For people who are blacklisted, trying to apply for car finance and personal loans through ABSA, Nedbank, FNB or Standard Bank is a somewhat painful and usually disappointing task. Unfortunately for a person with a bad credit record, these major South African banks have very strict rules when it comes to lending money and are not in a position to just approve anybody’s application to borrow cash as and when they please. Even if you are someone who has been through financial difficulty and now find yourself in a much stronger position to pay back any borrowed money, if you have been previously “black marked” for defaulting on any monthly payments or contract agreements regarding personal finance or car loans, your chances of any new applications being approved by the bank are slim to zero.

However, it is not all doom and gloom for people with a bad credit record looking to borrow money from a lender. Besides the major banks such as ABSA, Nedbank, FNB and Standard Bank there are a deal of smaller lending companies, some of which are prepared and able to approve finance for qualifying people even if blacklisted. Approval may very much depend on just how bad a persons credit record is, as well as what financial position he or she has been in for a fixed period and how that financial position, if good, is expected to remain over the coming months and years. If you are looking for motor vehicle finance with a bad credit history, or you need a personal loan for whatever reason, then the only solution really is to go ahead and submit an application with an alternative lending company to the SA banks.

Debt consolidation loans are sometimes approved to people considered a “bad risk” to lend to but here again, there will be certain criteria an applicant will have to provide. People with fixed assets such as property and a home, or homes, are in a much stronger position to borrow money from a lending company in almost all instances. It is a frustrating situation for those who have ended up “black-marked” through no fault of their own and have maybe been made redundant or retrenched and therefore failed to make payments as part of a contract; although one also needs to understand that the banks in South Africa would quickly end up bankrupt if they had to approve most applications and simply hand out fast cash willy nilly, approving all black listed applicants that felt the need to get car finance and personal loans.

The bottom line if you are desperate to borrow from a lender is to play open cards completely with them. NEVER try to hide previous judgements or any kind of bad credit you may have to your name as they will be sure to do a complete and thorough check on your financial history.