Hi, we've had a few issues with a local credit union recently. Having gone over paperwork for a loan for a family member, it appears that the credit union refused to off-set savings to allow a defaulted debt to be paid off, and instead insisted on refinancing. If the savings had been used to off-set, the debt outstanding would have been approx. £300 and could have been repaid easily in a couple of months, at the time. The person asked to do this (in writing). The credit union refused. As it is, the person now cannot repay the repayments at all as they have only PIP as income, and now the credit union are claiming the debt is closer to £3000 AFTER taking off the savings. The credit union won't provide a breakdown of amount paid or any justification of why they felt making them take out thousands to cover what boils down to £300 is acceptable. Run by one person, so complaints are never upheld. Family member is disabled and at the time they agreed to the refinancing, was not only unwell themselves, but also had family members quite unwell too. Credit Union are very aware of this, but basically don't care and have said as much. It just looks like the credit union took a massive advantage to make interest off him. While big banks may well do it, it feels nastier from a credit union who's customers are more likely to be vulnerable, and actually I'm not sure a big bank would insist a customer took out a loan of approx. £4000 to cover £300. I think they'd take the savings and go after the £300 separately, not allow refinancing beyond affordability and sense. No 'extra' funds were made available due to refinancing either, it was all to avoid taking even a penny out the savings. Of course it would be nicer to keep savings intact, but if they couldn't afford the repayments, and wanted to decrease their debt, it seems ridiculous to make them pay so much more on top just to keep the money there. They now owe so much more, and are in a worse position. This credit union have in the past also been known to move money around accounts to make new accounts to put part of their savings in for people without their knowledge and also take money out people's savings for use of their business. Only small amounts- an extra £10 going missing at Christmas out a income-related benefit, for example. Statements were never sent too. Also rather than add charges to a debt or incurred cost, they were taken directly out of savings. The credit union have recently been told in court they are NOT allowed to refuse to off-set savings, in order to create a larger debt to sue for. Owner claimed ignorance about off-setting, despite approx. 20 years owning the business. Is there anything we can do about this? Complaining to the credit union is useless. It feels like they took advantage and scammed him- I'm quite angry about it, angry at myself too for not seeing it at the time but with no statements, we had nothing to compare it to. Also, how do we calculate interest on a refinanced loan? As there seems to be something amiss on the figures too. Thanks

Hi all, Looking for some advice - I've been reading through and there's lot of great advice here on the forum and I've kind of used some already but messed up in places to give the gym more than I should - so here's the story. My wife and I are a member of the Sweat Union gym in Chelmsford, we are both on rolling monthly contracts. On 22nd August 2018 we both sent them an email saying we would like to cancel our memberships and she subsequently cancelled the DD (2 x 21.99 as she paid for both of ours). We were then informed the next day that you had to cancel prior to the 15th of the month so we would have the pay the September gym fees. We were willing to pay and she called them to say the DD has been cancelled and they said this means we would need to pay the £21.99 for Sept and both incur a £15 admin fee because of the DD. She called the bank to try and reinstate it but they said Sweat would have to do it and they didn't seem willing. The payment wasn't due until the 31/08 so we emailed and said we'll pay the outstanding £21.99 each but don't agree with the fee, the email was ignored. I ended up looking at my account on the site and could see the balance due (£21.99) and the option to pay online so we went ahead and both paid the September balance on the 29th August (before the due date). I then emailed Sweat to say the balance was paid prior to the deadline and I assume this clears the matter, that the admin fee will be removed and that we can still use the gym through Sept as we are paid up. They emailed back to say no, we have to pay the £15 fee each, we cannot use the gym unless this is paid and on top of this, we cannot cancel our memberships with outstanding arrears on our accounts. Now this is really galling - I know £15 is not a lot but I don't want to pay it out of principal. The gym have acknowledged we would like to cancel but refuse to let us do so without paying the £15 fee. They say that if we don't pay the £15 our accounts will be passed onto a third party finance agency. Reading other threads, it seems like they don't have any legal right for the £15 fee Should I do anything else at this point or just ignore going forward? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Can anyone recommend a good union please? I used to be with GMB Union but wondered what my options were? Thanks

I have experienced whereby the actions of my workplace union have precluded me from being able to proceed to Employment Tribunal. Consequently, I am left with only the option of filing a personal injury claim against my employer, which the union will not take forward on my behalf. The union has acknowledged wrongdoing, placing blame squarely at the door of their local representative and citing a lack of knowledge as the reason for the error. Can anyone recommend the services of a competent legal firm with whom they've had success in this area?

