Installment Loans in Alberta

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When a lender that advertises through our network offers this type of financing in your province, we put you in contact with that lender. Which lender depends only on your province and the type of financing you asked about.

If a lender contacts you, that lender decides whether to offer you credit and on what terms. Any application, credit check, approval, and funding happens directly between you and the lender, under the lender's own disclosures.

In Alberta, a $5,000 installment loan repaid over 36 months at 19.99% a year carries total interest of $1,688.44, before fees. Under the Criminal Code, interest means all charges and expenses of the loan, including fees, penalties and commissions. Alberta's initial disclosure statement for a scheduled-payments credit agreement must disclose, where applicable, the total of all payments and the total cost of credit.

In Alberta, a lender can add only reasonable default charges and cannot make the whole balance due before sending written notice. They cover reasonable legal costs of collecting, reasonable costs of enforcing security and the reasonable cost of a dishonoured payment. No special default rate applies until the notice is served in person or 10 days after it is sent by registered mail. Government of Alberta: What creditors can do says unsecured creditors can sue you if you do not pay. If you have trouble paying, contact your lender.

Complain to the lender first, then to the Alberta regulator when the lender is not federally regulated. The Consumer Investigations Unit of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction investigates potential violations of consumer protection laws. The first step is its Contact Centre at 1-877-427-4088. An unresolved credit union complaint can go to the Office of the Alberta Superintendent of Financial Institutions. For a bank, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada explains the steps. After 56 days, a bank customer may escalate to the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments.

If an Alberta lender refuses you a loan, review your credit report, which may affect your loan options. You can get your credit report for free from Canada's two main credit bureaus (Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: credit reports). Read how to check your credit rating for free. You can dispute any credit report information you believe is wrong (Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: credit report errors). With a later offer, Alberta law requires a lender to deliver its initial disclosure statement before you enter the agreement or pay.

In Alberta, options besides an installment loan include a credit counsellor, a line of credit for debt consolidation and a licensed insolvency trustee. Money Mentors is an Alberta-based non-profit credit counselling agency that offers free financial counselling (1-888-294-0076). The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: Debt consolidation page lists lines of credit and credit card balance transfers. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: Credit counsellor help page also names a licensed insolvency trustee for serious financial problems.

Yes, an Alberta lender that provides high-cost credit, a category that includes installment loans, must hold a high-cost credit business licence. For credit for a set amount, such as an installment loan, the annual rate includes interest and all mandatory fees and costs. Credit counts as high-cost when that rate is at or above Alberta's threshold. A financial institution regulated under the Bank Act (Canada), a credit union and ATB Financial do not need that licence for the services they provide.

You can search for the lender's exact legal name in Government of Alberta: licence search and look for a High Cost Credit licence. The search needs an exact match to the legal entity and shows active licences and registrations only. Government of Alberta: High-cost credit business licence says a licence holder must be able to confirm its licensing on request. Alberta's High-Cost Credit Regulation requires an online lender with a licence to display it at or near the top of its website's introductory page for Alberta borrowers.

In Alberta, an installment loan becomes high-cost credit at an annual rate of 32% or more, counting interest and all mandatory fees. The Criminal Code sets a separate limit: an annual percentage rate of interest above 35% on the credit advanced is a criminal rate. Both limits count fees together with interest.

In Alberta, when you borrow for personal use, a lender must give you an initial disclosure statement before you sign or make any payment. It shows the total amount advanced to you and the total you will pay back, where that applies. Alberta's Consumer Protection Act defines a high-cost credit agreement by its rate. Such an agreement's front page must carry a disclosure statement with the lender's name and licence number. The lender must give you a copy of that agreement immediately before or when you sign it.

Yes, Alberta's Consumer Protection Act entitles you to pay the full balance of a non-mortgage loan at any time without any prepayment charge or penalty. Prepaying part of the balance carries no prepayment charge or penalty on any scheduled payment date, or at least monthly. The Government of Alberta: High-cost credit tip sheet lists repaying in full or in part without charge or penalty among a borrower's rights. To see how payments change your balance, use the Loan Payoff Calculator.

No, an Alberta loan broker cannot charge or collect a fee for helping you obtain credit until you have access to it. Alberta law allows a fee that a lender pays directly to the broker for a referral of business. When a lender deducts a brokerage fee from the amount it advances to you, its initial disclosure statement must show the fee. The statement must also count the fee in the annual percentage rate.

Yes, a lender may sue you if you do not make your payments on an unsecured installment loan in Alberta. An unsecured loan is one that requires no collateral. After a lender serves you with a civil claim in Alberta, you have 20 calendar days to file the dispute note. A lawyer can advise you on a civil claim.

No, a high-cost credit business in Alberta cannot contact third parties about a borrower's debt. Alberta's High-Cost Credit Regulation covers high-cost credit products, including installment loans. The regulation also bars misleading you in advertisements, solicitations or negotiations, making empty threats, and harassing you about an outstanding loan. It also bars calls to borrowers before 7 am or after 10 pm.

No, in Alberta, taking loan insurance with an installment loan is your choice, and a lender may offer creditor loan insurance as an option. In Alberta, you can cancel an ongoing optional service from your lender or a connected business with 30 days' notice and get a refund for the part you did not receive.

An Alberta payday loan lasts 62 days at most, and most installment loans run from 6 to 60 months. In Alberta, a payday loan is $1,500 or less, and the fee cap of $14 per $100 includes all fees and charges on the loan (Government of Alberta: Payday loans). Alberta's Consumer Protection Act bars anyone from providing high-cost credit, which includes installment loans, without a high-cost credit business licence. Alberta also requires payday lenders to hold a Payday Loan licence.

Lenders generally require proof of a regular income, a bank account and a permanent address for an installment loan in Alberta. The age of majority in Alberta is 18, when a person ceases to be a minor, and most lenders also run a credit check.