I was reading of some peoples nasty loan experiences with Equity bank a while ago and thought i was fairly safe with my Barclays loan.
I signed a loan agreement with them like 2 ago and when i did so it did not entail an early repayment clause actually the loan officer assured me yah if u repay earlier there is no charge then they decide to do a round about last year in December and get this they dont inform me inform me the clause has been changed so now i make my early repeayment directly to my loan account only to be hit with shenanigaans of early repayment fees. what the *##! ati sijui in the fine print there is something that apprantely the bank can decide to change the terms reallly then if am at risk of early repayment clause being removed i would have gone for a fixed rate which is lower!
i thought the higher reducing rate vis a vis the loewer fixed rate is to cover the prepayment risk. nway i have learnt my leasson always read the finer print and never listen to those loan ofiicers.
But surely they should have the courtesy of informing loan holders of the change as they bombard us with there credit card offers.
Am finishing this bloody loan and moving all my accounts out of barclays

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,committed citizens can change the world. Indeed,it is the only thing that ever has. N we here are eager to change the investment world in kenya

i was told the charge is as u have said 6 months interest,am still trying to reconcile the values. i was told the to go speak to the loan officer with my loan agreement which am yet to do. i have talked to two different employees and they told me conflicting info one says it should only be chargeable if u pay off the entire amount the other says it is charged on any repayment anyway i will go make some noise in the branch and hear what they say.
Also read the fine print on the top up loans they call to take up,reading on the finer print they chrage u negotiation fee on get this the top up plus the amount u are still owing so if u have 100k balance and add 200k they charge u negaotion on 300k instead of 200k like which maths is that u would rather just take up a new loan its cheaper yet they entice u with a top up saying u have been a good loan servicer so why charge u moree makes no sense!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,committed citizens can change the world. Indeed,it is the only thing that ever has. N we here are eager to change the investment world in kenya

@ kogum what is the rate for the equity loan u have taken oh n term as some banks charge different rates dependent on the term of the loan

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,committed citizens can change the world. Indeed,it is the only thing that ever has. N we here are eager to change the investment world in kenya

Barclays displays alot of greed when dealing with their customers.

Their customer service staff unknowledgeable and arrogant with a utado? attitude.

Their barclay card(credit) is the most expensive and useless among kenyan banks(by the way the old terms and conditions were among the best but they silently changed them after the global financial crisis .Other banks have not) .

Thank God I was able to come out of it after paying all types of unrealistic charges.

I can't touch their card once again neither can I touch their loans with a 100ft pole.

Better a Sacco Loan 100 times.

Last time I was there some staff was cajoling me to fill the Hello money thing.I does anyone know if there will be some hidden charges after July 31 2009?

I think many people still don't understand the concept of a loan...they still talk about banks 'giving' loans,hence the frustrations all over.

A few common sense tips:

First; never ever take a loan because the process is simplified! You only take loans to meet real needs...not for consumption!! Why take a loan to buy a personal car while you can save the money in half the time it will take you to repay the loan?

Second; never ever sign a contract that you have not read and understood. I am sure you will find clauses that talk about changes to the terms and how they will be communicated to you (if at all). There is no hurry in taking a bank loan...a few days to read the contract will not make that much difference!

Behind the gardens...Behind the wall...Under the tree (Including: Red...Dark Blue...Yellow)

Good tips mukiha.But to be honest the barclays customer staff are just too arrogant.Their advice to customers hit below the belt.Some practices there are almost a fraud to customers.I wish I could name the branch and employee I am so pissed off with.But for the sake of the employees kids,I won't.

You hit the nail on the head on this one. I took a Barclays loan too last year at which time Barclays said that i'd pay a 3 month interest on the principle balance if i paid after 12 months. Along the way,they threw out that clause and declared instead that everyone would pay a 6 month's interest on the principle balance as an early payment penalty (even though i took my loan when this was not applicable).

Way forward: Simply see another bank e.g. Standard Chartered who'll buy out your loan from Barclays without any fees and since it's bank to bank,without the 6 month interest rule being applied. SC has a 5% penalty early payment clause which if you consider their lower monthly payments on personal loans will end up saving you a bunch of money.

I DONT WORK FOR A BANK SO PLEASE CONFIRM THE ISSUES!

We are all investors. Making money,making trouble,or making excuses.

@Njunge....Great info. My question is,which are these saccos that offer to the self employed in Kenya....I would really love to know

@Waria - Enough Said. My point exactly.

Go to CBA! No penalty for early repayments. Loan approval process takes about 4 days, their customer care reps are very professional and will insist that you read the contract before signing it. They will also buy out any loan you have with another bank without much fuss!

Immorality: The morality of those who are having a better time!