In what way are you contemplating using a credit union coco?

I can tell you that some Credit Unions will allow you to save but if you ask for a loan they run the same credit checks that any High Street Bank will run, there fore you'll highly unlikely to get a loan from them....

So great for saving but not much use for a loan if you ever needed one......

I was looking into saving a little for maintainence on the house and new white goods that are badly needed

Hi again coco.

There shouldn't be any reason to rely on a credit check for a savings account, whether at a credit union, bank or building society.

Saving accounts are not an issue coco, just trying to get a loan via a Credit union may be difficult......

Coco, each Credit Union will have their own policy on credit checking and most wouldn't for a small loan if you were already an established regular saver (however much or little you were saving).

I'm actually at the annual traning event for the Scottish League of Credit Unions at this very moment and if you can private message me the first half of your postcode (unless you know the name of your local Credit Union) I'm sure there'll be a representative here. If there is I'll find them and ask them about their policy for you and get back to you.

I know my CU wouldn't credit check a loan under £350 and would be sympathetic to someone struggling sort their finances out.

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Originally posted by sherlock

Coco, each Credit Union will have their own policy on credit checking and most wouldn't for a small loan if you were already an established regular saver (however much or little you were saving).

I'm actually at the annual traning event for the Scottish League of Credit Unions at this very moment and if you can private message me the first half of your postcode (unless you know the name of your local Credit Union) I'm sure there'll be a representative here. If there is I'll find them and ask them about their policy for you and get back to you.

I know my CU wouldn't credit check a loan under £350 and would be sympathetic to someone struggling sort their finances out.

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The biggest Credit Union in Scotland does carry out Credit Checks on all loans and are very unsympathetic to members in financial hardship. Which is a great pity as that was one of the main reasons it was set up.........

Indeed, perhaps it needs someone who has experienced financial hardship to join, start saving and then go along to the AGM and use their voice and vote to initiate change. Remind them they exist only to serve members, all members, all of whom have an equal vote on how their credit union is run. This may well fall on deaf ears but at least you will have tried and will have gotten your voice heard.

Better still if there is a smaller, more sympathetic credit union available to you as often, especially in the West of Scotland, a person can fall into the commond bond of a number of different credit unions with differing policies, perspectives and sympathies. Check the ABCUL website as it has a UK wide search facility which will find all credit unions which cover the area you live or work or your workplace.

Generally speaking it is my experience that credit unions are quite anti-trust deed, but again it will depend on which credit union you are dealing with

Credit Unions do promote financial responsibility but I brought this up as an issue at a conference this morning and the general consensus (though with the occasional dissenter) was that a Credit Union would be happy to help anyone to achieve financial independence whether or not they were in a Trust Deed.

They would encourage saving initially which would help someone to safely keep aside money allowed in their budget for vehicle maintenance costs, etc, but most said they would be happy to lend in an emergency (car repairs, white goods replacement, etc) especially if the member was honest and upfront about their financial situation and a small loan was helping someone to stick to their agreed Trust Deed budget.

Thanks sherlock.

It's always great when a member shares their specialist knowledge on a thread like this.

I appreciate Porcupine's reticence in light of his contact with one large Credit Union. Big is not always better and every CU is different. Check the Scottish League of Credit Unions website for more information and contact details of local CUs. I don't work for a Credit Union, by the way, and have no agenda here.

Hi Sherlock

Thanks for sharing such useful useful information. I am a firm supporter of credit unions as I think they are a great form of lending for people - avoiding high interest rates. As Kevin says, they don't like Trust Deeds much, mainly because they hate to write- off any debts as it is their members money being written-off.

Hope this has helped you coco.

Shona - you're right about CU's not liking Trust Deeds. My local one wouldn't let my fiance join earlier this year because of my TD (how they even knew she was my fiance is beyond me, we met after my TD was signed), but basically they refused to let her join unless I actually paid off the full amount owed to them.

I was going to do it, set up a standing order, but then I thought about it, and decided against it. I had wanted to exclude the debt from my TD because I knew I would be able to work something out with them, but was advised that this could put my TD in jeopardy, so included it. The guy I spoke to at the CU said they would have done something, and other people, some he claimed were accountants, had excluded it and come to arrangements privately. Surely if these were found out, their TDs would be void?