At its most basic level, a loan is a contract between a borrower and a lender. When you are researching them, you must determine first what type you're looking for: a personal loan, a car loan, adverse credit, a consolidation loan, or a bridging loan. Then you search through the thousands available from a wide selection of providers. These include:

- Banks;

- Credit unions;

- Building societies;

- Independent loan brokers (including internet-based ones);

- Pawn shops and

- Loan sharks!

Top loan companies are subsidiaries of the clearing banks and they may negotiate competitive rates to guarantee you a loan with rates that suit you nicely.

When buying financial products, be wary of offers of insurance. Refuse to take it on, unless you've no other choice. It's just a way for personal loan companies to get more cash out of you. With some, you are often talking to an operator in a cubicle farm. He has no power to deviate from the script his older, heftier boss has set for him. So don't waste your breath.

Do your own 'due diligence' by typing the name of the lender into a search engine, along with the words "scam" or "problem" or "bad experience". This should show any negative postings about them. If there are a lot, or the allegations look substantial, avoid them.

Get it in writing. Any negotiations need to be in written form. If you do not have a copy in writing then you can consider it non-binding. Do not trust anyone at their word. If a clerk or loan officer is offended you asked for a copy, it could mean they are being less than honest. This is why you should request it.

Another way to winnow out the best provider is to contact them via email, and see what they send you back. Call them on the 'phone as well. This, coupled with your impression of their web site, will give a good clue as to whether they're a 'sound', active company, or moribund i.e. on the way out of business. ALWAYS FOLLOW YOUR GUT INSTINCT. The mind has doubts, the heart has its perfumed desires, but the guts don't lie!

Choose the right loan company. You want a good deal but it's important you're choosing a lender with a good reputation. Look to your family, friends, neighbours and internet forums for recommendations.

Make sure they're not looking up your credit rating when they give you a quote. Your credit record will show any requests for your current rating made, so it makes sense not to apply for several at the same time. It looks like you might be trying to run a scam, or are desperate.

Because of the current glut of easy credit, many otherwise decent people have found themselves in default, and currently have a poor credit rating. They need a ‘sub-prime' or ‘bad-credit' lender. There are many companies about catering to this need, however, because they've discovered that they can make a lot of money off such people, by charging them higher rates.

However, simply because individuals have adverse credit history does not guarantee those individuals will receive adverse credit loans. After all the sales talk, your application is sent to an underwriter, and _he_ decides if you get your loan or not. Different lenders have different criteria. Some cherry-pick the best borrowers by offering low rates and no insurance required, others specialise in bad credit risks, with corresponding rates and insurance.

So if you get turned down by one lender don't despair; _someone_ will lend you the money you need, so try elsewhere!