Loans
Only Members may apply for a loan. Loans may be granted for any good purpose if you show that you have a need and can prove your ability and intent to repay. Members can apply for a loan from the credit union after saving regularly for 13 weeks. The first loan can be up to double what a member has saved. The interest is a maximum of 12.6% per annum and is calculated daily. The quicker the loan is repaid the less interest is charged.
There are no hidden extras
When you borrow from the credit union you do so as a Member owner and not just as a customer.
BAG Credit Union loans are provided on capacity lending, at double what a member has in shares/savings. If a member has £100 saved then they can apply for a loan of up to a maximum of £200.
There are no hidden costs and no arrangement fees.
Interest on an unsecured loan is charged at only 1% per month on the reducing balance, (12.68% APR) and .6% per month on the reducing balance, (7.5% APR) on loans fully secured by shares.
Loans are covered by a free to Member Loan Protection Insurance (conditions apply).
Help is here when you need it.
Before Applying
Please read carefully through the guidance below before applying for a loan. For more information, click here for answers to FAQs.
Eligibility to Apply for a Loan
You must live or work in the Upper Rhymney Valley and be a member of BAG Credit Union, you can apply for a loan after you have been a member for 13 weeks or 3 months making regular payments into your shares account.
Completing a Loan Application
Existing members can apply online by logging into the members' area of our website. If you are not yet registered to use the members' area, you will be prompted to register and set up a PIN which will allow you access to a number of services, including applying for loans online. You can also pick up an application from our offices or information points, or call/email us to request that we post a pack to you.
Please note that your loan application cannot be assessed unless you sign the declaration, sign the application form and provide all original documents requested. Your application will be returned to you if your form is incomplete.
Please note that whether submitting your loan application online or by post/in person, we will require the following documents to process your application:
Please ensure that the correct postage is included for the weight of your envelope (e.g. large letter stamp on an A4 envelope).
Calculating Repayments
All loans are assessed on ability to repay. You can access our loans calculator by logging into your account. This can be used to calculate the approximate cost of repayments. Please note that the loans calculator will give repayment figures based on our standard loan rates, and should only be used as a guide to demonstrate the maximum cost of repayment. If you are entitled to a rate that is lower than the standard rate, you will be notified by our loans team at the time your loan application is approved.
Interest Rates
Credit union loan interest rates are capped by law to ensure that members receive affordable access to credit, subject to status and approval. Our loan rates vary according to the amount borrowed, between 12.6% APR for unsecured loans and 7.5% APR for loans fully secured by savings. Interest rates charges are fixed for the full repayment term, and we do not apply any additional fees or charges.
Saving While You Borrow
Part of our philosophy is to encourage regular savings amongst our members. We therefore request that all of our members pay a minimum of £5.00 per month into their attached savings account throughout the repayment term of the loan, which members can then access once the loan is repaid.
Recording Shared Expenses
Please indicate any expenses that you are not responsible for, by writing next to the item listed (e.g. “partner pays”). If your partner is supporting your application and would like their information used when considering the loan, we will need to have proof of their income (i.e. payslip, benefit confirmation letter) and they should sign the Partner’s Declaration section if you are submitting a paper loan application to us.
Returning Applications
If you are returning an application by post, please send or hand in your completed application and documentation to:
BAG Credit Union, 47 Commercial Street, ABERBARGOED, Caerphilly, CF81 9BT
Please ensure you have put the correct postage on the envelope.
Credit Checks
We may use credit reference agencies and fraud prevention agencies to help us make loan decisions. What we do and how both we and credit reference and fraud prevention agencies will use your information is detailed in the section in the condensed guidance notes below. When completing a loan application, applicants will be asked to confirm their agreement to proceed and accept that we may use their information in this way.
All applicants are requested to declare any current credit agreements with other lenders e.g. personal or secured loans, credit/store cards including debt management programmes. A credit check would also reveal any County Court Judgments (CCJs), IVA arrangements or bankruptcy orders etc. that have been registered in an applicant's name. Failure to declare correct information may result in an application being refused.
A Short Guide to Use of your Personal Information by BAG Credit Union and at Credit Reference and Fraud Prevention Agencies
1) When you apply to us to open an account, this organisation will check the following records about you and others (see 2 below)
a) those at credit reference agencies (CRAs).
When CRAs receive a search from us they will place a search footprint on your credit file that may be seen by other lenders. They supply to us both public (including the electoral register) and shared credit and fraud prevention information.
b) those at fraud prevention agencies (FPAs).
We will make checks such as; assessing this application for credit and verifying identities to prevent and detect crime and money laundering. We may also make periodic searches at CRAs and FPAs to manage your account with us.
2) If you are making a joint application or tell us that you have a spouse or financial associate, we will link your records together so you must be sure that you have their agreement to disclose information about them. CRAs also link your records together and these links will remain on your and their files until such time as you or your partner successfully files for a disassociation with the CRAs to break that link.
3) Information on applications will be sent to CRAs and will be recorded by them. Where you borrow from us, we will give details of your accounts and how you manage it/them to CRAs. If you borrow and do not repay in full and on time, CRAs will record the outstanding debt. This information may be supplied to other organisations by CRAs and FPAs to perform similar checks and to trace your whereabouts and recover debts that you owe. Records remain on file for 6 years after they are closed, whether settled by you or defaulted.
4) If you give us false or inaccurate information and we suspect or identify fraud we will record this and may also pass this information to FPAs and other organisations involved in crime andfraud prevention.
5) If you have borrowed from us and do not make payments that you owe us, we will trace your whereabouts and recover debts.
6) We and other organisations may access and use from other countries the information recorded by fraud prevention agencies.
7) Your data may also be used for other purposes for which you give your specific permission or, in very limited circumstances, when required by law or where permitted under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998.
How to Find Out More
This is a condensed version and if you would like to read the full details of how your data may be used please visit our website at www.bagcreditunion.co.uk or phone 01443 838605 or ask one of our staff. You can contact the CRAs currently operating in the UK; the information they hold may not be the same so it is worth contacting them all. They will charge you a small statutory fee.
BAG Credit Union Limited, 47 Commercial Street, ABERBARGOED, Mid Glam. CF81 9BY Telephone 01443 838 605
Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority ######
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