Essex Savers net Credit Union

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

Bad:
You must save with them regularly for 8 weeks before you can apply for a loan

Verdict:
Small financial business serving the local community - need to live, work, study or volunteer within Southend-on-Sea

You need to live, work, study or volunteer within the Southend Borough.

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 regularly with them for 12 weeks or 3 months.

The maximum first loan they can offer is £500. Your second loan can be up to 3 times the amount you have saved. Loans under £200 must be repaid within 12 months.

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

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.

Main Office
Monday-Friday: 9:00am - 12:30pm and 1:00pm - 3:30pm
Saturday: 10:00am - 1:00pm

Summercourt School
Tuesday: 10:30am-11:00am
Thursday: 2:30pm-3:00pm

Centre Place Family Centre
Call 01702 611 912 for further details

For information on other Collection Points please visit: http://www.essexsavers.co.uk/index.html