Credit Union News

In the current recession money problems can seem insurmountable.  The credit unions have teamed up with MABS (Money Advice Budgeting Service) to offer advice to people who have found their ability to meet their financial commitments hit by less income-either due to a job loss or pay reduction or another change in circumstance.  They’ve drawn up a leaflet, with guidelines on how to manage your financial debt-including advice on the steps to take to try and work your way back into the black, and a detailed budget sheet to start you on your way. Download DBCU Family Budget Planner (302.7kb) here. There will not be an easy solution to your money problems-but more often than not, debt problems can be resolved with time and effort.

1. Work out your budget -be honest.  Using a budget planner , you can make a list of all your income and outgoings. This will help to highlight areas where you could save a bit of money and it will help to prioritise your spending.  
2. Assess and prioritise your debts.  The worst thing to do is to ignore attempts by creditors to contact you-this could lead to legal action, and affect your credit rating.
3. Repayment plans-contact the companies that you owe money to.  Be open and honest about your circumstances, and try to come to an arrangement of repayments that you can afford to meet.
4. Beware of borrowing to repay-you could just be getting deeper into debt.  Stay well away from easy money-companies offering pay day advances and money lenders might seem like a solution at the time, but with legal doorstep lending companies charging 272.2% APR*, unsuspecting borrowers are left repaying hundreds of Euros in interest alone.
    

Credit unions have been a source of affordable credit in Ireland for over 40 years.  We would ask our members, who might be experiencing financial troubles, don’t delay-come and speak to us today, and see if we can help.
 

Further assistance can be found with MABS by contacting them on 1890283438 or log onto their website, www.mabs.ie
*Provident Personal Credit, as stated on their website May 18th 2010

The ILCU is happy to announce the relaunch of www.creditunion.ie.

Here’s a quick reminder.... COMPETITIVE INTEREST RATE Our loan rate of 11.6% is competitive in todays markey.  It doesn’t matter how much you borrow, the rate remains the same.  Some banks advertise their lowest rate to attract borrowers but hidden in the small print you’ll find the less you borrow the higher the interest rate.  An example taken from one of our main financial institutions reads like this, ‘The APR for loans over €9,000 is 8.9%, from €5,000 to €8,999 is 10.4% and for loans less than €5,000, the APR is 11.7%’.   OUR LOAN INTEREST IS CALCULATED TO YOUR ADVANTAGE Most financial institutions calculate the interest due at the start of a loan.  This means that even as you reduce the size of your loan, your interest will remain the same throughout.  With your credit union, your interest reduces as your loan reduces. With additional repayments or early clearance of a loan, you pay even less interest!  Some financial institutions penalise you for lump sum repayments or for clearing your loan early.  WE DON’T!  Since Oct. 07, loan interest is calculated on a daily basis.  This is also in the best interest of members.   NO FEES, CHARGES OR PENALTIES Your credit union has no document fees, arrangement fees, facility fees, rescheduling fees or any other fees on loans.  We don’t penalise you for clearing your loan off early either!  With other financial institutions you need to read the small print because quite often there are extra fees and charges on their loans.  Sometimes the following warning appears, ‘You may have to pay charges if you pay off a fixed-rate loan early’.  These fees, charges and penalties can mean a great difference in the amount you actually end up paying.  Your credit union is different!  What you are quoted is what you pay!  Don’t be afraid to ask for the total cost of your loan so that you can compare our loans against other loans and remember you can reduce the interest you pay on our loans by making additional repayments or by clearing your loan off early (with no penalties!).   YOUR LOAN DIES WITH YOU Your credit union provides Loan Protection Insurance* on the lives of its eligible borrowing members at no extra cost providing you were in good health when taking out the loan.  Should an insured borrower die or become totally and permanently disabled, the insurance cover provides that the loan balance will be fully cleared*.  With other financial institutions this type of insurance usually costs extra.   OTHER INSURANCE PRODUCTS THAT ADD VALUE! Life Savings Protection Insurance* - Your savings are insured for life at no extra cost. Depending on your age and how much you have saved with your credit union over the years, this insurance could provide your dependants with up to €10,200* on your death. Repayment Protection Insurance* - This low cost insurance covers your repayments in the event of accident, sickness, redundancy or if you are self-employed, critical illness.  This is an optional extra which could give you peace of mind.

