Your Financial Well-being

Get Financially Savvy

Before reading on, we want you to know that it is part of the Blues and Twos Credit Union’s ethos to educate members in the wise use of their money and to be “Financially Savvy”.  We cannot give advice to members in terms of Bad Debt and financial issues however we can warn you on the dangers of making hasty financial decisions and we ask you to contact us if you are struggling with your monthly repayments.

Feel you need an alternative way to deal with your problems?  If you are considering an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement)? STOP -Ask yourself is a Individual Voluntary Arrangement the right choice?  Have I been made aware of the Supervisory / Arrangement fees and any small print. As ethical lenders credit unions often hear of concerns where essential information isn’t always provided by some companies who claim they are helping you fix your credit problem.

Victoria Harrison, Chief Executive said: “Over the years we have seen some alarming cases where members (working members like you and me) experience difficult financial choices and these occur after an unforeseen change in circumstances.  Financial decisions can be compounded by advice that lead to IVA companies who, at the outset of a possible IVA, may charge you Supervisory and Nomination Fees.  These have been said to be in excess of £4,000. YES £4,000!  Basically this £4,000 is added to your debt.  If at a later date your IVA fails, this is added to the amount you have to repay back to your creditors.  You could also be asked to increase your payments when your income improves over the five year term. Make sure you know all your options – The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) are great for advice.

Fair Financial Products

With almost 30 years’ experience helping members with savings and loans there have been times when Blues & Twos had to refuse a loan application but there have been many more positive times when your credit union has offered credit to assist a member out of a higher cost credit situation and more good news….. for some members other options were available. For instance, at Blues & Twos we operate as a not-for-profit lender which means we provide our members with some of the fairest APR rates for loans from £300 – £25,000. These funds come from your colleagues savings so we have to  make sure repayments are affordable. Our Lending Officers will consider all applications for debt consolidation providing there is a commitment from the borrower to help themselves in the longer term by saving alongside the loan repayments”.

Victoria Harrison added: “At Blues and Twos we believe everyone should have access to fair financial products. We encourage you to save directly from your pay via your employer (in most cases we can organise this for you) and we believe this helps our members reduce financial stress and prevent some money linked health issues all of which contribute to your better financial well-being. We all know that every little bit of help – helps. We do not charge set up fees for our loans and we offer you competitive rates, we clearly illustrate the financial benefits that taking a loan from a credit union like ourselves may help you get back on track. We encourage regular saving at the forefront of every membership and it is proven this can remove the longer term need for credit card and overdraft facilities”.