Hoot Credit Union | Family Loan and Savings Plan

Family Loan and Savings Plan

Supporting the well-being of families

Supporting your financial well-being

Family Loan and Savings Plan can help you to save for holidays, Christmas or for life’s little emergencies whilst repaying your loan.

Getting a Family Loan of up to £500 will help you to manage your family budget and may have a positive effect on your credit report. (Subject to full repayment of loan)

You must agree to have your child benefit paid directly from the HMRC into your Hoot account to be eligible for this loan.

Please note that a successful application is subject to eligibility assessment, credit report and affordability check.

Representative example.

Borrowing £500.00 over 12 months will cost £51.00/month. Total amount repayable is £602.75 which includes interest at 42.6% APR. (Final payment will differ)

The figures given above are for illustrative purposes only. The actual repayment amounts may vary subject to loan amount, date of first payment and status. You should only take out a loan if you are certain you can afford the repayments. Over 18 only.

Important – Please check your eligibility and read the terms and conditions of this loan on the next tabs before applying.

Up to £500 (subject to eligibility, affordability and rules of the credit union)

No set up fees, late payment penalties or early repayment charges

52 x weekly or 13 x 4 weekly payments

Healthy savings pot at the end of the loan

Option to set up children’s savings

Free loan protection insurance (terms and conditions apply

Build up your savings whilst repaying your loan

The Family Loan and Savings Plan is designed to help you access fair credit, even if you have a poor credit rating, and get into the savings habit at the same time.

If you saved the recommended £4 per week whilst repaying your loan you will have over £200 in savings when the loan is finished, giving you a handy buffer in case of emergency or enough to treat you and your family to something special.

By accepting a Family Loan you are agreeing to have your Child Benefit paid into your Hoot account until the loan is fully repaid. Loan repayments will start when your first Child Benefit payment is deposited. This may take up to 4 weeks and your loan will incur interest during this time.

Please note that the Child Benefit must in your own name to be able to apply for this loan. You will be asked to provide proof that the benefit is in your name. Applications made using someone else’s Child Benefit will not be accepted.

You also agree to save an agreed amount that will be available to withdraw when the loan is fully repaid. If you cannot agree to locking your savings until the loan is repaid or topped up, you should not take out a Family Loan.

Please see Terms and Conditions for more details.

To be eligible to apply for a Family Loan:

You must be eligible for membership.

You must be the recipient of the Child Benefit in your own name and agree to your Child Benefit being paid directly from HMRC to your Hoot Credit Union account. You will be asked for proof of receipt of Child Benefit by submitting your bank statement and your latest HMRC Child Benefit award letter. You might want to make sure you have this letter before applying. Please note that you must be in receipt of Child Benefit in your own name to be able to apply for this loan. Applications made using someone else’s Child Benefit will not be accepted.

You must agree to save a little whilst you are paying back your loan and to keep those savings with us until the loan has been repaid. Any ‘surplus’ can then be transferred into your nominated bank account, sent to your prepaid card or withdrawn in cash. If you cannot agree to locking your savings until the loan is repaid or topped up, you should not take out a Family Loan.

All loan applications, including top ups, are subject to a credit check and affordability assessment. Please see Terms and Conditions tab for more details on how we do credit checks.

If you are not already a member of Hoot Credit Union you will be registered as a member as part of the loan agreement process.

* Meeting these criteria does not guarantee acceptance. Interest and repayments depend on individual applications and will be made clear to you when signing the loan agreement. Late repayment of loans can cause you serious money problems. You should only take out a loan if you are comfortable you can afford the loan and can repay on time. Applicants are expected to save with Hoot while repaying their loan. We regret that are unable to offer a loan if you are on an Individual Voluntary Arrangement or debt relief order or been declared bankrupt in the last 2 years.

Making the right choice

For information on what to consider when looking for a loan click here

I have read the Terms and Conditions and want to apply

What is a top up?

