The Credit Union Office, The Presbytery

Swarcliffe Drive, Leeds LS14 5AW
St. Gregory’s Credit Union is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority under the FRN (Firm Reference Number) 213539

PAY DAY LOAN COMPANIES : IT’S TIME TO FIGHT BACK !!
AND ST. GREGORY’S CREDIT UNION LTD IS LEADING THE
CHARGE AGAINST POVERTY & DEBT IN EAST LEEDS

Pay Day Loan Companies and the Loans they offer. THE SAD AND HARMFUL FACTS

After Christmas and the New Year, many people turn to Pay Day Loans to get them through until their next wage / salary cheque arrives. The danger that these Pay Day Loans can bring to the unsuspecting lender is that they have been rightly criticised over the years because people have fallen victim to extremely high Loan Interest Rates and spiralling debt. SO BE AWARE!! This is what you need to know about a Pay Day Loan.

From our marketing research it has come to the attention of St. Gregory’s Credit Union Ltd that some 15+ Pay Day Loan Companies are operating within East Leeds, offering so-called easy inducements through their advertising mediums, but their hidden Loan Interest Rates are enormous. So the Credit Union’s word of warning is to emphatically URGE people to STAY CLEAR of these organisations at all costs.

THE TERMS: Make sure that you fully understand all of the Terms including HOW MUCH you will pay for the Loan, WHEN you will have to pay it back and the METHOD of Repayment which could be weekly, monthly or in one Lump Sum.

LOAN INTEREST: Pay Day Lenders are NOTORIOUS for astronomical rates of Loan Interest charged. Since January 2015 there has been an Interest Cap on the Loans of 0.8% per day. Also, no Borrower should pay back more than twice what was Loaned.

(365 x 0.8% = 292% p.a) Does this give you any confidence? NO, IT CERTAINLY DOES NOT!!

WHAT IF YOU CAN’T REPAY ON TIME? You may well have signed a CONTINUOUS PAYMENT AUTHORITY which gives the Pay Day Lender the right to continually request payments from your Bank at agreed intervals. HARDLY FAIR IS IT?

If you can’t pay, then contact your Bank and CANCEL this Authority, IMMEDIATELY! Then contact the Pay Day Lender and ask for an Extension of Time to repay the loan.

WHAT IF YOU HAVE CAUSE TO COMPLAIN? Should the lender REFUSE or FAIL to help,

You can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.

(www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk).

WHAT IS A SAFE REMEDY TO THIS SITUATION? It is far better to join a Local Community Credit Union as a Member. It is a proper and regulated Organisation that will encourage the individual to make savings, and after a short qualifying period, make a “without obligation” application for a Credit Union Loan at Low Rates of Interest.

THE THREE “E’s”: Regrettably, Poverty and Debt often go hand in hand within any Community. It is how people can manage their own personal finances and be able to seek advice and help when problems occur, and to ENCOURAGE, EMPOWER AND ENABLE those people to make the right decisions. Sadly people in debt often seek out a short-term fix by obtaining loans from dubious High Street Money Lenders which always means paying back enormous amounts of loan interest and as a consequence can easily slide into an everlasting Debt Spiral that will ultimately cause an unsuspecting borrower, stress, anxiety and grief should they fall into this trap, and it could take many years of hardship and torment to escape this awful situation.

WHO CAN YOU TURN TO?

WHY ST.GREGORY’S CREDIT UNION LTD of course!!

St. Gregory’s Credit Union Ltd is a Not-For-Profit Co-operative offering ethical Financial Services like Savings Accounts, Low Cost Loans and Insurance to its Members. We are a form of Community Banking that has operated for over 22 years, successfully, by offering Low Interest Rate Loans to its Members and returns a proportion of any Surplus made back to its Members in the form of an Interest Dividend. St. Gregory’s Credit Union Ltd operates under a COMMON BOND (a reason for existence) to embrace all the Catholic Church Communities within East Leeds. We are a Limited Company and are regulated by the Bank of England.

St.Gregory’s Credit Union Ltd has a duty of care to protect its Members’ Interests at all times. If it were not for the goodwill and confidence of our 330+ Members providing those Share Deposit Funds over the many successful years of operation, then the Credit Union would not be in a position to be able to offer a Loan Facility to its Members.

THANKFULLY WE CAN DO THIS!! BASICALLY MEMBERS DEPOSITS PROVIDE LOANS!!

Our Customer Service and lifeblood is to provide fair and affordable Loans to Members within our Community, and we stress that Members avoid at all costs those extortionate Interest Rates charged by the High Street Money Lenders and the Unlicensed Loan Sharks. It is far, far safer to deal with the reputable St.Gregory’s Credit Union Ltd .


Stephen Adkin (Director & Vice Chair) :
For and on behalf of St.Gregory’s Credit Union Ltd