Camelot Credit Union
Good:
Have many service points which you can visit to join across Crewkerne and Yeovil
Bad:
Must have been saving with them for 13 weeks before you can apply
Verdict:
Small financial service with low charges and repayments - must live, work of attend a place of education in South Somerset
You must live, work of attend a place of education in South Somerset to become a member.
Credit Unions offer a few different unsecured loans for any purpose. Their loans are considerably 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 and you can apply for a loan after saving regularly with them for 13 weeks.
For your first loan you can borrow a maximum of £100 or twice your savings (whichever is smaller), your second loan is limited to £300 or twice your savings (whiever is smaller), third and any following loans are a maximum of three times the members share or £5,000 (whichever is smaller).
First you will need to become a member of the union. To apply for a loan, you need to complete an application, which you can pick up from their main office or one of their collection points. Loan officers will review your application and if granted, you will need to attend an interview.
The process may in some cases take up to two weeks so this is not a good option for you if you need your money quickly. You cannot manage your loan online so if you need to make changes, you will need to contact them in writing or pop into a branch. 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.
Henhayes Centre - Saturday: 10:00am - 12:00pm
South Street Centre - Tuesday: 10:30am-12:00pm
Crewkerne Town Hall - Tuesday: 12:00pm-2:00pm
Vicarage St Methodist Church - Friday: 9:30am-11:30am
Yeovil Labour Club - Friday: 6:30pm-8:00pm
Loan Calculator (Representative 12.68%APR)
Loan Amount £
Loan Term months
Monthly Repayment
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i have been with Camelot for nearly a year now and save money weekly I have also had three loans with them, I think they are the best
I have in the past, like many others, found myself short of cash, and have thought about asking Camelot for a loan. Then I read that you need to put money in for a period of time (which is fair enough) so knew that I would need another way, and didn't find out any more. Now I come back to see if I can invest in our local Credit Union having come into a small windfall. Knowing this won't last forever, my thinking was that I could pay a 'lump of money' in then set up a payment plan with my bank. Now, other CU's manage this very well indeed, such as London Mutual, who offer a vast range of services. But the only Credit Union in Somerset doesn't even have a website, let alone making easyfor people to invest. Therefore I can't really see much point, after all they stop people investing means they haven't got that much money coming in. Are they safe? who knows? They seem to have backing by the largest HA in the area, Yarlington Housing Group, whereby you can make payments at their offices, so maybe they are still growing. Or maybe they are a small band of dinosaurs who just dont know how to get with the ways of modern day life. Overall, I am disappointed, and will not be investing with them
Loans up to £5,000 - 5 years
- You need: proof of ID, proof of address and proof of income and expenditure
- You don't need to have a good credit history
- You need to be 18 years of age
- It doesn't matter if you are employed, unemployed, on benefits, a carer, a homemaker or on Job Seeker's Allowance, anyone can apply
- You don't need to have been a UK resident for any specified length of time
- You don't need to have a bank account
