City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited – In Administration (“CPCU”)
James Sleight and Peter Hart of PKF GM were appointed as Joint Administrators of CPCU on 27 April 2022.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (“FSCS”) has also declared the credit union in default, which means that all savers’ monies are protected and will receive their funds (up to the limit of £85,000 per individual).
James Sleight, of PKF GM, said: “All of CPCU’s savers will have their balance returned by the FSCS. They don’t need to do anything to get their money back; savers should look out for a letter in the post from the FSCS in the next few days.”
CPCU has now ceased trading.
Don’t worry, your money is safe
You do not need to do anything to make a claim for your CPCU savings balance with the FSCS as they will send you payment in respect of your account balances as at 26 April 2022 very soon. Should any monies be paid into CPCU’s bank account on or after 27 April 2022 until the account is closed where you are the intended recipient you will need to complete a return of funds request form which will be issued to you by post shortly by the Joint Administrators.
Your benefits, salary, or other regular deposits into your CPCU’s account
You need to contact DWP or any other government offices that handle your benefits and give them new account details for another account in your name. If you do not have an account with any other bank or credit union, you will need to set one up immediately as CPCU’s bank account will be closed.
Loan(s) with CPCU
You need to continue to make your contractual repayments on your loan(s) until fully paid off.
You should cancel any direct debits or standing orders you currently have in place in relation to your savings and contact the office (numbers published below) to obtain the new Administration bank details to set up a standing order to resume your contractual loan(s) repayments.
For further information
The FSCS has further information available on its website https://www.fscs.org.uk/making-a-claim/failed-firms/city-of-plymouth/, along with their frequently asked for questions which are published alongside this notice.
For any queries, please contact the Administration team in the first instance on 01752 477 410 or 01752 201329 or email cpcu@pkfgm.co.uk, alternatively please call 0113 244 5141.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited – what has happened to it and is my money safe?
You do not need to worry as your money is safe.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) declared City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited in default on 27 April 2022 which means it can step in and return money to members.
On 27 April 2022 City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited was placed into Administration and has now stopped trading. James Sleight and Peter Hart of PKF Geoffrey Martin & Co Limited (PKF GM) are the appointed Joint Administrators.
2. What is the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)?
FSCS is a free service that protects the customers of authorised financial services firms, such as City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited. This means FSCS protects any savings you have with this credit union up to £85,000 per person.
3. What do I need to do to get my money back?
You do not need to do anything. FSCS will automatically pay you back your savings using the account information it receives from City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited. FSCS will contact you by post.
4. How soon will I get my money back?
In most cases, FSCS aims to make payment within seven days from 27 April 2022, the date City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited was declared in default. For more complex cases, which may need further investigation, FSCS will aim to return members’ money within 10 working days.
5. How will FSCS pay me back my money?
FSCS will send the credit union members a cheque by post in an unmarked envelope.
6. How will FSCS calculate how much payment I am entitled to?
FSCS will receive information from City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited that will detail your individual balance. The amount you receive will be the balance on your account at 27 April 2022.
7. What should I do if I disagree with the amount FSCS has paid me and I have not banked the cheque?
If you disagree with the amount paid by FSCS, please call the Administrators’ team first on 01752 477410 or 01752 201329, or alternatively call 0113 244 5141 or email cpcu@pkfgm.co.uk and they will look into your query. Do not return your payment to FSCS unless you are specifically asked to do so.
8. I do not have another bank account. What should I do with my cheque?
You will need to open a bank account with another provider (e.g., a bank, a credit union, building society or the Post Office) so that you can bank the cheque as soon as possible.
If you need help in opening a basic bank account, your local Citizens Advice Bureau should be able to help you. Alternatively, please visit your local high street branch of a bank or building society. Below are the details of a Citizens Advice Bureau that is near to the Credit Union.
Details for the Citizens Advice Bureau in Plymouth:
3rd Floor, Cobourg House 32 Mayflower Street, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 1QX
Freephone Advice Line telephone service: 08082 787 910
Website: https://citizensadviceplymouth.org.uk/
Opening Hours:
Citizens Advice Plymouth has said on its website that face-to-face advice services are closed until further notice and that it is continuing to run its phone services.
Phone services:
You can contact Citizens Advice Plymouth via the freephone Advice Line telephone service on 08082 787 910 during the following times:
Monday to Thursday: 9am to 5pm
Friday: 9am to 4:30pm.
