Setting up new Credit Union Account.

pcuser

Hi All.

Im looking for some advice on setting up a new Credit Union (CU) account.

A few years back I was a member of a CU and took out a €15 000 car loan. I kept up my repayments weekly and reduced the loan to about €11 000. At that time I was diagnosed with cancer and immediately informed the CU who reduced my repayments.

I kept up the payments for a few months and eventually hit an all time low mentally.I ended up moving to a different country after losing my house and stopped paying the CU. Eventually they caught up with me and told me all I had to do was get a medical form filled out and the load would be wrote off. I asked them to post the form to me as I didnt want to travel 3 hours via bus. I was informed I had to call to them to fill out the form. I never called up to do this but insisted that they post the form to me.

Eventually I got a summons to court, Luckily it was the local court and I did not have to travel, My head still wasnt in a good place at the time and I never got a solicitor. The judge asked if I would pay €20 per week. I informed him I wouldnt as the CU should gave me the form to complete when I told them about my illness. The local solicitor that they had used knew none of these details and when questioned by the Judge admitted he knew nothing about my circumstances. Anyway the case was postponed and I was sick for the next court case but forwarded a doctors cert to the Court.

About a week later the CU posted the medical form that needed to be filled in. I gave all the details on the form and posted it back. I have not heard anything since then and that was over 2 years ago.

Im just wondering now if i can open a CU account where I live and still be able to borrow money and not have to worry about my savings being taken?

Or should I just let my partner set up a CU account even though im the one that is working,. I imagine this would affect loans.

BuffyBot

pcuser wrote: »

Hi All.

Im looking for some advice on setting up a new Credit Union (CU) account.

A few years back I was a member of a CU and took out a €15 000 car loan. I kept up my repayments weekly and reduced the loan to about €11 000. At that time I was diagnosed with cancer and immediately informed the CU who reduced my repayments.

I kept up the payments for a few months and eventually hit an all time low mentally.I ended up moving to a different country after losing my house and stopped paying the CU. Eventually they caught up with me and told me all I had to do was get a medical form filled out and the load would be wrote off. I asked them to post the form to me as I didnt want to travel 3 hours via bus. I was informed I had to call to them to fill out the form. I never called up to do this but insisted that they post the form to me.

Eventually I got a summons to court, Luckily it was the local court and I did not have to travel, My head still wasnt in a good place at the time and I never got a solicitor. The judge asked if I would pay €20 per week. I informed him I wouldnt as the CU should gave me the form to complete when I told them about my illness. The local solicitor that they had used knew none of these details and when questioned by the Judge admitted he knew nothing about my circumstances. Anyway the case was postponed and I was sick for the next court case but forwarded a doctors cert to the Court.

About a week later the CU posted the medical form that needed to be filled in. I gave all the details on the form and posted it back. I have not heard anything since then and that was over 2 years ago.

Im just wondering now if i can open a CU account where I live and still be able to borrow money and not have to worry about my savings being taken?

Or should I just let my partner set up a CU account even though im the one that is working,. I imagine this would affect loans.

So, to be clear, do you want to open an account with the same credit union you screwed around (illness or not, you're an adult and what you describe is appalling behaviour in terms of personal finance management) or a different one?

If it's the same, I'd imagine they might well tell you to get on your bike. Even if, by some good grace they let you re-open an account, I find it hard to imagine they'd be in any hurry to lend you more.

If it's a different one, it still may count against you getting a loan as credit unions are members of the ICB so a credit check would be run before lending.

Have you checked your ICB credit record to see if they previous debacle is listed on it?

Generally, they'd want to see income details from the applicant, so if your partner isn't working and tries to apply for a loan it may be an issue. Each has its own lending policies, however and some are more flexible than others, though they may well question why the other party isn't applying for the loan directly.

pcuser

BuffyBot wrote: »

So, to be clear, do you want to open an account with the same credit union you screwed around

Nope different credit union in a different County.

BuffyBot wrote: »

credit union you screwed around (illness or not,

Actually they screwed me around. They kept taking repayments from me when all I had to do was fill out the repayment protection form. I spoke to a solicitor a few months back and he informed me that if I had a solicitor present with me in court I would have had the loan struck off, I would have had any repayments I made after I informed them of my illness refunded as well as my savings returned,
They should have advised me about repayment protection which was included in the load instead of reducing my repayments.

Il check the ICB credit record now.

Spocker

pcuser wrote: »

Actually they screwed me around. They kept taking repayments from me when all I had to do was fill out the repayment protection form. I spoke to a solicitor a few months back and he informed me that if I had a solicitor present with me in court I would have had the loan struck off, I would have had any repayments I made after I informed them of my illness refunded as well as my savings returned,
They should have advised me about repayment protection which was included in the load instead of reducing my repayments.

You would have been advised of the loan protection when you took out the loan , it would have been included in the loan documentation.

You would have have the loan struck off, and your savings returned, once you filled in the form. I appreciate you were in a difficult position at the time, but let me give you the sequence of events from the Credit Unions side:

- you take out a loan, and make the repayments
- you are diagnosed with a serious illness, and the CU who are immediately sympathetic, reduce the loan payments
- you disappear
- The CU try to claim on the insurance, to write off the loan (and get the members their money back), but you don't return the form, or go for the medical which was likely asked for. Unfortunately, the insurance company need specific proof of your condition before they will pay out
- The CU eventually find you, take you to court, and the Judge asks you to pay €20 week, which you refuse, and then the case was postponed.
- You fill in the form that was posted to you, and never hear from the CU again

To answer your question, you will be able to open an account in another CU no problem, as all thats required is the membership fee, and proof that you're part of the Common Bond. You may not be able to take out any loans however, if the previous Credit Union is part of the ICB (most if not all are) and the write-off is still on your file. Once a loan is done (paid off or written off) it remains on you profile for 5 years.

Just to add, your savings weren't 'taken' in the first CU; savings are held as security against a loan when you take it out, and in the event of a default, those savings are used to reduce the outstanding amount.

pcuser

Spocker wrote: »

- you disappear

I did keep up the repayments for about 8 months

Spocker wrote: »

- The CU try to claim on the insurance, to write off the loan (and get the members their money back), but you don't return the form, or go for the medical which was likely asked for.

I did ask them to post the form and I would fill it out, They refused to do this and told me Iwould have to call to the CU. I live over 150 KMs away.

Spocker wrote: »

- you are diagnosed with a serious illness, and the CU who are immediately sympathetic, reduce the loan payments

Thats a fair point but they should have informed me about the loan protection when I informed them of my illness. Instead they took €53 per week for about 8 months. In fact the option of loan protection only came up when I stopped making repayments.

Spocker

I understand you were likely in a difficult place at the time, and things could have been easier, but its not unreasonable for the CU to want to verify your medical circumstances.

Your ability to take out new loans will probably hinge on the result of your ICB report, and your ability to repay

pcuser

The ICB report came back and its all good