These terms and conditions are available in paper form at any time on request. You can request these by calling us on 0151 489 0402, emailing us at info@vacu.org.uk or on our website www.voyageralliance.com
Admission to membership of the Retail CU is restricted to:
a) an individual who follows an occupation in the following ‘Minor’ Groups of the Office of National Statistics’ Standard Occupational Classification:
i) 821 Road transport drivers
ii) 823 Other drivers and transport operatives
iii) 116 Managers and directors in transport and logistics
b) a body corporate, an individual in his/her capacity as a partner in a partnership, an individual in his/her capacity as an officer or member of the governing body of an unincorporated association, if the principal business of the body corporate, partnership or unincorporated association:
i) requires it to employ or otherwise engage persons who follow the above occupation
ii) relates to the above occupation in the following way:
– is a social club whose members follow the above occupations
– is a retirement fund with members in the above occupations
– provides trade union services to members in the above occupations
c) an individual employed by the following employers:
i) Manchester Airport Group
ii) Peel Holdings Airport division
iii) the Department for Work and Pensions
iv) Jaguar Land Rover
v) VOITH
vi) Johnsons Switchgear
vii) Association of British Credit Unions Limited
viii) Or the successor companies of the above
d) a body corporate, an individual in his/her capacity as a partner in a partnership, an individual in his/her capacity as an officer or a member of the governing body of an unincorporated association, if the body corporate, partnership or unincorporated association:
i) is one of the above employers (or their successor subsidiaries)
ii) provides services to one of the above employers
iii) is related to one of the employers in the following way:
– is a social club whose members are employed by one of the above employers
– is a retirement fund with members who are employed by one of the above employers
– provides trade union services to the above employers
e) an individual associated with the individuals in a) by virtue of:
i) receiving a pension as a result of following the same occupation as those individuals
ii) providing the maintenance of vehicles for those individuals
iii) providing contracted support, ancillary, social and welfare or trade union services to those individuals
f) an individual who is a member of the following bona fide organisation:
i) Unite Trade Union
ii) GMB Trade Union
iii) UNISON
iv) RMT
v) ASLEF
vi) USDAW
vii) PCS Trade Union
g) an individual who is a member of the same household as, and is a relative of, an individual who is a member of the credit union and falls directly into a common bond specified above.
1. Introduction
1.1 These terms and conditions relate to all Retail CU savings accounts. Please read and keep them in a safe place.
1.2 In addition to these conditions, specific terms and conditions may also apply to certain types of account such as Loan Accounts, Young Saver accounts etc. You will be provided with a copy of these where applicable.
1.3 If we make any changes to these terms and conditions in the future, we will advise you of what these are and the reasons for them.
2. Membership
2.1 A mem2.1 A member must hold at least £5 in a Membership Account with the credit union. Each member has voting rights on a ‘one member, one vote’ basis, regardless of how much they hold in shares. Juvenile members are not entitled to vote.
2.2 Your membership will automatically start when you make your first payment and begin to contribute a minimum of £2 per week or £10 per month by payroll deduction if you are employed by an employer listed in our common bond, or by standing order into your account. Members must always have a minimum balance of £5 in their Membership Account.
2.3 We have the discretion to terminate your membership if regular payments into the member account are not maintained.
2.4 You can withdraw your savings at any time. Withdrawals from savings to a member’s external account incur a £1/transaction faster payment fee. Transfers between internal accounts are not chargeable. However, if required, the board may request that you provide up to 60 days’ clear notice to withdraw your shareholding. This could take place in the unlikely event of the credit union being unable to meet exceptional member demand.
2.5 If you do not make any transactions on your account for a period of 12 months and you do not respond to our correspondence, your account will become dormant and an annual administration fee of £5.00 will be charged.
2.6 The rules of Retail CU provide further details of membership. A free copy of the rules is available to every member on request.
2.7 Members may leave Retail CU at any time, without penalty, providing no debts are outstanding. All savings accounts will be closed on cancellation of membership. Please note no dividend will be payable upon closure. Please contact us if you wish to close your account.
