Bedford Credit Union

Good:
Do not charge any extra fees and their repayments are very low per month

Bad:
You need to save with them for 3 months before applying for a loan

Verdict:
Good financial option if you are in no rush to get a loan and if you live or work in Bedford Borough or North Central Bedfordshire

You must live or work in Bedford Borough or North Central Bedfordshire.

Credit Unions offer a few different unsecured loans for any purpose. Their loans are fairly cheap and are based on your proven ability to repay, this is why they do a thorough check of your income and expenditures. You need to be a member to apply and you can only apply for a loan after you have been saving for 13 weeks. You can borrow anything up to twice your savings for your first loan and subsequent loans up to £5,000.

First you will need to become a member of the union. You will need to visit their main office in St. Paul's Square (see below for location), or you can call them on 01234 346 352 to request a form. Your application will be reviewed by a Loan Officer and they will inform you of any documents you may need to produce to prove your ability to repay. They will then let you know their decision within a week and a loan agreement will be created.

For your first loan you can apply for twice your current savings. The maximum loan allowed by law is £5,000 above your savings.

The process may in some cases take up to 2 weeks so this is not a good option for you if you need your money quickly. You cannot manage your loan online so every time you need to make a change, you need to contact them in writing. With credit unions, the money you are borrowing is the money of other members, so if you fail to make payments, they take this very seriously. Their opening hours are very limited, which makes it difficult for you to go in to organise all your documents. On the other hand, they want to help you rebuild your finances if you haven't got a good history. Their rates are extremely low and their repayments are really small each month.

Monday: 12:00pm - 4:00pm
Tuesday: 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Wednesday: 10:00am - 4:00pm
Friday: 10:00am - 1:00pm
Saturday: 9:00am - 12:00pm

For a list of collection point opening times please visit: http://www.bedfordcreditunion.org.uk/page3.htm