Bristol Credit Union

Good:
Area on their website to manage your finance and your loan

Bad:
You must have been saving with them regularly for 3 months before you can apply

Verdict:
One of the larger credit unions but still lend to people with bad credit - must live, work, volunteer or go to school/university in Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire

You must live, work, volunteer or go to school/university in Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

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 3 months. You can borrow anything up to £7,500. The longest you can have your first loan for is 12 months.

Firstly, you will need to become a member of this union. Apply by completing their standard application form (see below) and dropping into their office, one of their service points or sending it via post. It will be reviewed by a Loan Officer or senior manager. They will then let you know their decision within 5 days and you will be asked to complete a loan agreement committing you to regular repayments.

You will need the following documents to apply: a tenancy agreement/mortgage document if you are not on the voters roll, wage slips (last 4 if paid weekly, last 3 if paid monthly) OR benefits/tax credit confirmation letters, bank/Post Office statement for accounts that salary/pensions/benefits are paid into - latest statements, must be for at least a full month and within the last 3 months, payment books/statements for existing loans, all paperwork regarding bankruptcy, County Court Judgements etc., any other relevant paperwork about your income and your outgoings, if you are looking for a loan to repay debts or to pay bills (you must bring these in) and if the loan is for a rent deposit we will need to see details of where you're moving to and the landlord/agency details.

You will be credit checked so be completely honest when completing your application.

The process may in some cases take up to one week 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 and sign your agreement. 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 - Friday: 10:00am - 2:30pm

You can find details of other opening times here: https://bristol.securecu.co.uk/members964/secure.asp?section=6