North Birmingham Community Credit Union

Good:
Members area on their website so you can manage your savings and loan online

Bad:
The maximum you can apply for after joining and saving with them for a short while is £500

Verdict:
If you are in no rush to get a loan, this is a very affordable finance option - must be living or working within the area of North Birmingham

You must be living or working within the area of North Birmingham 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 to apply for a loan with them.

They offer 3 different types of loans:
1) EasyPlan Loan - between £50 and £500 for up to 1 year which is available to new members. The interest rate is higher at 26.8%.

2) Select Loan - between £50 and £6,000 for up to 3 years which is only available to existing members. The interest rate is 12.68%.

3) Privilege Loan - between £3,000 and £6,000 for up to 3 years which is only available to existing members with savings of £1,000. The interest rate is 9%.

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, from a collection point or you can download it from their website. You can then send it off to the office or 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 can manage your loan online so if you need to make changes, you don't 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: 10:00am - 4:00pm
Saturday: 10:00am - 12:30pm

For further details on other collection points and opening times, please visit the following link: http://www.nbccu.org.uk/content/view/13/32/