Increase in Demand for Debt Consolidation Loan says Bradford District Credit Union

Friday 26 January 2024

During a discussion on BBC Radio Moneybox around the topic of debt consolidation loans, one member of Bradford District Credit Union shared their story of how the credit union supported them in a time of need.

Ian Brewer, Financial Inclusion Development Officer at Bradford District Credit Union says he has seen an uptick in members seeking consolidation loans as a way to manage their debt.

‘What we are seeing is that people who have been fairly well off and comfortable who we wouldn’t consider to be financially excluded, their credit score is coming down and they are coming back to us because they are beginning to miss payments,’ Ian says.

Jenni Caldicott, 48, works for Bradford Council and went to her credit union for a consolidation loan after realising she had amassed too much debt on two credit cards.

“Around Christmas time I had a couple of credit cards, and before Christmas when I was trying to get all the presents and food I kept thinking “I’ll just pop it on a card,

“It got to that week between Christmas and New Year, and I decided to see how much I owed, and it really shocked me.

‘So, it was a case of, let’s deal with it now rather than letting it get out of out of control. I just thought, if you don’t deal with it life rolls on, business takes over and you become really stuck.’

Jenni rang her credit union, where she already had a loan, and asked if it could do anything to help

She said it offered her a consolidation loan that she applied for online, which was sorted in a couple of days.

With that she was able to pay off two of her credit cards. She says she saved hundreds of pounds in interest, as the credit union was able to offer a more competitive rate than another lender.

“My advice would be deal with it,’ she says. ‘Sit down with a pen and paper, look and see how much you owe because the interest snowballs.

“There are so many resources out there for budgeting, especially if you have got a credit union in your town.”