Money Box Credit Union

Good:
Low interest rates, low monthly repayments, no extra fees or hidden charges, affordable loan

Bad:
Must save regularly with them for 6 weeks before you can apply for a loan

Verdict:
Small financial business serving the locally community that can help you rebuild your credit - must live or work in Herefordshire

You must live or work in Herefordshire to become a member.

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 up to £300 after you have started saving with them for at least 6 weeks.

Once you have saved with them for at least 12 weeks you can then apply for more than £300 to be paid back over 5 years.

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 get from their office or a collection point, or you can download it from their website. You then need to send it into their office or a collection point. All loans are reviewed by the Loan Officer. 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 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.

Newton Farm Information Centre[/b[ Monday-Friday: 10:00am-12:00pm, Wednesday: 3:00pm-5:00pm