What is a nomination form?

A nomination form is filled in by every new member at the time of joining telling the credit union who they wish to nominate to become entitled to their holding in the credit union at the time of their death.

Over the past number of weeks the Credit Union staff have been busy updating our computer system with details of members nominations that are currently on file.

As the credit union is now 40 years in operation we feel that many nomination forms may now be out of date. We would ask members to check with office staff that their nomination details are correct. (Please note that nomination details can only be given to the account holder) Any corrections can be made swiftly and will involve no delay.

We thank you for your co-operation.

The board of directors wish to advise all members that as and from the 1st July 2010, all new loans issued will be at a rate of 11.6% APR.

The cost of some loans are shown below or check out our on-line Loan Calculator to see what the change means for you.

	1 Year		5 Years
Amount	Weekly Repayment	Total Cost of Loan	Weekly Repayment	Total Cost of Loan
€1,000	€20.39	€1060.13	€5.07	€1,318.37
€5,000	€101.94	€5,300.65	€25.25	€6,591.86
€10,000	€203.87	€10,601.30	€50.71	€13,183.71

Congratulations to Ross McGarry of 6th class in St. Fiachra’s School on winning the bicycle during National Youth Savings week. Below Ross in the company of his classmates, teacher and principal is presented with his new bike by Tim Healy of Donncarney Beaumont & District Credit Union.

The Board of Directors would like to thank all our members for their patience and understanding during the recent introduction of our new IT system. If you are experiencing any difficulties with your accounts since the introduction please contact the offices.

At the AGM on December 2nd the directors recommeded a 1% dividend for members. From this the directors also recommended that the dividend shall be reduced by €6.35 in respect of each member in order to pay the annual premium of €6.35 per adult and €0.99 per juvenile to Eccu Assurance Company Limited on the Death Benefit Insurance in respect of each insurable member.  There were 2 exceptions to this:

(1) If any insurable adult member’s dividend payable on his shares does not amount to the sum of €6.35 or €0.99c then, the sum of €6.35 or €0.99c will not be deducted from his dividend and that member shall not have the benefit of the assurance cover provided by the Death Benefit Insurance; or

(2) If an insurable member does not wish to avail of the assurance cover provided under the Death Benefit insurance his dividend will not be reduced by the sum of €6.35 or €0.99c provided he has notified the Secretary of the credit union in writing to this effect prior to the Annual General Meeting.

The payment of these premiums as a deduction was approved by the membership at AGM 2008.  Since then there has been an increase in the premium required for each member however the Board of Directors of Donnycarney Beaumont & District Credit Union do not propose asking the membership to increase the current premium deduction of €6.35 and .99c for adults and minors respectively. 

The Credit Union will still subsidise this insurance to protect members’ benefits.  The benefit of the Death benefit Insurance is in addition to free member life savings and free member loan protection in the event of death.  DBI provided additional peace of mind with an added €1,300 lodged to deceased members’ shares.

The above proposal was passed by majority of those in attendance at the AGM and so €6.35 will be deducte from adult members’ account and €0.99 from juvenile members’ accounts unless notification is received to the Credit union from those wishing to opt out of the above insurance scheme.

Both offices will remain closed until 10am every Tuesday morning in order to facilitate staff training. The Board of Directors apologise for any inconvenience this may cause to our members.

YOUR MONEY IS SAFE WITH DONNYCARNEY BEAUMONT & DISTRICT CREDIT UNION.

Your savings are:

• PROTECTED by our members’ savings protection scheme
• GUARANTEED under the government svaings scheme
• BACKED by strong reserves
• INSURED with free life savings insurance 
• ACCESSIBLE at all times
• AFFILIATED to the Irish League of Credit Unions

The next CAR DRAW will take place at the end of October. The final Car draw for 2009 will take place at the AGM on December 2nd. Remember its only €35 for the year and next time you could be the winner of a new car from Harmonstown Motors.

If your income has suddenly reduced or your employment status has changed and you are having difficulty in meeting loan repayments please contact the credit control department TODAY. We will do everything we can to assist you in this difficult time. Contact us on 8465093