Further information on basic bank accounts can be found on the internet, one such example can be found at https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/everyday-money/banking/basic-bank-accounts.
9. Can FSCS make a payment directly to my account with another bank?
No. FSCS will pay you your compensation by sending you a cheque in an unmarked envelope.
10. I hold a prepaid money card with Vox or PFS, are the funds I have loaded onto this safe?
Yes, your funds are safe and are not affected by the closure of the Credit Union.
If you hold a prepaid money card with Vox or PFS, any funds loaded onto it can continue to be used as normal.
For any questions about your prepaid Vox card or PFS card, please contact them directly. Their contact details can be found on their websites:
- Vox Card
Website: https://www.voxmoney.co.uk/ - PFS Card
Website: https://prepaidfinancialservices.com/en/
11. My salary and benefits are paid into my City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited savings account. What should I do?
City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited savings accounts will be closed. If your salary or benefits are paid into your savings account, you will need to open a new bank account as soon as possible. You should contact your employer, pension provider or the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to tell them to pay your salary or benefits into your new account.
If you are in receipt of any of the following benefits:
- Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income Support
- Employment and Support Allowance
- Universal Credit
- Personal Independence Payment
- Disability Living Allowance
Some useful contact details are as follows:
- You can contact your local Jobcentre or telephone the DWP on the following Freephone numbers: Employment Support Allowance (ESA) – 0800 169 0310
- Income Support (IS) – 0800 169 0310
- Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) – 0800 169 0310
- Universal Credit – you can contact Universal Credit by calling the Universal Credit Helpline on 0800 328 5644 or through your online account. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/contact-universal-credit
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – 0800 121 4433
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA) – 0800 121 4600
All customers will need to provide details of an alternative bank or building society to enable future DWP payments to be made.
To have your benefit payments paid into an alternative bank, building society or local credit union account you will need to contact the following agencies with your new bank details:
- Housing Benefit – Details of the local council in Plymouth:
Website: https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/
Contact details for Plymouth Council: Plymouth City Council, Plymouth, PL1 3BJ
Website: https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/contactus
Contact Centre telephone number: 01752 668000 (Plymouth Council’s website says lines are open from Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and Housing Benefit is only open from 10am to 4pm).
- Working Tax/Child Tax Credits – This is an HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) administered benefit. To change your bank account details, you will need to contact HMRC on 0345 300 3900
- Child Benefit – This is also HMRC administered. You can change your bank account details online using the HMRC webpages at www.gov.uk or telephone 0300 200 3100. Alternatively, you can write to HMRC at: HM Revenue & Customs, Child Benefit Office, PO Box 1, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE88 1AA.
If you need help in contacting these agencies, your local Citizens Advice Bureau should be able to help you.
Details for the Citizens Advice Bureau in Plymouth:
3rd Floor, Cobourg House 32 Mayflower Street, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 1QX
Freephone Advice Line telephone service: 08082 787 910
Website: https://citizensadviceplymouth.org.uk/
Opening Hours:
Citizens Advice Plymouth has said on its website that face-to-face advice services are closed until further notice and that it is continuing to run its phone services.
Phone services:
You can contact Citizens Advice Plymouth via the freephone Advice Line telephone service on 08082 787 910 during the following times: Monday to Thursday – 9am to 5pm and Friday – 9am to 4:30pm.
12. My child has a savings account with City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited. What will happen to their savings?
For junior members, FSCS will send a payment in the name of the account holder for the money in their account at the date of default. If the account is operated by an adult on behalf of the child, the cheque will be sent to the account operator’s address, if that has been registered with the Credit Union, but the payment will be in the child’s name. A new account in that name will need to be opened with an alternative provider. We cannot pay to parents or guardians.
13. I make regular payments to my account each month by direct debit or standing order. Should I cancel the direct debit or standing order now?
If this payment is just for savings, you should cancel it as no further money will be added to your savings account. You will need to arrange for these payments to be paid into a new or different account and should cancel any existing arrangements that direct these payments to your City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited savings account.
You can cancel the standing order at any branch of your bank or building society, over the phone or via secure online banking. However, you will need to give your bank/building society a couple of days’ notice before the payment is due to come out of your account. If your standing order is also for loan repayments, do not cancel it and please see question 14 below.
14. I had a loan with City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited. Will I have to repay it, and should I cancel the standing order?
Do not cancel any repayments as your loan agreement remains in place and you must make your repayments as originally contracted.
