Renfrewshire Credit Union

Good:
Low interest rates, low monthly repayments, no extra fees or hidden charges, no credit check

Bad:
You have to visit one of their offices to apply, join and manage your account - no online service

Verdict:
A real affordable financial option for everyone if you do not need quick cash - must be living, working, volunteering or attending a school or college in Renfrewshire

You must be living, working, volunteering or attending a school or college in Renfrewshire 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 but you can apply for a loan after you have been saving regularly with them for 12 weeks.

You first loan you can apply for twice your savings (max. £1,000), you must repay it between 12 weeks and 1 year. Subsequent loans you can apply for three times your savings (max. £10,000).

You need to become a member of the union first. 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. You can then send it off, along with your proof of income, to the office or collection point. All loans are initially assessed by the Loan Officer and they will contact to inform you of their decision.

All loan applications will be processed within 7 days once they have received all the information they require. 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.

Paisley Branch
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday: 9:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday: 9:30am-12:30pm
Saturday: 10:00am - 12:00pm

Renfrew Branch
Monday, Tuesday, Friday & Saturday: 10:00am-12:00pm
Wednesday: 10:00am-12:00pm and 6:30pm-7:30pm

Erskine Branch
Thursday: 6:00pm-7:30pm

Linwood Community Centre
Thursday: 7:30pm-8:30pm

Tweedie Hall
Friday: 10:00am-11:00am

Ferguslie Branch
Wednesday: 10:00am-11:00am