I have had a current account with Barclays for over 20 years. During that time I have had several personal loans which I have repaid without missing any payments. I currently have about 18 months left on repaying a loan @ £598 per month. I rang the bank to enquiry about repaying the remainder of that loan and taking out another for £15k I want to reduced my monthly payments and pay off credit cards. They said that they had nothing 'on the system' to offer me and that it was perhaps not best to make an application as this could affect my credit rating (which is GOOD on Experian). They said that they could offer me a secured loan and have been ringing me non-stop ever since. I am reluctant to try anywhere else for a personal loan as Barclays have implied that I would not be successful there either. However, I am clear that I do not want to take out an unsecured loan. Should I make a personal loan application anyway? Or do the bank have to tell me why they cannot offer me loan?

I think they have to give some indication if you are declined but you are saying that they asked you not to apply which i find strange. It seems to indicate that they are unwilling to lend to you based on what they already know and without another credit check. Perhaps they think you have too many liabilities. What sort of questions did they ask you before saying not to apply? How much did you borrow last time around and when did you take it out? Was it in the last 6-12 months?

Personally id be inclined to try elsewhere (providing you are sure about your payment history etc),as a single application will have a negligible affect on your scoring (in my opinion)

The reasons you are reluctant to take a secured loan are the very reasons why the bank is reluctant to give you an unsecured loan.

Although you have done nothing wrong, banks change their lending criteria to match the economy. It may be that Barclays have too much unsecured lending on their books (and some of it may be expected to go bad). Even though you have a very small chance of not paying a further loan, they simply cannot take the chance. You will notice perhaps that Barclays have some very good savings rate sat the moment. They look like they are trying to increase their cash reserves by taking on lots of new savers. Every borower they take on DECREASES their cahs reserves and means they have to sell another ten savings accounts.

You could easily shop around.

The reason that you are now being harrassed by Barclays regarding a secured loan, is that the secured loan department is a completley different business unit with their own sales targets. They are obviously keener to take the risk. I would stick to your guns and shop around.