Future loan repayments will be managed by the Joint Administrators, James Sleight and Peter Hart of PKF GM, who will contact you about this and provide you with the Administration bank account details as soon as they can.
If you made payments covering both loans and savings, then the Administrator will be able to advise you of the new amount you need to pay each month for your loan so that you do not fall into arrears.
For further information about your loan, please call 01752 477410 or 01752 201329, or alternatively call 0113 244 5141 or e-mail cpcu@pkfgm.co.uk and they will look into your query.
City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited is no longer accepting loan repayments through a service point (a service point is another point, or location, from where the Credit Union may have offered its services). Please contact the Joint Administrators’ team on 01752 477410 or 01752 201329, or alternatively call 0113 244 5141 or e-mail cpcu@pkfgm.co.uk to discuss arrangements for the repayment of your loan another way.
15. Can I open up an alternative credit union account?
If you wish to open a new credit union account, you can do so with another credit union. The website www.findyourcreditunion.co.uk may help in seeing the options available.
16. A payment was transferred into my credit union account around the time FSCS declared City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited in default. This amount does not appear to have been credited. Will the balance on my account be updated to reflect this payment?
FSCS will receive information from City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited which will show the individual balances of all accounts held by its members at the date of default, 27 April 2022. Any amounts paid into your account on or after the Administration date will not be added to your savings balance and will be dealt with by the Joint Administrators, who you can contact by phone on 0113 244 5141 or e-mail at cpcu@pkfgm.co.uk.
17. Do I need to notify FSCS if I have recently changed address?
FSCS will send payment to the address that City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited holds on its database.
If you did not let City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited know of your change of address before it was declared in default, or you notified City of Plymouth Credit Union Limited of this change but did not receive confirmation that its records had been updated before it was declared in default, FSCS will need to see evidence of your change of address before any compensation payment can be made.
Please contact the Joint Administrators’ team in the first instance by calling 01752 477410 or 01752 201329, or alternatively call 0113 244 5141 or e-mail cpcu@pkfgm.co.uk and supply the team with evidence of the change of address. Once confirmed, they will instruct FSCS to make payment to the new address.
Documents that can be used as evidence include a council tax bill, a utility bill (not a mobile phone bill) or benefits entitlement letter, so long as they are less than three months old.
18. Do I need to notify FSCS if I have recently changed my name?
If you have already banked the cheque, you do not need to take any further action. If you have not received your payment or can’t bank the cheque, we will need to see evidence of your name change before we can return your money.
Please contact the Joint Administrators’ team on 01752 477410 or 01752 201329, or alternatively call 0113 244 5141 or e-mail cpcu@pkfgm.co.uk with evidence of the change of name and once confirmed they will tell FSCS to make payment in the new name.
Documents that can be used as evidence include an original or certified copy a marriage certificate or a deed poll. Additionally, you will need to provide a council tax bill, or a utility bill (not a mobile phone bill) or benefits entitlement letter with your new name, dated less than three months old.
19. I am the executor for someone who has recently died. Do I need to contact FSCS?
If the estate has already banked the cheque, you do not need to take any further action. If the estate has not received the payment, you will need to send FSCS the original Death Certificate, Grant of Probate and a copy of the will or letter of administration. These documents are required before FSCS can make a payment.
However, should you wish to contact FSCS regarding any issues that you may have, please call freephone 0800 678 1100 or 020 7741 4100. Lines are open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm excluding public holidays.
Alternatively, you can send these documents to the Joint Administrators by email to cpcu@pkfgm.co.uk or by post to PKF GM, 3rd Floor, One Park Row, Leeds, LS1 5HN. The Joint Administrators will then contact FSCS so that we can pay compensation.
20. How will I be able to find out what is happening?
In the first instance, you should call the Joint Administrators’ team on 01752 477410 or 01752 201329, or alternatively call 0113 244 5141 or e-mail cpcu@pkfgm.co.uk.
If you have a query about compensation from FSCS, further information is on its website at www.fscs.org.uk; or call freephone 0800 678 1100 or 020 7741 4100. Lines are open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm excluding public holidays.
The Joint Administrators are Data Controllers and a privacy policy statement as required by the General Data Protection Regulation is available at: https://pkfgm.co.uk/privacy-policy/. Should you wish to be supplied with a hard copy, free of charge, please contact the Administrators’ team on 0113 244 5141 or e-mail cpcu@pkfgm.co.uk.