Lending Club Review

In a Nutshell

LendingClub is the internet’s best-known peer-to-peer (P2P) lender, helping borrowers get funding from individual investors without the involvement of a bank. Through LendingClub, borrowers can get their hands on personal loans up to $40,000 for any purpose, including debt consolidation and credit card refinancing. LendingClub’s unique P2P lending model promises competitive rates, quick funding, and no impact on the borrower’s credit score.

Pros

• Unsecured loans with 3-5-year terms
• No impact on your credit score
• Minimal amount of paperwork

Cons

• Not suited to anyone with sub-600 credit score
• Not suitable if your debt is out of control
• Origination fee can reach up to 6%

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Why Go with LendingClub

The best way to avoid getting into trouble with things like debt settlement or bankruptcy is to take control of your affairs before it’s too late. If you have a mounting credit card balance or outstanding debts that are starting to spiral out of control, now is the time to deal with the situation. Taking out an unsecured personal loan is a quick and easy way of managing your debt problem. With a personal loan, you use the funds to pay off your debts, then pay back your personal loans lender at a (hopefully) lower rate and monthly payment. 

More than 3 million borrowers have used LendingClub to get their finances under control. Thanks to its unique P2P lending model, LendingClub is able to offer a killer combination of competitive rates, quick funding, and no impact to the applicant’s credit score. This makes it a popular option among people looking to consolidate or refinance debt.

What’s Offered

• Unsecured fixed-rate personal loans for up to $40,000.
• Quick, secure online application with no impact on credit score.
• Funding in typically less than one week.
• Loans may be used for any purpose, including debt consolidation or credit card refinancing.
• Resource center with tips on subjects like getting out of debt.

Highlights

LendingClub offers 4 things: personal loans, business loans, auto refinancing, and patient solutions. In this review, we’re focusing on LendingClub’s personal loans product—a popular choice for consolidating debt.

Here’s what you should know before applying for a LendingClub personal loan:

• Loan amounts from $1,000 to $40,000.
• APRs of 6.95% to 35.89%.
• Repayment terms of 3 or 5 years.
• One-time origination fee of 1%-6% of your total loan amount, based on your credit rating and charged when you receive your loan.
• If your payment is more than 15 days late, you may be charged a late payment fee of 5% of your unpaid payment or $15, whichever is greater.
• No prepayment penalties.
• Quick application, involving: name, date of birth, annual income, loan amount, and loan purpose.
• Option of adding co-applicant to secure a better rate.
• Loan offers in minutes with no impact on credit.
• Minimum credit score of 600.
• Loans are funded by private investors and underwritten by WebBank.

Types of Debt Covered

LendingClub allows its personal loans to be used for any purpose. When applying for a loan from LendingClub, you will be asked to select the loan purpose. However, borrowers are under no obligation to use all the funds for any specific loan purpose. Once the funds arrive in your account, no one will follow up to find out how you used the funds. In theory, you could use all the funds to consolidate debt, split the funds between debt consolidation and other expenses, or use the entire funds for another purpose altogether.

A personal loan from LendingClub may be used to consolidate any type of debt, including:

• Credit card debts
• Medical debts
• Student loan debts
• Cell phone bills
• Utility bills
• Bank overdraft charges
• Auto loans
• Payday loans

Site Security 

LendingClub is a well-established online lender, having funded more than 3 million borrowers since its founding in 2006. The website is completely secure, and all of your personal information gets encrypted to ensure it can’t be stolen or misused. Look for the VeriSign Secured symbol at the bottom of the LendingClub home page for confirmation of the website’s high level of security. All loans originated through the LendingClub platform are underwritten by WebBank, a FDIC-member bank based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

To protect yourself, we recommend only applying for a LendingClub loan through LendingClub or partnering marketplaces, such as LendingTree, that have been vetted and reviewed by Top10.com or other trustworthy websites. According to LendingClub, customers applying for loans on dubious third-party sites have been contacted by people fraudulently claiming to be from LendingClub. Being asked to pay an upfront application fee is a warning sign that someone is trying to scam you. Note: the real LendingClub and its verified partners do not charge any application fees.

Help & Support

LendingClub has mixed customer reviews. Most of the positive reviews concern LendingClub’s quick approval process and low interest rates. The negative reviews generally concern the high origination fees—which some borrowers claim they were unaware of—as well as scams by third-party fraudsters of the type we discussed above. Most borrowers get through LendingClub’s online application process without needing to speak to customer service. Judging by some of the feedback, customer service isn’t LendingClub’s area of expertise but it’s good to know the company offers service anyway. See the “Contact Details” section below for information on how to call or email LendingClub.

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Physical Address

LendingClub Corporation

595 Market Street, Suite 200

San Francisco, California 94105

Contact Details:

Email: support@lendingclub.com

Phone: 888-596-3157