3. Payment of dividends/interest
3.1 If a surplus has been achieved, the Board of Directors may recommend the rate of dividend payment for agreement by the members at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The AGM is held during the six months following the accounting year end (30th September). There is no guaranteed rate of dividend, or indeed guarantee that a divided will be paid at all.
3.2 Any dividend shall be declared on all full shares held in eligible share accounts during the preceding year of account. New members joining the credit union will be entitled to a proportional part of the dividend on any shares held for less than the full year of account on every full day of membership. Dividend shall be paid to those in membership of the credit union on the following working day after the date that the dividend is voted on and agreed by the membership at the AGM.
3.3 Interest bearing shares such as ISA’s and PRIME accounts, are not eligible for a dividend and interest shall be set and credited using an agreed policy and procedure established by the Board of Directors.
4. Tax
4.1 Dividends and interest are paid gross of any tax but are not tax free. You must therefore declare your dividends and interest payments on your tax return if applicable. Retail CU is under obligation to inform HRMC of any members in receipt of dividend and/or interest above £250. The exception to this is the ISA account, which is tax free.
5. Juvenile accounts at 18
5.1 At the age of 18, we will write to advise that the juvenile account will be converted to that of a full member and that the juvenile will have full control of their account, subject to the provision of suitable identification.
6. Statements
6.1 We will send or make available to you a statement of your savings account at least annually, although a statement can be requested at any time free of charge. Members also have access to view their statements online or via our app.
7. Transactions and payments
7.1 Transactions can be made online, by email or by telephone.
7.2 Withdrawals will be processed within working hours and paid by faster payments to your bank account. Withdrawals requested outside of our opening hours will be processed on the next working day. E.g. a withdrawal request received on Monday after 4.00pm will be processed on Tuesday morning. Cash withdrawals or deposits are not permitted.
7.3 Funds that are paid into the credit union by debit will be placed in your Retail CU Account on the day after they are received into our bank account. Funds received via payroll deduction will be credited to accounts as soon as we are in receipt of both the funds and a confirmation list from employers.
7.4 Funds that are paid into the credit union by debit card will be available for you to withdraw after 5 working days.
7.5 When a cheque is received, funds will be available to withdraw after 10 working days. We reserve the right to debit your account in the event of a cheque being returned unpaid and pass on any associated fees charge to the credit union.
7.6 Any deposits are subject to money laundering verification.
8. Set off
8.1 We may use the money in your savings account towards payment of any money that you owe us (for example, under a loan) which is due for payment but has not been paid. This is known as our right to set off.
9. Financial Services Compensation Scheme
9.1 Deposits held in Retail CU are covered by the financial services compensation scheme (FSCS). This means that your savings are protected by the scheme up to £85,000 per member. For more information about the compensation scheme please visit www.fscs.org.uk.
10. Proof of Identity
10.1 We are required by law to verify the identity and address of all new members who wish to open an account with us and existing members when required. We will usually do this via an electronic identification search however if we are unable to do this for any reason, we will ask you for alternative identification.
11. How we will use your information
11.1 We may share your information with credit reference agencies for use in credit decisions, for fraud prevention and to pursue debtors. We will ask you when you join the credit union whether you are happy for us to send you information about our own products and services by post and email. if you change your mind at any time, please let us know.
11.2 Under the data protection legislation you can make a written request for a copy of the records we hold about you, known as a Subject Data Access Request. Please contact us for further details.
12. Cancellation
12.1 Under the Distance Marketing Directive, you have the right to cancel your savings account within 14 days of opening without financial or other penalty.
13. Making a complaint
13.1 If you wish to make a complaint you can contact us by telephone on 0151 489 0402, email info@vacu.org.uk, or in writing to Hyde Road Depot, Ardwick, Manchester M12 6JS. We will always do everything we possibly can to sort out the problem. If you are dissatisfied with our final response, you may be able to take your complaint to the Financial Services Ombudsman. For more information about the financial ombudsman service please visit www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
14. Language
14.1 All communications between you and us will be in English.
15. Loan Protection Insurance
As a Member of Retail CU your loan is protected in the event of your death, helping protect your family from the financial burden of bereavement. This is offered to all members up to the age of 69. Terms & conditions apply – full details here
