Partners Credit Union

Good:
Members area on their website allows you to manage your savings and loan online

Bad:
Must save regularly with them for 12 weeks before you can apply for a loan

Verdict:
Small financial business serving the local community for savings and borrowing - must live or work in Merseyside

You must live or work in Merseyside 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 after you have been saving for 12 weeks or 3 months.

First time loans can be up to 3 times the value of savings up to a maximum of £1000 - Repayable over a minimum of 12 months and a maximum of 18 months.

Second and subsequent loans can be up to 3 times the value of your savings up to £15,000.

They also offer the 65-Plus Loan. This is available to members over the age of 65 who have been with the Credit Union for over 3 years. The maximum you can apply for is 2 and a half times your savings up to £5,000. The repayment period is 36 months, however all loans must be repaid by the time the member reaches 75.

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. You will need to make an appointment with one of the Loan Officers to discuss and apply for your loan. All loans are initially assessed by the Loan Officer and they will inform you of their decision ass soon as they can.

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.

Head Office
Monday to Friday: 9:30am-4:00pm
Closed the last Wednesday of each month for staff training

St Helens Office
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday: 10:30am - 2:00pm then 2:30pm - 3:30pm

Bootle Office
Monday-Friday: 9:30am-4:00pm
Closed last Wednesday of each month for staff training

Clubmoor Friday: 5:00pm-8:00pm

Croxteth & Gillmoss Thursday: 11:00am-1:00pm

New Brighton Tuesday: 10:00am-11:00am