Before you send us anything, here are the house rules. Heads up: sections 21 and 22 mean that any disagreement between us goes to individual arbitration instead of court, and that neither of us can bring a class action.
1. What Matchlenders does
Think of us as the introduction, not the loan. You tell us about the personal loan you have in mind in one free request, and we pass it along to lenders and other providers in our network, who each decide whether they might be able to make you an offer. Not everyone who sends a request hears back, gets matched or receives an offer, and we can't promise how it will turn out. Lenders in our network don't cover every state, and each one makes up its own mind about whether to reply.
2. Saying yes to these terms
These terms form an agreement between you and Matchlenders (called "we", "us" or "our" here). Browsing this website or sending a request through it means you accept them, so if they don't sit right with you, please don't use the site. From time to time we may update the terms by posting a fresh version on this page with a new "last updated" date. An update takes effect from that date onward and never reaches back to a request you'd already sent, so it's worth a glance each time you drop by.
3. Who can send a request
You can use Matchlenders if you're 18 or older (or older still, where the age of majority in your state is higher), you live in the United States and you're legally able to sign a contract. Lenders in our network usually want to see a steady source of income and a bank account in your own name, so you'll need those as well. Every request must be for you and you alone; sending one for someone else isn't allowed.
4. Letting us and lenders check your details
Sending a request gives us, along with the lenders and providers in our network, your go-ahead to confirm what you've told us and to get information about you from consumer reporting agencies and other data sources. Among other things, that may mean confirming who you are, what you earn and which bank account is yours. Our own search for a match uses a soft inquiry, which leaves your credit score untouched. If you decide to carry on with a lender, it may run a check of its own, and that one could be a hard inquiry. The full story is in our Credit Authorization.
5. We're the matchmaker, not the lender
Matchlenders is not a lender. We don't lend money, make credit decisions, arrange loans or act as a loan broker, and we don't work as an agent or representative for you or for any lender. Please treat everything here as general information, never as advice on your finances, legal position or taxes. If a lender offers you a loan, the deal is between the two of you and runs on that lender's terms, so go through its agreement carefully and put any questions straight to the lender before signing.
A few lenders in our network may be owned by a Native American tribe and run under tribal law. With a lender like that, the law that governs your agreement and the way disputes are handled may not match what you'd see from a state-licensed lender, and some state consumer protections might not apply. The lender has to spell all of that out in its own agreement, so give it a careful read before you choose.
6. Who pays for the service
You don't, ever. Matchlenders is funded by the lenders and providers in our network, which may pay us when we send them a request or when a request turns into a loan. Those payments can shape which lender gets to see your request first and the order in which offers appear. We don't cover every lender or loan out there, and a lender being part of our network is not our endorsement of it.
7. Where your details go
When you send a request, you're asking us to pass its details to lenders, other providers and the partners who help us run the service, so they can look at your request and get in touch about it. Those companies may hold on to your information and use it under their own privacy policies, even when you don't take them up on anything. Our Privacy Policy covers what we collect, who receives it and what choices you have.
8. Other things we might suggest
Sometimes a request doesn't find a lender. When that happens, we or our partners may point you toward other products or services you might like, such as credit-building tools or money guides. Looking at them is optional, signing up is optional, and anything you pick up is covered by the provider's own terms.
9. Paperwork, done electronically
You're happy for us to send notices, disclosures and other messages electronically, whether by email or by posting them on this site, and you accept that doing so satisfies any legal need for them to be in writing. When you tick a box or tap a button on this site, that tick or tap is your electronic signature. Getting these messages takes a device that's online, a browser that's reasonably current and a working email account. Should you change your mind, email us to withdraw this consent, though we might not be able to carry on with your request afterwards. You're also welcome to ask by email for a paper copy of any notice.
10. Calls, texts and emails
If you send a request and agree to hear from us, we, lenders in our network and our partners may reach you about that request and related products by phone, text and email at the number and address you gave. Those calls and texts may use automated dialling technology or prerecorded or artificial voices. You don't have to agree to this in order to buy anything. Message and data rates may apply. To stop texts, reply STOP at any time, or head to our Unsubscribe page. There's more detail in our TCPA Disclosure.
11. Your privacy
Our Privacy Policy is part of these terms, and it explains how we collect, use, share and look after your personal information. If you live in California, your rights are set out on our Do Not Sell or Share My Information page.
12. What you're telling us
Each time you use the site, you're confirming that:
- the details you share are true, complete and about you, and you'll tell us if something changes while your request is still open;
- you meet every requirement in section 3;
- the email address and phone number you give belong to you, or you have permission to use them;
- you won't use the site to break the law, to deceive anyone, or to disrupt it, overload it or get into parts of it you're not allowed into; and
- you won't scrape, harvest or copy the site's content with bots or other automated tools.
13. Who owns what's on the site
The text, illustrations, design and everything else on this site belong to us or to the people who license them to us, and copyright, trademark and similar laws protect them. Feel free to view pages and print them out for your own personal reference. For anything beyond that, such as copying, editing, republishing, selling or reusing our material, please get our written permission before you start.
