The personal loans market is today looking crowded with banks, building societies and finance firms clamouring for a piece of the action. Lack of choice is a complaint you don’t hear terribly often.

The main marker between the loan providers is their Annual Percentage Rate (APR), it’s this figure that screeches at us in advertising material. If nothing else, the APR is a good starting place when shopping for a personal loan.

But like all ‘windscreen’ prices, APRs call for a degree of scrutiny. Often the APR figures are qualified as “typical”. This is an average figure, and not necessarily what everyone pays, the actual APR level being determined by a number of factors such as an individual’s credit history and personal circumstances etc.

Different lenders use different measures when handling personal loan applications. Some are more cautious than others and will extend loans only to those applicants that they themselves deem to be acceptable risks. To an extent, this can be arbitary. Some people find themselves declined for a loan or to be penalised with a higher than usual rate of interest by one company, only to find a warmer welcome elsewhere.