2 years ago I requested DWP several times (verbally and in email) to remove my phone number from their systems and to stop calling me. - Their response to this complaint = "would i like a callback" doh.... Eventually DWP removed my phone number from their systems after I had notified them that I will resort to legal action if they do not do this. Since then, if I have had to contact DWP then I have refused to give my phone number. Some weeks ago I received a phone call from DWP CEO Office. This phone call should not have been made due to my previous request. In response to this phone call I contacted complaints resolution team and spoke with someone who has been dealing with my complaints since 2015, she stated that as far as she can see and as far as she knows, my telephone number has been removed from their systems and she can't possibly see where the CEO office obtained my number from. The cynical side of me suggests that DWP made this phone call out of spite in relation to my complaint of a few weeks earlier where DWP CEO staff implied I am a liar, then when I proved I am not a liar by quoting her a reference number she refused to apologise. I need to stop phone calls from DWP, but despite the fact that they have removed my number from their system, I still receive unwanted phone call from their CEO office. Breach of my privacy by DWP - informing my parents of my complaints.... During the phone call (which should not have been made), DWP first spoke with my father and somehow managed to verify that he is myself. DWP then went on to discuss my previous complaint with my father who was not aware I had a historical complaint (hes only aware of recent complaints). This has made my parents even more stressed in the knowledge of an historical complaint as since they have been helping support me financially during DWP pathetic excuses of they cant pay claim because my go fit note not matches exact date of claim etc. For my parents to learn that I had struggled financially previously and have an outstanding complaint worries them more as they are nearly 80. They were hoping that my complaints surrounding 2015 to present date would result in DWP realising that they are wrong not to pay benefit for sickness, this would then repay my debt to my parents who have been financially supporting me. For my parents to learn of a more historical complaint which has been ignored just adds to their worry. DWP called me 2 years after them removing my number from their system and requesting no phone calls due to mental health reasons. They also disclosed my personal details with my father. For my mother to hand me the phone saying its "DWP talking about your complaint from years ago" with a flushed worried complexion is horrible. I am trying my best to keep her from such worry given her age and health, the same for my father. Thanks to DWP incompetence they are both aware... I need to stop these phone calls! How?????

I had a loan from a credit union and was 3 quarters of the way to paying it off. Today i had a phone call from my payroll department to advise me that the Credit Union had gone into administration and that they were refunding my last two payments as they where taken direct from my pay. I wondered if anyone could advise me as to what would happen with the remainder of this loan as i cant seen to get an answer from the credit union. Thanks

HI, I wish I had found this site about 6 moths ago. Here goes - I will try to make it as short as possible. My OH has ( had!) over 30 unblemished years service with a local authority as a craft tradesman. Approximately 18 months the management ( 3rd party run local authority services) made veiled comments about losing staff, but also had their favourites they wanted to keep. However all staff would have to go through competitive interviews, sickness records etc and their favourites would not make it. So they had a problem. There has been a succession of brought in line managers do not have the necessary qualifications, experience to run / understand the department. Staff of 8 in department. All work vans are fitted with a GPS tracker system About 8 months ago, 2 employees found using a GPS jammer device, suspended on spot, subsequently investigated and dismissed without paid notice. Couple of weeks after jammer discovered all 6 other employees received a letter asking them to attend an interview re: "an incident" that had occurred in dept. Obviously all took this to be about the GPS jammer. However when OH goes in for interview, by investigating manager ( who doesn't understand OH job/role) and HR he is presented with 4 months worth of his tracker information), and is questioned about his lunch time activities. OH accused of having too long for lunch. Lots of mitigating factors - no computer access at work, planning work, planning reports etc etc. Union were very ineffective in meeting and HR seemed to be more vocal and leading investigation. All 6 employees interviewed - one none driver therefore no tracker info - but regularly seen leaving work 30 -45 mins early by senior management. The remaining 5 were deemed to have been having too long for lunch Couple of weeks later 4 of the 6 suspended - the non driver and a worker who "makes" the management house a lot of money were not suspended. - He was however investigated and given a 2nd written warning - but not charged with falsifying time sheets yet allegedly owed 4 hours. The 4 who were suspended have been through disciplinary hearing and an appeal hearing - both of which did not take mitigating factors into consideration. All were dismissed under gross misconduct with paid notice. ACAS are now issuing certificate as management won't budge , but did acknowledge that the paid notice was due to "managerial shortcomings" and union have refused to support members as they have been charged with 'falsifying time sheets". HR are aware that union are not supporting ( mole?!). My OH has repeatedly asked the union why only 4 of the 8 have been accused of falsifying time sheets when all 8 employees were allegedly taking too long for lunch or leaving work early. The employee leaving early was simply taken in for a quiet chat!! OH also asked union why in a separate incident ( based on tracker information ) an employee was at home for a full 8 hours during the day - but he wasn't investigated, suspended and only given another final written warning, why is there a lack of parity? The 4 are now meeting with a view to proceed privately to an ET. Union are supporting the employee who was dismissed for jammer use? Your comments and advice would be gratefully appreciated.

