Ipswich & Suffolk Credit Union

Good:
Multiple offices/collection points open at different times throughout the weeks for your convenience

Bad:
You must have been saving with them for 13 weeks or 3 months before you can apply for a loan

Verdict:
If you have got yourself into trouble with bad credit in the past, they can help - must be living, working, studying or volunteering in the boundaries of Suffolk

You must be living, working, studying or volunteering inside the boundaries of Suffolk.

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 and you can apply for a loan of 3 times your savings after you have been saving for 13 weeks or 3 months.

They do offer a loan for new members who need an immediate loan, however this is at a higher APR of 26.8%.

Once you have saved with ISCU for more than 2 years and built up savings more than £500 you can then borrow up to 4 times your savings at a rate of 12.7% APR.

First you will need to become a member of the union. To apply for a loan, you need to complete the Loan Application Form (see example below), which you can pick up from an office, by calling their office or by downloading and completing the application form on their website. All loans are reviewed by the Loan Officer then by the Credit Committee meeting. They will inform you of their decision as soon as possible and you will be asked to sign a Loan Agreement.

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 or go 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.

Main Office
Monday-Friday: 9:30am-1:00pm
Saturday: 10:00am-12:00pm

For details on all other collection points and their opening times, visit the following link: http://iscu.onesuffolk.net/collection-points/