With all the adverts for loans on television and the internet, you would think that actually getting one would be easy!! This, however, was not my recent experience.

The problem that my husband and I had was that I am currently on maternity leave. Although my maternity pay has been good (I'm a teacher), companies were reluctant to give us a loan based on my maternity leave pay.

We originally contacted the 'Alliance and Leicester' as they were offering a really low rate of 6.3%. We made it clear from the start that I was on maternity leave, had the loan approved (in principle), we filled in and signed the paperwork and waited for our loan to arrive. Nothing happened. We eventually contacted them to be told our loan was declined, but yet they had not contacted us with this information.

WHAT A WASTE OF TIME!!!

Alliance put us in contact with a company called 'Promise Finance' and we actually got to speak to a representative in person at our home. This was a relief. We explained (again) about the maternity leave and he suggested there wouldn't be a problem.

Guess what??? Yes, the same happened. We got approved, filled in the paperwork, loan declined, but at least this time, we were informed.

More wasted weeks, ready to give up, I went back on the internet to search, yet again, for loans.

Yet again, I was confronted with hundreds of pages of loan companies and I really didn't know where to start, wary of hitting the same problem again.

I decided to try 'FREEDOM FINANCE'. I'm not sure why, but it was one of the companies on the first search page, claiming to consider all circumstances.

I filled in the short online application.

Within 10 MINUTES, I was contacted on the telephone by a representative. I missed the call, as I wasn't really expecting such a fast response.

There was a number to phone back and I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a freephone number.

The gentleman I spoke to was lovely. He seemed genuinely interested in my circumstances, he was sympathetic and he assured me that he would make a point of noting that I was on maternity leave. I gave him the details needed to progress to the next level.

This was late afternoon Friday. By Monday afternoon, I was contacted by another representative. Not only was I extremely impressed with the fast response, I was also impressed by the work that Freedom had already done to prepare a loan.

The representative had already found a loan and made a point of assuring me that my maternity leave would not be a problem as he had only looked into loan companies who he knew would accept this.

AT LAST, SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTOOD AND HAD ACTUALLY LISTENED TO MY PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES!!!

The rate was 10.3%, higher than Alliance, but less than the rate offered by Promise.

Dominic (first name terms with this company!!), offered me different options, with and without protection and he did not push me into any decisions.

He left me to discuss the options with my husband, left a direct contact number (not freephone) and assured me that he would personally be dealing with my application from now on.

Immediately, I felt confident that this company would actually deliver the goods.

My husband and I decided on which option we wanted to take and within a day, the paperwork had arrived. Interestingly, Freedom Finance did not even need confirmation of my husband's accounts (he is self employed) and were able to sort the loan out based on my salary alone. The other companies could not even offer us a loan based on both wages. Freedom also seemed to need less paperwork than the other companies.

Dominic kept us informed of the progress of the loan and he was always available to talk to if I needed to contact him.

Within 4 weeks of my initial online application, the loan had been approved, processed and the money was put straight into our account. Documentaion, such as wage slips, was returned to us promptly.

Overall, I was extremely impressed with Freedom. Maybe it was because we had two bad experiences first, but I really felt that the staff genuinely had our best interests at heart and there was a real sense of a personal touch. I was treated as an individual and my own special circumstances were taken into consideration from the very beginning.

The only negative with this company is the fact that Freedom act on behalf of other companies, so additional fees and comission are added to the loan. This was a small price to pay, however, for the outstanding service that I received from the company.

Well done Freedom. You've helped my husband and I to consolidate all our debts and our monthly bill is a lot less than we were paying before!! I only wish I had gone straight to this company. It would definitely be my first choice next time (but hopefully, we will not need another loan!!)