If this hasnt been posted before? Credit Unions for Armed Services personnel http://www.abcul.org/media-and-research/news/view/615 http://joiningforcescu.co.uk/

Hi, Random question, My union rep who has been representing me on and off for years has just told me he has never been on any training courses and has just picked it up as he has gone along. I thought that there was initial training which they should go on before they should represent a member. Anybody any experience with this? Cheers Dex

Does anyone really know what's going to happen..

The EU requires non-members of the euro to reduce the bank compensation scheme from £85,000, £75,000 because the value of the euro has dropped, as of 1st January 2016. What the hell has it got to do with Brussels what the UK government gives its people in compensation. Don’t you just love being a member of this rotten undemocratic club???

Controversial plans to tighten rules on trade union strike ballots in Britain have passed their first Commons hurdle despite fierce Labour criticism. MPs backed the Trade Union Bill, which proposes higher voting thresholds for ballots, by 33 votes at second reading. Business Secretary Sajid Javid said the bill was "not a declaration of war" against unions but necessary to stop "endless" threats of industrial action. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34241810

This week, Glasgow councillors are expected to agree to a new partnership with Glasgow Credit Union. The two year pilot Partnership Mortgage Guarantee Scheme will provide house hunters who can afford to pay a mortgage but cannot raise the necessary deposit. At present, lenders are demanding deposits of between 5% and 25%, which for many people on low incomes is impossible to raise. Glasgow Credit Union will allocate up to £4million in mortgage funding over the period. The council will act as a guarantor for the loan over a maximum five year period, up to a maximum of 20% of the original mortgage amount in the first year, reducing to 10% by year five. READ MORE HERE: http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/13584721.Deposit_scheme_boost_for_first_time_buyers/

Im going through an issue with work. Im finding the union is a little laid back. Nothing too major yet, but they're very reticent regarding action. Im a little worried they might be weak in the face of my Tribunal (They're the same ones who work with employees of a company which rhymes with 'Besco') I've been so worried ,I've approached a private company who do work on a 'fixed fee' basis. I can afford to go down the fixed fee route. I want to make sure my ex-employer really isn't left off the hook. Would anyone recommend a best route? Its the first time I've ever done this in 25 years of work. Im not asking for definitives, but in the face of an ineffectual union ,but with unlimited access to legal cover, or go for a fixed fee from a firm which I'll be the main focus ie. they'll be working directly for me. Are union legal cover as effective as paid private action?

I am absolutely mortifed to have found out that Trade Unions are not regulated. I have spent several months pursing my complaint (complete farce) with a particular trade union to now be informed that it has reached stage 3 and I can take it no further. What can I do? Any suggestions please.

How many union reps can a workplace have ? Is there a limit ?

At work our main union has elected reps, that are voted for each year by the workforce There is a minority union that has around 5% of the workforce and they have a union rep that has elected themselves to represent the few people in his union (not elected or voted for by anyone , he just does it as he used to be a union rep) and another person that has elected themselves as there health and safety rep Now can these two turn up at staff side/management meetings and claim to reps of the "workforce" even though nobody has ever voted for them or elected them ??

In my workplace there is two unions , i shall call them union A and Union B 90% of the work force is in union A and all the elected union reps are from union A For those staff that are in the minority union , who have no elected reps - can the union reps refuse to represent us that are not in there union ? They are saying they can go to a hearing and the like as a "companion" only but cannot represent us or assist with any problems we may have as we are not in there union , even though we work in the same place ? Surely if they are the elected work place union reps they should have to represent everyone regardless of which union you are in ?

