Is Spotloan legit?

You know the feeling. You’re all set to make it tow payday. Then you’re hit with an unexpected expense. A medical bill.  A broken-down car. It ain’t fun.

Despite how stressed you might be, it’s always important to do some thorough research into a company before taking their money.‍

What is Spotloan?

Spotloan is an online loan company owned by BlueChip Financial. It offers short-term personal loans with fixed payments.

The company is headquartered in Belcourt, North Dakota.

According to the Better Business Bureau, Spotloan has been in business for 10 years.

‍What Spotloan offers vs others

Spotloan’s website states that it offers short-term installment loans, which means you pay back your loan over time. With a Spotloan, you choose how long you want to pay the loan back.

The company offers up to ten months repayment.

You can apply online in ten minutes or less.  If you are approved, you can get up to $800.‍

An important detail about Spotloan:

Spotloan’s maximum Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is 490%. APR is the annual percentage rate of your loan, or the cost of your credit as a yearly rate.

So for example, if you borrow $600 and choose a bi-weekly payment schedule of ten payments over five months, then you would pay approximately $775 in finance charges, a total payback of $1,375.‍

Is Spotloan safe?

Spotloan is a tribally-owned entity based in North Dakota. This means it doesn’t have to follow federal or state laws like North Dakota’s interest rate limit.

So while Spotloan are practicing legally, their interest rates are exceptionally high.

Does Spotloan report to credit bureaus?

Yes. On its website, Spotloan states:

“Spotloan reports back to credit reporting agencies on your loan payment performance. So, if you don’t pay your loan back according to your loan terms, it could negatively affect your credit score.”‍

Spotloan Reviews

On the Better Business Bureau's website, Spotloan has a rating of 1.45/5 stars.

The company also has over 22,000 reviews on Trustpilot. Their average rating is 4.4.

However, one thing to note is that Trustpilot allows companies manually to invite customers to write reviews. This means that companies can select customers who have had a positive experience, offsetting organic negative reviews.

Of their negative reviews, many complain that Spotloan’s fees are too high.