Credit Reports and LendingClub.com

Well it seems I may have opened my mouth a little too soon.  During a post on 10/30/2008 I reviewed the borrowing process at LendingClub.com.  One of the pros I mentioned was “The loan has never shown up on Experian ( it has been over a year) .  This is great for people wanting to consolidate debt.  Your credit score rises as you use the loan to pay off credit cards and your debt to income percent falls.”

As of today, a year and one month after I recieved a loan from lendingclub.com, they have finally reported to experian.  The loan is categorized as an installment debt with fixed payments which is not a bad hit on the credit score. In fact, after the loan was reported, my score did not budge.  

LendingClub.com did report immediately to transunion and equifax.  Until today, it had seemed that experian was forgotten.  This news should not stop you from consolidating debt with a peer lending site.  If you can receive a loan at a lower interest rate with fixed payments while paying off unsecured revolving debt, your credit score should still rise.

E.M.

LendingClub.com Review – A+

I havn’t fully used the tools available through lendingclub.com.  However, I did go through the process of acquiring a loan.

The Pluses:

1. The application process was a breeze.
2. Direct deposit into checking and direct withdrawal of payments from same account.
3. Interest rate was very good compared to other unsecured loans.
4. The funding process was fast, easy and efficient.
5. Privacy was very good and kept your face and information away from the internet world.
6. Only lending users can view your profile!
7. They set your interest rate – can be positive and negative.  The positive side is that borrowers aren’t being stupid and asking for loans at 30% or higher as seen on other peer lending sites.
8. The loan has never shown up on Experian ( it has been over a year) .  This is great for people wanting to consolidate debt.  Your credit score rises as you use the loan to pay off credit cards and your debt to income percent falls.

The downers

1. Can’t set your own interest rate.  Like above, this is a good thing for people desperate for money and asking for unreasonable interest rates.  However, in other peer lending sites if you can plead a good case and show that you are a responsible borrower, lower rates are possible.
2. Must be registered as a borrower or lender. This is a pain for when I try to do reviews for both the lending and borrowing side.  I will have to resubmit a new application under a different email in order to become a lender.  Many users of p2p lending sites borrow loans at very low rates and re-invest them to other members to make a profit.  LendingClub’s registration process will make re-investing borrowed loans a tad trickier.

LendinClub.com has passed my test with flying colors for the borrowing aspect of their site. Later, I’ll post a review on how I feel about the investing portion.

E.M.