Member Article

Darlington welcomes Everyday Loans as it opens 70th national branch in town

The people of Darlington gave Everyday Loans the warmest of welcomes recently when it opened its doors in the town.

The UK’s largest non-standard branch-based lender of unsecured loans is now serving Darlington customers from its newest and 70th location on Skinnergate. The opening has also created three new local jobs.

Everyday Loans provides ongoing face-to-face financial support to help customers back on to a firmer financial footing and back into mainstream lending. All applicants benefit from an income and expenditure review as part of the approval process. It is the only unsecured loan provider to operate in this way.

This latest branch launch meets growing demand for near-prime credit, which is estimated to stand at between 10 million and 14 million Brits. That’s around a quarter of the total UK adult population – or almost 21,000 people in Darlington alone - who don’t qualify for personal loans through traditional, mainstream banking. Often, this is based on relatively minor credit history blemishes or bumps in the road, when life doesn’t quite go according to plan.

Joining branch manager Sushan Marambe is customer account manager Sarah Clarke, who has relocated to Darlington after spending six and a half years at Everyday Loans’ Middlesbrough branch. The third recruit is Adam Jarvie, who joined the company at the start of the year, bringing with him significant industry experience.

The three-strong team is already providing customers in and around Darlington - many of whom have had difficulty paying bills or getting access to credit or managing their money in the past - with a professional and friendly environment to discuss their finances and get back on track. Committed to responsible lending, it offers a case-by-case approach, expertly tailored for each individual customer, ensuring that they can comfortably afford repayments.

Branch manager Sushan Marambe said: “We have a wealth of financial services experience and our management team knows what it takes to deliver a straightforward, face-to-face professional service. We take the time to understand our customers’ needs on a human, personal level, which online processes and algorithms can miss. It’s this personal approach that engenders trust and builds long-term relationships.”

The company’s Managing Director Jon Wiggins said: “Of course we take credit history into account, but we believe each of our customers should have the chance to build a creditworthy future. We also support them throughout the repayment period and, if after six months the risk has reduced, we do all we can to improve the terms of the original loan.

“It’s this highly personalised approach that makes us most proud - and upon which we are expanding our branch network. Our unique business model and the calibre of our branch and account managers means we deliver high levels of customer satisfaction and we’re very much looking forward to supporting the people in and around Darlington with their borrowing needs.”

With a geographical reach now spanning from Northern Ireland to Scotland and to the South Coast of England, there are over 55,000 borrowers who are benefitting from the ongoing support that such a local branch network can provide.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sue Souter .