Starter Loans are for new members or existing members who have insufficient savings to qualify for one of the other types of loan or don’t qualify for some other reason. Depending on your past loan history, you can borrow up to £1,000 for between 4 and 10 months. Interest rates are 3% per month flat (42.58% APR) – compare this with other lenders charging sometimes in excess of 1,000% APR!
Just so you can get some idea of the amount you can borrow and how much it will cost in terms of monthly repayments and interest costs, we have included a calculator below. Pull the sliders around to see an illustration of what the loan could cost you, but bear in mind that there are minimum payment constraints which may apply.
Loan Details
Let’s take a look at the Starter Loan in more detail to see whether you’re eligible and whether it meets your needs. The full Terms and Conditions are shown below, but here’s a brief run-down.
- Starter Loans are for new and existing members who don’t qualify for one of the other loans.
- For the first loan, you can borrow between £100 and £500, for the second, £100 to £750 and for the third and any subsequent loans, £100 to £1,000.
- The period you can borrow over is between 4 and 10 months.
- You can top up to a maximum of your initial loan amount ONCE provided you have repaid at least half of it and you’ve been making your payments on time with no arrears.
- We will carry out an affordability check based on the information you provide us to help prevent you getting into financial difficulties.
- We will carry out a Credit Check, although a poor credit score will not necessarily mean you won’t be granted a loan.
- We will take into account your previous payment history if you have had loans with us in the past.
- When filling in the form, it’s important you are truthful. Any discrepancies found will necessarily affect whether you will be granted a loan.
New members will be required to join the credit union and we’ll use the information you supply in your Membership and Loan Applications to carry out an identity check. Known as “Know Your Customer” or KYC checks, this is a requirement placed on all financial institutions, including banks, building societies and, of course, credit unions. For full details, please see the Adult Membership page.
We can pay your loan advance by Faster Payments Transfer (our preferred method), or Cash (we need at least 3 days notice for cash payments over £1,000). In exceptional circumstances, we can pay it by cheque for paying into your personal bank account or by cheque for cashing at a Post Office (a charge will apply for this service).
To apply for or top up a Starter Loan, click the button below, print the form and fill it in as fully as possible. Alternatively, forms are available at any of our Service Points where you can also ask for help in filling in the forms.
Please don’t send the form as an email attachment as we need original signatures on the form and, as email is an insecure communication medium and many of the forms contain sensitive information, could lead to data protection issues.
Features
- Open to both existing and new members
- Highly competitive interest rate – 3% per month flat
- Must be over 18 years old
- No arrangement fee
- No penalty for early settlement
- Overpayments welcome
- Weekly, fortnightly, 4-weekly or monthly repayments
- Covered by Life Insurance, subject to Terms and Conditions
- We will normally process loan applications within 5 working days (allow 10 working days in run-up to Christmas), however larger loans may take longer.
Terms and Conditions
- Applicants must be at least 18 years old.
- All loan applications must be made in writing on the appropriate Loan Application form and passed to a Service Point or sent to the main office (14 Cumberland Street, Devonport, Plymouth, PL1 4DX).
- You must supply a contact email or telephone number on the Loan Application form.
- A Loan Agreement must be completed and signed both by the applicant and the credit union before any loan advances are paid.
- In order to qualify for a lower interest loan type in the future, you will be required to pay an amount equal to 10% of the agreed loan repayment into your savings account in addition to your loan repayment.
- The credit union reserves the right to refuse any application and to refuse a loan for certain purposes.
- As part of the approval process, we may require proof of income and expenditure such as (but not limited to) bank statements for the previous 3 months. We may ask for further proof if considered necessary. Please note that we cannot accept Bank Statements supplied as spreadsheets, they must be on paper or as .pdf files. If sending documents containing sensitive attachments by email, please bear in mind that this is an insecure communication medium and you do so at your own risk.
- We may require you to attend an interview as part of the loan application process.
- You agree that we contact a Credit Checking agency to check your credit worthiness as part of the loan application process.
- In the event that you default on your loan, details of such default or defaults may be passed to credit reference agencies, debt recovery agencies, and the courts. In such circumstances we may disclose details of your account and any other matters relating to your account to any credit reference agency.
- You agree that should you fail to make any repayments due under this agreement or become insolvent, the total amount outstanding may immediately become repayable (unless agreement on payment mechanisms can be agreed between us).
- You also agree that we will pass on to you any costs incurred in collection of overdue payments including the costs associated with any legal action we may take.
- In signing the Loan Agreement you agree that, should repayments on the loan fall into arrears, all current and future savings in all share accounts deposited with the credit union up to the value of the outstanding loan may be used to offset the debt.
- I agree that if I default on repayments, information about my loan may be passed on to the Department for Work and Pensions for their consideration of deductions from the benefits that I am or will become entitled to.
- We may terminate the Loan Agreement and demand immediate repayment of all sums due if:-
- You fail to keep any part of the Loan Agreement
- You have given us false or inaccurate information in connection with the Loan Agreement.
- Statements are available on request. We will provide statements either by post, in an office or at a service point. You must inform us immediately of any incorrect item on your statement.
- The interest rate for Starter Loans for new members and members with insufficient savings is 3% flat per month or 36% flat per annum calculated daily (42.58% APR).
- As detailed in full on the Life Insurance page, loans for members over 70 years of age are not covered by life insurance.
- All members must declare any pre-existing medical conditions when applying for a loan.
Above all, bear in mind that the credit union is here to help. If you experience any financial difficulties, please get in touch with us as soon as possible and we will do our best to help.