City of Plymouth Credit Union

Good:
Can apply for a loan as soon as you become a member of the credit union

Bad:
You must live or work in the City of Plymouth to become a member

Verdict:
Although you will have to visit one of their small offices to apply, they may help you rebuild your credit

You must live or work in the City of Plymouth 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 but you can apply for a Wise Finance loan without having saved with them. Maximum available is £500. Once you have been saving with them for 13 weeks, you can apply for a Low Interest loan.

First you will need to become a member of the union. In order to apply for a loan, you need to download the application form from the website (see example below). Once you've finished it, send it off to their head office. A Loans Officer will review your application and they will let you know their decision as soon as possible.

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 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.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 10:00am - 4:00pm