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Alison is a Surestart client with a toddler son. She has recently moved into a council house in north Seacroft, from rented furnished accommodation, and is on benefit.
As Alison had very little furniture for her new house she needed to buy some essentials, in particular she need a three-piece suite. Not having any savings or any access to mainstream credit facilities she could shop around for a bargain or even a second-hand suite, instead she was forced to go to local store, Brighthouse (formerly known as Crazy Georges) to purchase her suite. The cost at the store was £1,500 plus an additional sum of almost another £1,000 for charges, interest and delivery. The repayment was £45 per week. She managed to borrow some money from her mum and paid a £60 deposit.
The worker from Surestart spoke to Alison about her purchase and explained about the credit union. They discovered that the same suite she was buying at Brighthouse for £1,500 plus all those charges was only £600 in the Argos catalogue. The worker took Alison to the store and, after some argument, finally got the store to cancel the order and refund Alison’s deposit. They then came down to the credit union office and deposited the £60 in a savings account.
The credit union then lent Alison the £600 she needed to buy her suite from Argos. She is now paying this back at £6 per week for her loan and is also managing to save £3 a week for herself and £1 a week for her toddler. Her mum has also now joined the credit union and Alison is paying her back by depositing an extra £2 a week into her mum’s account.
A lone parent living in Lewisham took out a loan from the Provident for £ 700.00. The terms of repayment were 32 weekly payments of £ 35.00. The total weekly income for the whole family was only £ 94.00 from Income support and child benefit. The cost of the loan was over 37 % of the total household income.
The cost of the Provident Loan was 32 payments of £ 35.00: - equal to £ 1,120.00.
ACTS credit union was approached by the member to see if they were able to help with the loan. They conducted the usual loan interview and completed a Loan Application Form for the member. ACTS approved the loan and agreed to pay off the residue of the Provident loan, some £ 500.00. The cost of the credit union loan was 52 weeks X £10.25 equal to £ 533.10 (12.7 APR) The total saving to the ACTS member was the equivalent of £ 367.00 in interest.
The member is very pleased that she is part of their financial co-operative and has built up an excellent savings portfolio for herself and her family. She regularly recruits new members from her family and friends. The credit union has since assisted friends and neighbours of the member – often dealing with smaller sums (£100 to £250 Loans)
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When domestic violence forced her from her home, Mary took shelter in a women’s refuge, which cost her £115 per week for a room. She was allocated a tenancy in a safe house, but rife drug use and threats from a violent neighbour meant that it was a distressing environment to be in, so moving on was a priority.
She owned half of the £100,000 house she had fled, and had some money in her bank account, so a small loan for a flat deposit to get her set up shouldn’t have been a problem, or so she thought. But her sudden change of circumstances meant that her own bank wouldn’t help her, and other lenders didn’t want to know. It was beginning to look like returning home was the only option.
But Grampian Credit Union saw her needs as a priority and was happy to give her the loan she needed. Now she is happily back on her feet, and has been able to use the credit union for less dramatic purposes, such as new carpets, a holiday and saving money on credit card interest.
John is a police officer who found himself in the situation where he had run up large debts and was resorting to expensive cheque cashing companies to access cash before pay day. He went to his bank to explain that he was in financial difficulty and appeal for help. The bank simply increased his overdraft limit. Soon, he was paying bank charges of £20 for every day he exceeded this limit.
Eventually, he went to his credit union for help. The credit union advised him to change his bank account to one that did not provide a card or cheque book and did not allow an overdraft. This more suitable account was available from the same bank. The credit union then granted a loan, outwith its usual policy, enabling him to pay off his overdraft and other debts and get his finances back in order. I
f it had not done so, this police officer would have faced the possibility of a wage arrestment, leading to disciplinary action and the probable loss of his job.
Joe is 70 and has lived in Middleton all his life. He is a widower and lives on his state pension. He does not trust banks and only uses his bank account to pay his household bills. He keeps his savings in the house, where he thinks they are safer. He is lively and active and is keen to get more involved in the community activities in the area. When Joe heard about the credit union setting up collection points in the area he was very interested.
He thought that, although he probably would not need to borrow money, it would be a safe place to put his savings. He worries about someone finding out he has money in the house and that he might get robbed. He also thought that it would be interesting to get involved as a volunteer.
He has grandchildren in the local schools and thinks that the credit union would be a great way for them to save as well. He worries that his grandchildren are growing up not understanding anything about money and saving for a rainy day. He thinks the credit union could help to teach them. Joe has signed up as a credit union volunteer and is going to help out at the collection points.
Joe is promoting the credit union to his friends at the pensioners’ luncheon club as well as trying to get the local schools interested. He has opened Young and Youth Saver accounts with the credit union for all his grandchildren.
Linda lives in a social inclusion area and is in a low paid job as a toilet attendant. She saw some publicity about buying her own council house and approached the credit unions to see if this would be possible for her.
GCCU smoothed the path, arranging for a survey and legal work to be carried out. They granted her a £48,000 loan, part of which was used to fit a new kitchen. Payments for the loan, and for other bills such as council tax are now deducted weekly at source, so Linda knows that when she gets her wages, her main bills have been taken care of. This has really helped her to budget the rest of her wages each week.
Linda has now sold her house and moved to a better area. She is constantly praising the credit union for their assistance; she never dreamed she would manage to own her own house in a nice area.
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