Glasgow credit union

rodgerramjet

Howdy folks,

New to this, so please be gentle.

Ive started saving with Glasgow Credit Union via salary deduction, which I do like the idea of, i dont seem to miss it as much as I woul paying by direct debit etc.

Im looking to find out if anyone has applied for a loan with them and what your experience was. My credit rating is not great but not exactly in the toilet either.

any had any dealings with the?

Thanks

[Deleted User]

you probably need to save with them for 6 months,but in my experience cu are very approachable/helpful

spycatcher123

Hi Rodger,

I don't like to be the bearer of bad tidings, but I have found Glasgow Credit Union to be sadly lacking, compared to how it was when I joined 5 years ago. In that time I have had a series of loans (couple of thousand pounds a time) and have made the payments religiously - not one black mark against my name with them. The problem arose when I applied for a small loan with them in October 2012 after I'd moved house. My income-expenditure check showed that I could more than afford the repayments (my earnings had actually increased since my last loan) but I was shocked to be told that my application had been declined following a credit check. It appears that Glasgow Credit Union no longer make affordability assessments based on hard evidence and that your previous conduct with them as a borrower counts for nothing. Instead, they base their decisions on an Equifax credit score which unfortunately in my case had recorded a default (for £120!) against an account with my old mobile phone provider (an erroneous one at that, as it turned out).


Now, considering Credit Unions purport to make decisions based on the individual's circumstances and not using some anonymous 'computer says no' mentality, I think it's fair to say I was annoyed by thier decision (and subsequent lack of information about the refusal). Considering further that Credit Unions are supposed to exist (at least in part) to give access to lending streams to those who might traditionally be excluded (take those from the poorer areas of Glasgow, for example), I'll admit I was angry about their 'new lending criteria' which had not been circulated amongst members. But I became outright furious when I read the Chief Executive of GCU bleating on in every Scottish newspaper a while later about the 'dangers' of payday lenders, like Wonga, assuring readers that GCU could provide them with a viable alternative. What utter nonsense. I dread to think of the number of people who might have been relying on the Glasgow Credit Union at Christmas who will have been in for a very rude awakening indeed. The issue of reduced lending has even been queried by members of the GCU committee, as the extract from the Annual Report 2012 below demonstrates:

Stuart Purvis (SP) asked why members that had been rejected for a loan were not given a reason. Robert Auld advised this should not have been the case that members had the right to complain about a loan decision. Ann Marie McMahon (AM) queried the reduction in loans being taken and enquired if it was due to the Credit Checking process. Robert Auld advised the Board were reviewing the Lending Policy and will be revisiting the risk tolerance however the lack of loans may be due to lack of demand.

Yeah, that's right Robert. At a time of recession fewer people are applying for loans from their Credit Union. Get real.

I will be closing my account with Glasgow Credit Union next month, when the balance of my loan account can be cleared by my shares. At a time when I needed it most, and despite the fact I could afford the monthly repayments and had demonstrated my trustworthiness to them in the past, I had to resort to a payday lender to pull me out of an unexpected hole.

Frankly, the money is better off under my mattress. In my opinion, Glasgow Credit Union have become so big they now think like a bank. The ethos of what a credit union stands for has been totally lost.