Pepper Money’s defining feature is that it uses no automated credit scoring — every case is decided by a human underwriter reading the actual credit history, including recent events graded by recency. For a contractor whose file scores badly on an automated system but reads well when a person looks at it, Pepper is often the answer. This guide covers how it assesses income and where it fits.
Approach is stable; the right tier and figures are confirmed at application.
Automated credit scoring is blunt: one recent event can sink an application regardless of context. Pepper does away with scoring entirely — an underwriter reads the actual history, weighs the reason and the recency, and places the case accordingly. Its tiers extend to more recent events than aged-event lenders accept, graded by how recent they are. For the contractor with a recent but explainable blemish and a strong day rate, that human reading is the difference. The right tier depends on your file, confirmed at application.
Pepper reads contractor income by the same human judgement, with the day rate annualised in the standard way where it applies:
Day rate x 5 days x 46 weeks = assessed annual income
A £500 day rate assesses at £115,000; at a standard 4.5x that is around £517,000 of indicative borrowing — illustrative, and dependent on your circumstances, credit profile and Pepper’s live criteria.
A typical application is a well-assembled file with a clear, honest account of the credit history and its context. Pricing is tiered by event recency, and it is transitional — each clean year improves the tier, and a mainstream remortgage follows as events age, which we map. Its sweet spot is the contractor with a recent, explainable credit event who scores badly but reads well.
Illustrative only, using the standard 5 x 46 method and a typical 4.5x multiple; the tier depends on the recency of any credit events.
Because a human reads every case, give them the material to say yes: an honest account of the credit history with dates and reasons, and the contract showing current earning power. Pepper’s whole model is judgement over scoring, so context is what moves the decision.
Plan the exit — each clean year improves the tier, and we diarise the mainstream remortgage as events age.
Pepper suits the contractor with a recent but explainable credit event and a strong day rate — the file that scores badly on an automated system but reads well when a person looks at it. Its no-credit-scoring model is built for exactly that.
It suits you less well if your credit is clean (a mainstream lender is cheaper) or if the adverse is very deep, where a deeper specialist may fit better.
No — every case is decided by a human underwriter reading the actual history, which helps files that score badly but read well. Exact terms are confirmed at application.
Its tiers extend to more recent events than aged-event lenders accept, graded by recency. The right tier depends on your file, confirmed at application.
On the day rate or contract basis, annualised as rate x 5 x 46 where it applies, read by the same human judgement alongside the credit history.
Yes to both, with appropriate income evidence for each structure.
It is transitional by design — each clean year improves the tier, and a mainstream remortgage follows as events age. We map the exit.
Pricing is tiered by event recency — the premium reflects the adverse. Where the profile will recover we plan the remortgage exit.
It means no automated score decides your application — a human underwriter reads the actual credit history, weighs the reason and recency of any event, and places the case accordingly. That helps contractors whose file scores badly on a blunt automated system but reads well in context.
Pepper’s tiers extend to more recent events than aged-event lenders accept, graded by recency, with each clean year improving the tier. The right tier for your file is confirmed at application, and we plan the remortgage exit as the events age.
Want to know whether Pepper Money is the right lender for your contract — or which lender is? As a whole-of-market brokerage we compare Pepper Money against the rest of the market and confirm live criteria for your circumstances before you apply.