Difficulties in Repaying a CU Loan?
We understand at the Credit Union that sometimes members circumstances change during the lifetime of a loan.
If this happens to you it is of paramount importance that:
You engage with us at the earliest possible time
Let us know in advance of the likelihood of your circumstances changing and the impact on your loan repayment
We urge you not to ignore correspondence from us but get in touch with our Credit Controller.
We will work with you as far as possible to come to an arrangement which works for both you, as the member and the Credit Union. All members are treated in a non-judgemental way with dignity and respect.
Shares may be transferred against arrears. Sometimes arrears may arise due to a Standing Order not being set up in time or at all. We contact you soon after arrears start to enable you to remedy this. Guarantors are informed once the loan they have guaranteed goes into arrears.
CCR Reporting
The Credit Union uses the services of CCR and is obliged to report arrears to CCR as part of this arrangement.
Where arrears occur, they will be reported to CCR within 9 weeks of you first falling into arrears. These reports use information automatically generated from our IT system and the Credit Union cannot interfere in this process. Arrears can affect your ability to borrow in the future.
Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Loan
SME Arrears have separate provisions in legislation.
If your business is experiencing financial difficulties, it is important to communicate these issues to us as soon as possible so that we can work together to address them. Engaging with the credit union at the earliest possible stage gives us the best chance of finding a resolution that works for both sides.
We will consider any financial difficulties situation sympathetically and work with you constructively to find appropriate solutions. In most cases, by continuing to work together, we will find an acceptable alternative way forward.
The booklet attached below outlines the definitions of terms such as arrears and financial difficulties. It is helpful to familiarize yourself with these terms and the procedures surrounding them.
The most important step is to engage with the Credit Union as soon as possible. Apart from our own internal processes we can also point you in the direction of other outside bodies who may be able to further assist your business in solving any trading difficulties it may be experiencing.
It also outlines Goresbridge Credit Union’s procedures when dealing with SMEs in ‘financial difficulties’ and gives information on the support which will be provided by the Credit Union to SMEs in this situation.
The Credit Union recognises that individual SMEs may differ by size and indeed sector and therefore each SME in financial difficulties will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
Information booklet on this is provided here.
