Are you eligible for a Handy Loan?

Please read the following before applying for a loan with Hoot Credit Union to avoid any potential negative impact on your credit file.

You are more likely to be accepted for a Handy Loan* if you:

• are 18 years or over
• can show you have regular earnings income or benefits of over £500 per month (excluding housing benefit)
• agree to save with the credit union whilst repaying your loan

You are less likely to be accepted if you:

• can’t prove a regular source of income
• have had defaults or CCJs in the last 12 months

All loan applications are subject to an affordability and credit check. Please see Terms and Conditions tab for more details on how we do credit checks.

We regret that are unable to offer a loan if you are currently on, or have been on an Individual Voluntary Arrangement or Debt Relief Order in the last two years, or have been declared bankrupt in the last two years.

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.

Please note that if your sole income is from benefits you may be asked to pay one of those benefits into the credit union as a condition of the loan.

* 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.

How do we decide if you get a loan?

Click here to find out about how we make a loan decision

Please Note: If you already have a Family Loan with Hoot you are not eligible to apply for any other loan.

If you already have a Loan with Hoot and are applying for  a Top Up you should make sure you are eligible before you apply.

You can apply for a Top Up six months after your loan started or you had your last loan.

If your last loan was less than 6 months ago you will not be eligible to apply.

All loan applications are subject to an affordability and credit check.

If you are not sure when you are eligible to top up please contact us.

Six months since your last loan? Click Apply to continue.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. If you 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.
4. If your loan is in arrears we have the right to take any savings you have towards the repayment.
5. 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.
6. You agree to keep at least the equivalent of 10% of your outstanding loan balance in your savings at any time. If you don’t have at least 10% of your loan in savings at the time you take out the loan, you agree to start saving to reach that amount. Anything over 10% of your loan balance can be withdrawn.
7. 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.
8. 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.