Loans FAQs

You can settle and close your Tesco Bank Loan account at any time during the loan term by requesting an early settlement figure.

To request an early settlement figure, you can use our Early Settlement Form. We’ll email you the amount needed to settle your Tesco Bank Loan within an hour. Additionally, we’ll send it by post within a week.

Your settlement figure is valid for 30 days from the date of your request. There is a fee of up to two months’ interest, but the total amount you repay may include an interest saving. There is no charge if you choose to reduce your loan term through overpayment.

If you're using Online Banking or the Mobile Banking App to manage your Tesco Bank Loan, you can find your loan account number and sort code on the first screen after you log in.

Alternatively, you can find these details on your annual statement or original loan agreement. If you do not have this documentation, please contact us.

At the beginning of the loan we work out the interest you'll pay over the whole length of your loan and add this to your loan amount. We calculate your interest charge by applying interest at a monthly rate based on the APR to the balance of your loan, as reduced by your monthly repayments. We add this to the loan amount and then divide this total by the number of monthly repayments.

Although your repayment amount is fixed for the duration of your loan, the way that we allocate each monthly payment between the loan capital and the interest varies throughout the term. At the start of the loan, a higher proportion of your monthly repayment is allocated to repaying interest. However, as you start to make more repayments, we allocate less of the monthly repayments to repaying interest and more towards reducing the capital until your loan is completely repaid.

Yes, once you've registered for Online Banking, you can:

To obtain a settlement figure for your loan online, please see our existing FAQ 'Can I settle my Tesco Bank Loan early?' for more information. You can also contact us and we can confirm this for you.

If you apply online, we try to give an instant decision to confirm if you are accepted, whether we need further information (see below), or if you're declined.

If you’ve been accepted, we'll either send you a credit agreement to check and sign, or where possible you can sign your credit agreement digitally. We’ll then use Faster Payments to send the money directly to your bank account. Faster Payments can take up to 48 hours and the money can be withdrawn as soon as the funds reach your account.

If you apply over the phone or we require some supporting documentation:

It may take between 5 to 10 days for us to check that everything is ok. As we try to do this as quickly as possible, we do not send an acknowledgement email or letter, but will inform you as soon as a decision has been made. Once your returned agreement is processed, we use Faster Payments to send the money to your account.

If you gave us your mobile number during your application, we'll send a text when the funds have been sent to your account, followed by a welcome letter. Should you need more information or have any questions, please contact us.

Yes. If you do not agree with the decision that we've made on your application, you have the right to appeal. You should support your appeal by providing any additional relevant information that was not taken into account at the time of our original decision, such as:

Send your appeal to: Tesco Bank, Loans Decision Review Team, Broadway 1, 199 Renfield St, Glasgow, G2 9FE. Please note it can take 5 to 7 days to review once your documents are received.

You may find the following questions useful:

When you apply for a loan, a credit reference agency search will be carried out and a credit score will be calculated based on the information you enter and your credit reference information. This will determine if we’re able to offer you a loan and you’ll receive one of the following decisions:

We’re happy to offer you a loan. If it's just you applying you may be offered the ability to sign your loan agreement digitally, we’ll then use Faster Payments to send the money directly to your bank account. Faster Payments can take up to 48 hours and the money can be withdrawn as soon as the funds reach your account.

We may be able to offer you a loan, but we need a bit more information from you before we can fully approve your loan.

In some circumstances, we may need some more information from you before we’re able to make a decision. We'll contact you if necessary.

We're unable to offer you a loan. If you've been declined as a result of a Credit Reference Agency search, we recommend you obtain a copy of your credit file and check the information on it before reapplying or applying for credit elsewhere.

If your application is approved, approved in principle, or referred, the following will happen next:

You’ll receive some important documents within five days, which you’ll need to check, sign and return to us. We may also request some additional documents to support your application, such as proof of your identity or address. You must send these with your signed loan documents. Once we receive your signed loan documents, with any supporting documentation we requested, we'll make some final checks. Once we're happy with the information you've sent, we'll fully approve your loan and pay the money into your bank account. We will send you a text message to confirm that we have completed the transfer.

If you are referred, it may take between 5 to 10 days for us to check everything is ok. As we try to do this as quickly as possible, we do not send an acknowledgment email or letter but will inform you as soon as a decision has been made. Once your returned agreement is processed, we use Faster Payments to send the money to your account.

Please note: your loan offer is valid for 30 days from the date you applied, so it's important you return your documents to us before your offer expires.

To apply for a Tesco Bank Loan you need to meet the following criteria:

Please note the following criteria which apply to our loans:

Yes, you have the right to cancel your loan agreement. You do not have to tell us your reason for cancelling but you need to let us know that you want to cancel. Your right to cancel starts the day after you receive your Loan confirmation letter and ends 14 days after that. This is called a ‘cooling off’ period.

To cancel your loan without paying any interest you must:

If you do not repay the loan within 30 days, we'll charge interest on the amount outstanding as detailed in your Credit Agreement.

To cancel your loan:

Yes, you can re-apply for a loan three months after you were declined for a Tesco Bank Loan.

However, if your circumstances have not changed since your last application, it's unlikely that our decision will change.

We'll not refuse your application just because we declined you in the past, unless you apply again within the 3 months of being declined.

If you were declined as a result of a Credit Reference Agency search, we recommend you obtain a copy of your credit file and check the information on it before reapplying or applying for credit elsewhere.