If you already have a Family Loan with Hoot, after six months you cant to apply to top your loan back up to the original amount. You can only do so six months after your last loan. If it hasn’t been six months since your last loan you will not be able to apply and the loan will not be available to you.

The amount you will be paid out is the difference between your original loan and the balance of the loan when you sign the loan agreement. Our membership team can explain more if you contact us.

If your top up application is successful you will be able to access half of your Pledged savings. The whole of your Pledged savings is only available if your loan is repaid in full.

If you are not sure when you are eligible please check the date on your last loan agreement or contact us.

Will I need to provide bank statements?

You do not need it send bank statements or proof of Child Benefit if you already have a loan with us. We may ask for an updated proof of identification, or additional documents if your circumstances have changed.

Am I guaranteed a top up loan?

Top up loans are not guaranteed and are subject to the same affordability and credit checks as any other loan application. If we fell that your financial situation has worsened since your last loan we may not be able to offer the top up.

Six months since your last top up? Click Apply to continue.

Apply Here

You agree to have your Child Benefit paid into the Credit Union at least until the loan is repaid in full. Child Benefit must be in your own name. Applications using Child Benefit in someone else’s name will not be accepted. Loan repayments and agreed savings plan deposits will be deducted from the benefit and the remainder paid to you according to arrangements made. NB. If you cannot agree to locking in some savings until your loan is repaid, you should NOT take out a Family Loan.
You agree that loan repayments will start when your first Child Benefit payment is deposited to your account and each subsequent Child Benefit deposit until the loan is repaid.
You agree to repay the loan to Hoot Credit Union and pay interest on the unpaid balance at the agreed rate. Interest will be charged on outstanding balances on a daily basis.
You agree to make payments at the agreed frequency and will continue to do so until the loan and interest have been repaid in full. If you miss a repayment, you will incur additional interest on the loan. The first payment will be due on the date agreed in the loan agreement.
If you withdraw your Child Benefit for any reason or don’t make your payments on time we will contact you to find out why. The interest on your agreement is based on you paying on time. If you miss payments you may end up paying more interest than on the agreement. If you stop paying your loan we can ask you to repay the whole loan at once. If you stop repaying your loan and we have to take steps to contact you for repayments, we may add the cost of chasing you to the amount owed to us.
If your loan is in arrears we have the right to take any savings you have towards the repayment.
You have the right to settle the Agreement early at any time by paying in full the balance of the Loan and any unpaid interest outstanding. Hoot Credit Union will, on request, provide you with a written statement of the sums which have been paid and which remain outstanding under the agreement.
You agree that you will inform us immediately if you give or receive notice of termination of employment, change of address or any other circumstance which will affect my ability to make the agreed loan repayments, so that alternative methods of payment may be arranged.
You must be a member of Hoot to be eligible for a loan. If your loan application is successful, and you are not already a member, you agree to become a member of Hoot Credit Union.

Credit reference and fraud protection agencies

We may use credit reference and fraud prevention agencies to help us make decisions. What we do and how both we and credit reference and fraud prevention agencies will use your information is detailed in the leaflet: A condensed guide to the use of your personal information by ourselves and at Credit Reference and Fraud Prevention Agencies. If you would like to read the full details of how your data may be used please click here, phone 01204 365 024, or ask one of our staff. By confirming your agreement to proceed you are accepting that we may use your information in this way.

Further Information

All loans are subject to approval and availability of funds.
Your personal details will only be used in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.
Your personal details will only be shared with licensed credit reference agencies and for debt recovery or fraud prevention purposes, should this be necessary.

Free Loan Protection Insurance

We have a group life insurance policy that may cover your loan in case of death. You don’t have to pay any premiums for the cover, it’s covered by us on our group insurance. Claims are subject to terms and conditions, restrictions apply based on age and cover limits. Find out more here.

*Representative example.

Borrowing £500.00 over 12 months will cost £51.00/month. Total amount repayable is £602.75 which includes interest at 42.6% APR. (Final payment will differ)