Yes. Some secured loan brokers charge you no fee and are paid a commission by the lender instead, and a small number of lenders take applications direct with no broker in the chain. A secured loan, also called a homeowner loan or second charge mortgage, still carries lender, valuation and legal costs, so a fee of £0 is not the same as a cost of £0. The APRC is the figure that captures all of it.
- Fee-free secured loan brokers exist and are usually paid a commission by the lender when the loan completes.
- A broker must tell you in writing what you will pay and what commission they receive before you apply.
- Lender arrangement, valuation and legal fees still apply on most secured loans, whoever arranges them.
- Any fee added to the loan is charged interest for the whole term, which can double its real cost.
- The APRC is the only figure that combines rate and fees, so it is the number to compare.
Which secured loan brokers charge no fee?
Broadly, secured loan brokers are paid in one of two ways. Some charge you a broker fee, commonly a percentage of the amount you borrow, and some charge nothing to you and are paid a commission by the lender when your loan completes. Plenty do both on the same case. The FCA's mortgage rules require a broker to disclose, in writing and before you commit, exactly what you will pay them and what they will receive from the lender, so you never have to guess which model you are in.
A fee-free broker is paid by the lender, typically as a percentage of the loan, and that cost is built into the lender's pricing. The cost of advice sits inside the rate rather than on a separate invoice. What matters is whether the loan you end up with is cheaper overall than one arranged by a fee-charging broker, and only the APRC and total repayable can tell you that.
Equiclear is an introducer, not a broker or a lender. We pass your details to an FCA authorised broker, and we explain how we are paid on our about page. The broker you speak to will confirm their own fee position before anything is applied for. For a sense of what fees look like across the market, see our guide to what a normal secured loan broker fee is.
Can you get a secured loan direct from a lender with no broker?
Sometimes. A handful of second charge lenders take applications from homeowners directly, and a few high street banks offer secured lending to their own customers. Many specialist secured loan lenders, though, only work through brokers, so going direct closes off a large part of the market before you have started. FLA figures put new second charge lending at 44,725 agreements worth £2.4bn in the year to June 2026, and most of that business was placed through intermediaries.
Direct does not automatically mean cheaper, either. A lender that deals with you directly still has to cover the cost of assessing and processing your application, and that cost sits somewhere in the rate or the arrangement fee. What you lose by going direct is comparison: you see one lender's offer, priced for one lender's view of your risk, with nobody checking whether a different lender would look at your credit history or your equity more favourably.
Where direct lending can make sense is when your circumstances are simple, your credit file is clean and you already know which lender you want. If you have any complication at all, whether that is a default, self-employed income, a leasehold flat or a high combined loan-to-value, a broker who knows which lenders will consider your case will usually save you more than the fee costs. Our lender reviews show who is in the market and who they lend to.
What can "no broker fee" hide?
The broker fee is one line on a longer bill. A typical secured loan also involves a lender arrangement or product fee, a valuation fee, and legal or completion costs, none of which disappear because the broker is free. There is also the question of where the commission comes from. A lender paying a larger commission may recover it through a slightly higher rate, so a "free" broker can, in some cases, place you on a more expensive product than a fee-charging broker who has access to a cheaper one.
The second thing to watch is fees added to the loan. If a £1,500 fee is rolled into your borrowing rather than paid upfront, you pay interest on it for the whole term. Here is the effect on a 15-year secured loan.
Illustrative rates: The rates in this example are fictional and used only to show how the numbers work. They are not an offer. Your actual rate may be lower or higher and will depend on your circumstances, your property and the lender. Consolidating debt over a longer term can mean you pay more interest overall, even if your monthly payment falls.
| Fee paid upfront | £1,500 fee added to loan | |
|---|---|---|
| Current monthly payments (cards and personal loan) | £532/month | £532/month |
| New secured loan payment at 7.9% over 15 years | £190/month on £20,000 | £204/month on £21,500 |
| Total repayable over the 15-year term | £34,196 | £36,761 |
That £1,500 fee ends up costing £2,565 over the term once interest is included. Whoever arranges your loan, ask for every fee in writing and whether each one is paid upfront or added to the balance.
How do you compare the total cost of a secured loan?
Ignore the fee line on its own and look at two figures instead. The first is the APRC, the annual percentage rate of charge, which every regulated secured loan illustration must show. It rolls the interest rate, the lender fees and any broker fee paid by you into a single annual percentage, so a loan with a low rate and high fees and a loan with a higher rate and no fees can be compared side by side. We explain how it is built in our guide to what a secured loan APRC is.
The second is the total amount repayable over the term, which is also on the illustration. Compare it across the same loan amount and term, because a longer term always makes the monthly payment look better and the total look worse. Our secured loan calculator lets you try different terms before you speak to anyone.
Ask any broker, fee-free or not, which lenders they can place you with and whether their commission changes depending on the lender they recommend. And remember that a secured loan is secured on your home, which may be repossessed if you do not keep up the repayments, so the cheapest loan is the one you can comfortably afford every month, not just the one with the smallest fee. If your debts feel unmanageable rather than just expensive, free advice from MoneyHelper, StepChange or Citizens Advice comes with no fee and no commission at all.
Hunting for a fee-free broker is the wrong priority if the amount you want to borrow is small, because a modest fee on a cheaper product will often beat no fee on a dearer one. It is also not the point to focus on if your credit history is complicated, where access to the right lender matters far more than the invoice. And if you are already behind on your mortgage or unable to meet your current payments, adding a secured loan is unlikely to help whoever arranges it; free advice from StepChange, MoneyHelper or Citizens Advice is the better first step.
Worried about debt? Get free advice first
If you're struggling, it's worth speaking to a free, impartial debt advice service before you borrow more. They don't sell anything and won't judge your situation.
- MoneyHelper: Free, impartial debt advice backed by government
- StepChange: The UK's largest free debt charity
- Citizens Advice: Free, confidential advice on debt and money
Checking your options with Equiclear will not affect your credit score.
Frequently asked questions
How do fee-free secured loan brokers make money?
They are paid a commission by the lender when your loan completes, usually a percentage of the amount borrowed. The FCA requires the broker to tell you the amount of that commission in writing before you apply, so you can see how they are paid.
Is a secured loan with no broker fee always cheaper?
No. The broker fee is only one cost. Lender arrangement fees, valuation fees, legal costs and the interest rate all matter more over a 15-year term. Compare the APRC and total repayable on two illustrations rather than the fee line alone.
Do I have to pay a secured loan broker fee upfront?
Usually not. Most fees are taken on completion, and many brokers offer to add them to the loan. Adding a fee means paying interest on it for the full term, so if you can pay it upfront, you will normally save money overall.
Does Equiclear charge a fee for a secured loan?
Equiclear does not charge you a fee. We are an introducer, paid by the broker we pass your details to, and we explain this on our how we make money page. The FCA authorised broker will confirm their own fee position before you apply.
Will checking secured loan options with a broker affect my credit score?
Checking your options will not affect your credit score. A broker can compare lenders using your details and a soft search at most, and only a full application creates a hard search. Our guide on soft searches explains where the line sits.