Yes. If you are applying online for a loan in your name only, and we are able to make you an offer without requiring any further information, you may be able to sign your agreement digitally and receive your loan funds the next day. You'll be able to print or save a copy of your loan documentation at the time of signing.

​​​​​​​No, we do not offer points on loan repayments.

Yes. You can get a statutory credit report from any of the credit reference agencies listed below.

The APR advertised on our website is for a Tesco Bank Loan. The APR advertised is a representative value, the actual APR will be based on our assessment of your financial circumstances if approved.

If we were unable to make you a loan offer, the APR offered via the Monevo panel is a personalised offer from a lender via the Monevo panel, not Tesco Bank.

To change the date we take the Direct Debit from your account, please contact us at least 7 days before your next scheduled payment date. You can select any date between 1st to 25th of the month to make your payment.

To change the bank account from which your Direct Debit is paid, please contact us at least 14 days before your next scheduled payment date.

Yes, you can do this at any time during the Tesco Bank Loan term and with no fees.

Take a look at our handy overpayment guide for everything you need to know about how to make the payments and more.

If you’re looking to pay off and close your Tesco Bank Loan account early, take a look at our early settlement guide.

Yes, you can choose any date between 1st and 25th of the month. Just let us know your preferred payment date when you apply and we'll arrange it for you. Your first payment must be made between 15 and 45 days after you receive your money.

Providing you are the account holder, you can change your payment date by contacting us and we'll do our best to provide you with the payment date you require.

We can only change your payment date once every 12 months, and your first payment must have already been taken.

Please note that we may not be able to offer you the exact payment date you have requested, but we'll try to offer you a suitable alternative.

If you are experiencing financial difficulties, please visit our support page for more information.

More information on debt consolidation can be found here.

When you log in to Online Banking or our Mobile Banking App, your loan amount will be displayed on both the Online Banking Overview and your Account Overview.

For information on paying off and closing your Tesco Bank Loan account early, please visit our early settlement guide.

To make additional payments towards your Tesco Bank Loan, refer to our loan payment guide.

If you cannot access Online Banking or our Mobile Banking App, please contact us. Our representatives will assist you with viewing your Tesco Bank Loan details, making additional payments, and any other inquiries you may have.

You can view all of your loan transactions. If you'd like to download them or view your statements, then select 'Manage account'.​​​​​​​

If you already have a loan with us and you’ve made at least 8 back-to-back monthly payments, you could apply to borrow more.

You have two options for borrowing more:

Visit our page on additional borrowing to find out more.

If you’re struggling to make your payments, it’s best to get in touch with us as soon as you can. You'll find how to contact us on our financial difficulty page along with details of the support we can offer.

If you’ve missed your loan payment by less than 14 days and usually pay by Direct Debit, we’ll automatically attempt to take the payment again within 10 to 14 days. If you'd like to make up your payment before then please contact us so we can stop your Direct Debit from trying to go through again.

When you miss a loan payment, we’ll send you a letter or text to let you know. We might also note this on your credit file, which could affect your ability to borrow money in future.

If you miss your loan payment by more than 14 days, then you can make it up through our various ways to pay.

We're here to support you when things get difficult with your finances. It’s helpful if we can discuss your circumstances to work out what’s the best solution for you.

Please visit our contact us page and call customer services. One of our trained specialist advisors will discuss your circumstances with you, and together we'll work out the best option based on the information you tell us.

Alternatively, you can write to us at Tesco Bank, PO Box 342, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE12 2GD.

We'll usually complete a budgeting form with you to understand your financial circumstances. This is a list of all of your incomings and outgoings. It's helpful to have an idea of these before you call us to make things easier. The best way to do this is to go through some recent bank statements and bills. We'll complete the form to show all of the money you have coming in and everything you need to pay out each month. We'll also include any other creditors that you have in this.

If you want to look at this or complete it before you call us, you can use StepChange's budgeting tool.

When we have completed the form, we'll then have an idea of your affordability and what you can realistically afford to pay towards your product with us each month.

You can also contact free Debt Advice Charities for some impartial debt advice.

Links to Third Party Advice:

We understand it can be difficult to get in touch and discuss your personal circumstances. The sooner you contact us, the sooner we can try to help.

You can contact us or write to us at Tesco Bank, PO Box 342, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE12 2GD.

If you're worried about calling, we can call you back when you’re in a private place. Although you can request a call back in writing, the quickest way to arrange this is by calling and we'll arrange a call back at a time that suits you.

We're required to review our customers’ affordability every 12 months to ensure payment plan agreements continue to be fair and reasonable for both you and Tesco Bank.

Even if nothing has changed in your income, over a period of 12 months quite often your monthly expenses will change. We need to ensure the payments you have been making are still suitable.

We'll usually complete a budgeting form with you to understand your financial circumstances. This is a list of all of your incomings and outgoings. It's helpful to have an idea of these before you call us to make things easier. The best way to do this is to have some recent bank statements and bills. We'll complete the form to show all of the money you have coming in and everything you need to pay out each month. We'll also include any other creditors that you have in this.

If you want to look at this or complete it before you call us, you can use StepChange's budgeting tool.

Please contact us to discuss.

If a third party company is dealing with your account(s) on your behalf it's important that you let us know.

When a third party is dealing with things on your behalf, it can take some time for them to inform us of their involvement. During this time, if payments are missed, we'll still attempt to contact you and discuss your options.

Please contact us to let us know the details of the company you are dealing with. This allows us to update your account and stop any unnecessary contact.