The Story of Easy Loans - EasyLoans.co.uk

We first acquired the “Easy Loans” brand in 2011 and immediately set out to transform it into the respected financial services name it is today. Over the course of four years, we developed the brand from having no functional website to receiving over 250 loan applications per day—peaking at an impressive 382 daily applications by late 2019. The journey behind this brand is nothing short of bizarre.

We have been able to track the first known site on the domain name down to a launch date somewhere around September 2003. The domain name at that time was owned by a company called Sterling Direct Finance Ltd – 03307536. This company would end up owning the brand all the way through to 2010 when the company entered into financial difficulties and was declared insolvent.

There wasn’t a lot of information about the Company, we think they were acting as financial services brokers specialising in UK mortgages. There was also a small credit brokering service, but nothing major and we estimate the number of applicants they helped was very low in comparison to other active loan brands at the time.

In 2011 we became aware that the domain name EasyLoans.co.uk had not been renewed at the internet registry, Nominet. We loved the name as soon as we heard it; it reflects our ethos to a tee. We know that our clients want simplicity and they want no hassles. Back then, it wasn’t uncommon for lenders to require paperwork to be sent to them, some lenders even required borrowers to fax across documents to them. We knew that people would look at the word “Easy” and think, that’s what we want. Shortly after it became available, we secured the name and branding.

Between 2011 and 2015, we did everything we could to build this brand and bring it to the forefront of people’s minds when they needed loans. We did some test adverts on the TV and radio, and for a while we were baffled when we weren’t seeing the customers that we thought we would. We later found out that we had hit a brick wall when they would often find their way to the Easy Money site run by Stelios’s Easy Group.

Just for the record, we have nothing to do with the Easy Group’s brand. Until we saw the advertising conversion numbers, it never even occurred to us that people would think we did. Our branding is green. In our opinion, the word “Easy” is synonymous with the colour green, as green equals “Go”, “Proceed”.

In late 2016, we got the legal letters from Easy Group’s solicitors demanding that we give them the name. We found the individual to be nothing short of a bully; his claims were without foundation and were clearly there to intimidate brand owners who didn’t have access to their own legal advice.

Our solicitor responded, and Stelios’s team was never seen again. We later found out that this is standard practice for him - attempt to intimidate, then abandon the claim if someone writes back with a credible response.

Our advice is to stand up to them. They don’t own the word “Easy” - nobody does - and you are entitled to use it for whatever your business is. It goes without saying that if you brand your site in orange and use the word “Easy”, you may be crossing a line, but otherwise you’ll be fine, and he won’t go to court. He's well known in the High Court, and we’ve heard the judges dislike his bullying.

Over the last 8 years, nothing significant has happened to the Easy Loans brand. There has been challeneges integrating the FCA's new policies, but there was nothing major. The brand continues to grow and service those potential borrowers who just want to apply and go.

For the time being, we have decided that the brand should stay focused on short-term unsecured loans. There is still a need for a widening demographic to have access to loans of up to £1,000 in cash without strings. Easy Loans is one of those brands that won’t get involved in the UK’s unregulated Buy Now Pay Later craze - which is potentially very dangerous. The true effects of that financial experiment are only now starting to be seen.

Easy Loans