North Somerset Credit Union

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

Bad:
Must save with them regularly for 8 weeks before applying for a loan

Verdict:
If you do not need your money quickly, this is a great affordable option - must be living or working in North Somerset

You must be living or working in North Somerset 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 an loan after saving with them for 8 weeks.

1. An Ordinary Loan: You can borrow up to £3,000, the representative APR for this loan is between 19.6% and 26.8%.

2. A Savers Reward Loan: Loans of up to £5,000 are available to regular savers (saving for at least 8 weeks). On this loan you can apply to borrow up to three times your savings, if you have repaid two loans without any problems you can apply for 5 times your savings. APR ranges from 11.4% to 23.9%.

3. A Payroll Deduction Loan: If you work for Knightstone Housing Association, NSHousing, North Somerset Council or North Somerset CAB then you can apply for a loan of up to £3,000. To qualify for this you need to have been in your present job for at least 2 years and your monthly repayments are made through payroll deduction. APR ranges from 16.8% and 19.6%.

If your net income per week is under £250 then maximum for a first loan is £700.

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 off 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.

To apply for an "Ordinary Loan", you will need to provide: a tenancy agreement/mortgage statements, last two bank/Post Office statements, proof of income and proof of address.

To apply for a "Savings Bonus Loan" you will need to provide: last bank/Post Office statements and proof of address.

To apply for a "Payroll Deduction Loan" you will need to provide: last bank/Post Office statement, last salary pay slip and proof of address.

They aim to get you a decision on your loan within 3 working days of receiving all the information they need. 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
Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday: 10:00am-2:00pm

Money Advice Centre
Tuesday & Thursday: 10:00am-3:30pm
Wednesday: 10:30am-3:00pm

Pill Resource Centre
Tuesday: 9:30am-11:00am

Portishead Children's Centre
Wednesday: 12:30am-2:30pm