well. For example, if a Core member takes out one loan of £250 and pays it back within two months, the option to apply for the second £250 loan becomes open. This option would otherwise have become open after four months, when the first loan is due to be paid in full.

Disadvantages

- Subscription fee must be paid even if loan is not required

Members must continue paying the membership fee for the entire year of the annual membership agreement, even if they don’t take out any of the two approved loan advances. At the start of the membership, the company allows a 14-day period during which members may cancel their subscription without incurring any charges. However, after this period has elapsed, members become liable to pay the membership fee for an entire year, until the membership is up for renewal.

- Loan amounts fixed at £250 and £500

Members must take out loans amounting to either £250, if they have the Core membership, or £500, if they have a Plus membership. Members cannot take out any other amount, even if it is more or less than the amount they actually need. This limitation may result in borrowers taking out only one of the two approved loans in a year, rendering the second loan redundant. Considering the annual subscription fee paid, this makes the one loan quite expensive.

Borrowing costs of Creditspring loans

Borrowing costs differ across membership plans.

The Core membership plan has a representative APR of 87.4% and a monthly subscription fee of £6.

For example, if a member borrows the entire £500 allowed in a single year, and repays the same as per the required payment plan, the total amount to be repaid would be £572, which is basically the loan amount plus the annual membership fee for the Core plan.

The Plus membership plan has a representative APR of 38.6% and a monthly subscription fee of £8.

For example, if a total of £1,000 is borrowed as allowed under the Plus membership plan, borrowers would have to repay a total of £1,096. This includes the total loan amount plus the subscription fee paid over the year for the Plus membership plan.

The following table illustrates the different costs borrowers would have to bear if they opt for a loan with Creditspring.

Membership Plan	Loan Amount	Loan Term	Total Repayable	Charge of Credit
Core	£250	4 months	£322	£72
Core	£500	8 months	£572	£72
Plus	£500	6 months	£596	£96
Plus	£1,000	12 months	£1,096	£96

Information Required To Apply

Applicants need to provide the following information to apply for a Creditspring membership:

Full name
Date of birth
Valid UK address
UK mobile phone
Details pertaining to monthly income and expenditure
Bank account details including debit card information

How To Apply With Creditspring?

Applicants need to follow these steps to apply for a Creditspring membership.

Applicants need to go on www.creditspring.co.uk, and the following screen will appear. This is the Creditspring website homepage. The first step in the application process requires applicants to check their eligibility. This can be done by clicking on the ‘Check eligibility’ button, as shown in the image below.

On the next screen, as shown below, applicants need to provide basic information including email address, full name, mobile phone number, and date of birth. After all the information has been provided, click Next to proceed.

On the following screens, applicants need to provide details pertaining to their UK address, and also about monthly income/expenses. After completing the entire form, applicants need to submit it. Then, Creditspring will process the application and ascertain whether the applicant is eligible to apply for a membership with the company, and for which membership plan. In case an applicant is found to be ineligible at this time, they may reapply after a few months, provided their financial circumstances have improved.

Once it has been confirmed by the company that an applicant is eligible to apply for a membership with Creditspring, then the applicant is requested to provide details pertaining to their bank account. Once all the documentation has been provided, a Credit Agreement is drafted and presented to the applicant for signature.

As a final step in the application process, applicants need to sign the Credit Agreement, which commits them to pay the monthly subscription fee for a period of 12 months in exchange for two loan advances to be taken one at a time, except if the applicant cancels the members within 14 days of signing the agreement.

FAQs

No, the loans being offered by Creditspring are significantly different compared to payday loans. While payday loans have a one-off payment on the next payday, Creditspring loans have a longer payback period. Also, payday loans are very expensive, charging interest of over 200% per year, while Creditspring loans do not carry any interest.

Creditspring does require members to maintain a direct debit mandate. The company automatically charges a member’s bank account with the due payment. In case the automatic deduction fails to process, then members have the option to make the payment by using their debit card.

Yes, Creditspring does share borrower’s repayment behavior with credit reference agencies. If borrowers continue to meet all due payments on time, their credit score improves. Similarly, if a member fails to pay a monthly loan repayment or subscription fee on time, this delay will also be reported to credit reference agencies which may have a negative impact on the member’s credit rating. However, during the application process, Creditspring only conducts a soft search which does not have any impact on credit rating/score, and a hard footprint is only left after an applicant has been accepted as a member.

Yes, Creditspring does allow loans to be repaid earlier than the due date, either partially or in full. If members make a partial advance payment on a loan amount, then the remaining loan instalments will be reduced by an equal proportion so that all instalments are uniform in value.

No, it is essential for Creditspring services that the borrower’s bank account allow direct debit transactions. Direct debit makes it easier for the company to deduct payments on time, and this helps borrowers maintain a good credit score since the chance of them missing a payment due to forgetfulness is minimized.

Lenders Like Credtspring

Is Creditspring looking like the right option to you, but you still want to research on alternative options before you select the most appropriate lender for you financial needs? Here are a few lenders that are offering loans of similar amounts. These have also been reviewed and rated by Credit Raters.

Broker/Lender	Description
Simple Fast Loans (lender)	Payday short term loans available between the £250 to £1,000 range. Payment plan is split over weekly, monthly, or fortnightly due dates. Interest charge is a flat 205.2% per year.
Peachy (lender)	Payday short term loans between £100 to £1,000 range. Loan term is defined by the borrower up to 12 months. Interest charge is fixed at 248.37% per year.