16. Law
16.1 These terms and conditions are governed by the law of England and Wales.
17. General
17.1 Membership of Retail CU, or completion of a loan application, does not guarantee a loan will be granted.
17.2 Retail CU staff may require additional information to support your application.
17.3 Loan Agreements are subject to approval by the Loan Team.
17.4 The Loan Team will not enter into discussions about their decisions. The Loan Team decisions are final and binding.
18. Disclosure of Information
18.1 The information that you provide may be disclosed to a licenced credit agency which will retain a record of the search. It may then be used by other lenders in assessing applications from you and other members of your household and for debt tracing and fraud prevention. You have the opportunity to ‘opt out’ of Retail CU receiving information about members of your household. This is clearly marked on the loan application.
18.2 Information may be shared with other credit unions.
19. Country Court Judgements (CCJs), Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) Bankruptcy Orders, Trust Deeds, Debt Management Plans and Debt Relief Orders
19.1 Loan Applications will be considered in the normal way when a member has low value active CCJs. (see Declined loans). Failure to declare any of the above may result in an application being denied on the grounds of non-declaration. Where a member has large CCJ’, an IVA, DRO, Debt Management Plan or a Bankruptcy Order, the application will be declined.
20. Declined Loans
20.1 The Loan Team will decline a loan application if, in their opinion, granting the loan would be against the interest of the credit union or the member. They take into consideration; length of membership, savings and loan record, amount requested, a credit reference agency credit report, available funds, current credit union rules & policies and any other information they consider relevant.
20.2 We are not permitted to reveal details of a credit report but will give details of the credit reference agency used.
20.3 The Loan team will not enter into discussions about their decisions and employees cannot overturn such decisions.
21. Distance Marketing Directive
21.1 Under the distance marketing directive members have the right to cancel a loan agreement within 14 days by informing the credit union and returning the money lent.
22. Loan Protection Insurance
As a Member of Retail CU your loan is protected in the event of your death, helping protect your family from the financial burden of bereavement. This is offered to all members up to the age of 69. Terms & conditions apply – full details here
23. Loan Conditions
23.1 Members can hold a maximum of one loan at any time.
24. Loan Interest
24.1 The Interest on all loans is charged on a daily basis.
25. Early Loan Repayment
25.1 Loans can be partially, or fully repaid, at any time. There are no extra costs or penalties.
26. Loan Repayments
26.1 Loan repayments can be increased as requested.
26.2 In the event of missed loan repayments, shares may be transferred to cover the missing repayment.
26.3 If the credit union is advised of an impending bankruptcy, or suchlike, shares may be used to reduce the outstanding loan balance.
27. Leaving Employment
27.1 If a member is about to leave one of our Payroll Partners it is important that contact is made with the Retail CU as soon as possible.
27.2 This is to prevent any misunderstanding or any resulting recovery action. Arrangements can be made to repay the outstanding loan balance by direct debit. Leavers are welcome to remain a member of Retail CU and are able to apply for loans in the same way as Payroll Partner employed members.
28. Financial Difficulties
28.1 If a member, who has a Retail CU28.1 If a member, who has a Retail CU loan, finds themselves in financial difficulties, it is important that they contact Retail CU. We will do our best to help. Further help can be sought from Citizens Advice.
29. Delinquent Loans
29.1 When loan repayments are missed, a loan becomes delinquent. Every effort will be made to come to a mutual agreement with a member if their loan becomes delinquent.
29.2 Retail CU is obliged to recover delinquent loans. Shares, and other savings, can be used to recover loan repayments.
29.3 If our efforts to come to a mutual agreement fail, further action may be taken. We do take legal action, including applying for County Court Judgements. We do use bailiff services. We do employ debt collection companies and solicitors. Costs are added to outstanding loans.
30. Formal Declaration
30.1 When applying for a Retail CU loan, members will be asked to sign a Formal Declaration.
31. Complaints
31.1 We aim to resolve any complaints quickly and fairly. If you unhappy with us, please ask for your complaint to be dealt with by our Complaints Officer. If you are dissatisfied with our final response, you may be able to take your complaint to the Financial Services Ombudsman. The Board will, upon agreement, offer redress to a member who has a complaint upheld against the credit union, in relation to their terms of a loan agreement.