14. Links to other websites
Links on this site, and any offers you see once you've sent a request, may lead you to websites run by lenders and other businesses. Those sites aren't ours to control, and we can't answer for what they say, the terms they set or how they treat your information. Clicking through is up to you, and once you're there, that site's own terms and privacy policy take over.
15. No promises about the website
We do our best to keep the site accurate and up and running, but we offer it "as is" and "as available". As far as the law allows, we give no warranties of any kind, whether express or implied. That includes any promise that the site will suit your needs or stay uninterrupted, secure and error-free, and any promise that a lender will reply to your request or make you an offer. We also make no promise about the terms, quality or suitability of any loan, product or service that a lender or provider puts in front of you.
16. Hiccups and delays
Things sometimes go wrong for reasons we can't reasonably control, like an internet or power outage, a fault in a lender's or partner's systems, or a typo in the details you entered, and we aren't responsible for delays or failures they cause. Whenever we notice an error on the site we'll fix it. We may also change or pause any part of the site whenever we need to, without advance notice.
17. How far our responsibility goes
As far as the law allows, we aren't liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive loss or damage that comes from your use of the site, your request or anything between you and a lender or provider, even if someone warned us it could happen. For any claim about the site or the service, the most we could owe you is what you paid us for the service, and that's nothing. A few states don't permit some of these limits, so parts of this section might not apply to you.
18. If a claim comes our way because of you
Should you break these terms, give us information that isn't true or use the site unlawfully, you agree to protect us, our owners, our team and our partners from any resulting claims, losses and costs, including reasonable legal fees.
19. Disputes with a lender stay with the lender
Loans and other products come from the lender or provider that offers them, not from Matchlenders. As far as the law allows, you let us off any claims, demands or damages that grow out of a disagreement between you and a lender or other provider. If you live in California, you also waive your rights under section 1542 of the California Civil Code, whose wording is: "A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party."
20. Talk to us before any claim
If something's wrong, we'd like the chance to put it right first. So before you start an arbitration or any other claim against us, you agree to email [email protected] telling us your name, how we can reach you, what went wrong and how you'd like it fixed. We'll make a genuine, good-faith effort to settle things with you. If the matter is still open 60 days after your notice reaches us, either side may begin an arbitration under section 21.
21. Arbitration instead of court
This section matters, so please take your time with it: it means neither of us can have a dispute heard by a judge or a jury.
Any dispute, claim or disagreement between you and us that arises from or relates to these terms, the site or the service will be resolved through binding arbitration, one person at a time, and not in court. That includes any question about whether this section applies or can be enforced. A single arbitrator will hear the case, with the American Arbitration Association (AAA) running it under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, available at adr.org. The Federal Arbitration Act applies to everything in this section. Hearings will be held in California, or by phone or video if you'd rather. Beyond what you would have paid to file the same claim in court, we'll cover the AAA's filing, administration and arbitrator fees, unless the arbitrator decides your claim was brought in bad faith. Whatever individual relief a court could give you, the arbitrator can give you too, and the resulting award can be turned into a judgment by any court with jurisdiction.
As an alternative, either of us may bring an individual claim in small claims court, provided it remains there. If you'd rather not be bound by this arbitration agreement, you can opt out by emailing us within 30 days of the first time you use the site, giving your name and saying plainly that you're opting out. Opting out leaves every other part of these terms just as it was.
22. No class actions and no jury
You and we can bring claims against each other only on an individual basis, never as a plaintiff or class member in a class, collective, joint or representative action. An arbitrator can't merge different people's claims or oversee any kind of class or representative proceeding. If a court decides this section can't be enforced for a particular claim, that claim goes to court rather than arbitration, while sections 21 and 22 keep applying to all other claims. You and we each also give up any right to a trial by jury.
23. Copyright concerns
We take other people's intellectual property seriously. If you think material on this site infringes a copyright you own, write to [email protected] and include what the Digital Millennium Copyright Act requires:
- a description of the copyrighted work and of the material you say infringes it;
- where on the site that material can be found;
- your name and contact details;
- a statement that you believe in good faith the use has not been authorised;
- a statement, made under penalty of perjury, that your notice is accurate and that you own the copyright or may act for the owner; and
- your physical or electronic signature.
24. For California residents
California Civil Code section 1789.3 gives users in California the right to the notice below. Using Matchlenders costs you nothing. For questions or complaints about the service, email [email protected]. You may also contact the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs in writing at 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, CA 95834, or by telephone at (800) 952-5210.
25. Which law applies, and the fine print
The laws of the State of California govern these terms, setting aside its conflict-of-law rules, and the Federal Arbitration Act governs section 21. Anything that doesn't go to arbitration will be decided by the state or federal courts located in California, and you and we both accept their jurisdiction. Should any part of these terms turn out to be unenforceable, everything else still stands. If we're slow to hold you to a term, we can still hold you to it later. Your rights under these terms are yours alone and can't be passed on, whereas we're allowed to transfer ours. The headings are signposts only and don't alter what the terms mean.
26. This is the whole agreement
These terms, along with our Privacy Policy, our TCPA Disclosure and the other documents they point to, make up everything agreed between you and us about the site and the service, and they take the place of any earlier understanding. A loan agreement you sign with a lender is a separate contract that sits outside these terms.
27. Questions? Just ask
Anything in these terms you'd like explained? Drop us a line at [email protected].