Hi there, I am helping my neighbour sort out his Finances, and while most of his creditors have been happy to help, we have an issue with a Credit Union. He had a loan with them, and in attempting to restart payments to them, they have said its now been passed to an outside agency for collection and they will not deal with him or have contact with him to repay it(despite the fact it was passed on 4 months ago andhe has heard nothing). He had savings worth £300 with them, and they are refusing to release them to him, either as payment towards the loan, or just a cheque to him as he still has an active loan. My Argument is that if they are now refusing to deal with the collection of the loan, they surely cannot hold his savings to ransom? Thanks for the help.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/police-officers-fear-new-strict-2952145

Hello, I currently have several debts which I am currently paying back through a DMP with Stepchange, obviously because of this my credit rating is poor and therefore I will not be able to get a loan through normal channels so I am going to consider credit unions. If I was to clear the debts I would have around £1000pm available to pay of a consolidation loan, I would also hopefully be able to reduce what I owe by offering Full and Final settlements. I will need around 14k to clear all my debts. I want to do this so that I can start to rebuild my credit rating and simplify my debts however is it likely that a credit union would consider me?

The deductions made is not what i singed for.Even after pointing out that they are making unauthorized deductions they still continue. Can a credit union take whatever amount they want ?

Hi All, I would really appreciate some advice on my situation please. I have worked for a company for three plus years and my performance has always been measured as among the top in a team of 12. The company has always been struggling though and the whole region short of target (they have had many management changes). Then in Jan/Feb my role changed slightly and although I'm still among top in the team I'm still way short of expected target (the majority are even worse). I have never been asked or questioned on my performance (actually praised as recently as June and told I was under no job pressure) then out of the blue I received a formal letter complaining about my performance implying that they had spoken to me multiple times already (they never have). The last two-three months have been hard, but no worse than others in the team. If you take my yearly results and results from before the changes then again they are among the best. I have been told to I am having a disciplinarian review meeting early in August where the outcome will likely be a Performance Improvement Plan. I have been told I can take a Union rep. I am the only one in the whole team having this procedure taken against me. I doubt it will be a true "help" plan and more likely a "mange you out" PIP and will be set at levels unachievable by anyone in the company. Also after the PIP it's likely my performance will be better than other in the team not on PIP. The employer seems not to want an informal chat before this meeting. My questions are: General advice? Am I at risk of being fired in the meeting? How long would a PIP last? I can get a Union rep to attend with me for £350 + VAT. Are they worth it and what benefit would they be? I can get a solicitor to advise at additional cost also. What should I prepare for this session? Anything else? To be honest this has dented my trust in the Company and I doubt I want to work there, but I don't want to be in a situation where I am on 30days to find a job. Thanks for any advice and all is appreciated! Thank you D

Hi I currently have a problem with a pay rise that i should have received a long time ago. I work in a small team but i currently earn less than the others. I have been told various things i need to achieve before i get my rise. I have hit all the targets that have been asked of me and new ones are added every time i go back. I have just recently hit the last targets and was told i won't be getting a pay rise and they can't say why.... Is this classed as being discriminative?? I have worked 10 years more in the company than others and my work is more productive. Yet i'm still being refused a pay rise to match others. I was promised on each occasion of the meetings that i'd get a rise if i hit the set targets. My boss ignores all my emails requesting my review meetings. So overall i've worked at the company longest, work faster than others paid more in the same job (I have statistics to back everything up) Constantly being denied a pay rise i was promised and being ignored whenever i raise my issues. Is this right and is there anything i can do? Thank you

Credit union members are being warned not to respond to [problem] emails informing them they have won prizes in a national credit union lottery. Members replying to emails sent out from culottery.co.uk are likely to be asked to reveal bank details and risk identity fraud and theft. While many credit unions run lotteries to raise funds for their credit union, the Association of British Credit Unions (ABCUL) is advising all its members that there is no such national lottery. ABCUL states that although the culottery.co.uk lists a number of credit unions on its website, none are associated with any such lottery. It also points out that photographs of alleged lottery winners are actually doctored photos taken from the Connecticut State Lottery website. http://www.ccrmagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8318&Itemid=35