CIMB Personal Loan - We "reviewed" it for you!

As we have seen so many “comparison” comparison platforms or bloggers reviewing it, we thought we would chip in, but with a twist. We tell you about the reviewers instead.

Not all comparison platforms are what they claim to be—many are nothing more than advert-driven portals, serving the advertisers that pay them.

Across markets from the U.S. to Australia, authorities are uncovering that these platforms often promote results based on payment, not on what’s truly best for the applicant or consumer. What you see isn’t always an unbiased comparison, but a ranked list bought by those who pay the most.

While general information, such as miles or points per dollar spent, is easy to research, loan amounts and interest rates are highly personal. They change from one applicant to another based on each individual’s credit score & profile. That rate they “reviewed” or “compared” for you is actually a teaser rate. Here’s how it works in detail. They are rates that you may or may not get, and in many countries, regulators are either suing them for clickbaiting consumers or publishing warnings on them.

But if you are pressed for time, you don’t have to read the article above - here is an image that tells you basically how traditional loan comparison actually works.

Credit: Head of Lendingpot. Strangely enough, Lendingpot appears to be exposing its own practices. For more of their contradiction or to join the conversation, click here. We flagged the conflict of interest in brokers tied to lenders. Months later, they said the exact same thing—while themselves being owned by IFS Capital & PhilipCapital. Was this a case of blind copying from our articles, leading to such obvious missteps?

Credit: Public review found on Seedly and Google

Every now and then, you’ll see them write comparisons like “this loan vs. that loan.” But think about it—if they claim to compare 10 loans, did they really take all 10 and pay interest on each one? So, did they actually review it? Based on what? Information pulled from the bank website, which you can basically get Chatgpt to do the same?

In the UK, at least 51% of applicants must actually enjoy the quoted rate. Singapore, however, has no such law. And even if the rates are genuine, what about the loan amount or tenure? Meaningless to go thought the process only to be off a measly $100 and having waited for hours or even days to have to try again with another bank, right? Or worse, failing to actually compare and paying higher interest rates. And thus we built FindTheLoan.com to be different. Instead of teaser rates or applying with multiple lenders one by one, you can reach multiple lenders at once with your actual documents, and they will make a full credit assessment as if you had walked in to them individually, and they will revert with their actual offer.

We cannot prevent lenders from boosting their profits and reach. But we can still call out misleading ads and safeguard SMEs, borrowers, and consumers. If you think what you have read so far doesn’t look right, we invite you to share your thoughts on this LinkedIn post or if you prefer, on our Reddit, TikTok, or Facebook post, where we have posted about these lies. However, we have tagged a number of MPs on LinkedIn who, during parliament, have asked about matters such as greater consumer protections. Weighing in there, and as more people share their thoughts there, could finally catch their attention to do something about the industry and better protect borrowers. Every comment, repost, or show of support matters — it increases the chances that policymakers take notice and act.

And if you're thinking of using a loan broker, be sure to see what we exposed on them too. 

If you enjoyed this article, we’d love for you to share it with others who might find it valuable. Even a quick like or comment here helps trigger the algorithm to reach more people! Our goal is to bring you insights that Big Finance doesn't want you to know, but they often get overshadowed by Big Finance's content due to the large budget they have. Every share helps amplify our work and reach more readers like you!

Subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter here or on Medium here and never miss any new articles!

Give us a try — it’s free to get your personalized loan offers today!

Share on: