You must be a member of City of Plymouth Credit Union to access any of our products or services. First and foremost, this requires that you be part of the "common bond" for the credit union; in our case, that means that you either live or work in Devon, Cornwall, or the Isles of Scilly. (If you don't qualify, try the Find Your Credit Union site to find out which credit union covers your area.) Then you need to apply to join. It's quite straightforward, you need to complete an Adult Membership Form (print it out or obtain one from a Service Point) and provide some personal identification information. Known as "Know Your Customer" or KYC checks, this is a requirement placed on all financial institutions, including banks, building societies and, of course, credit unions. It's part of the government Money Laundering Regulations and is necessary to prove your identity and address. In most instances, we will be able to do this online (this will not affect your credit rating), but sometimes it is not possible or convenient, in which case we will inform you that we will be carrying out the checks ourselves. If this happens, you will need to provide a minimum of two forms of identification, one from each of the following lists. In all cases we need to see ORIGINAL documents, not photocopies. If you are applying by post, we will return them with your membership welcome pack. Please do NOT send documents marked "No" in the "Applying by post" column below in case they get lost in the post. The same document can't be used to prove your Name and Address.
In exceptional circumstances an original letter from a person in reasonable authority, such as a teacher, doctor, social worker, minister of religion, hostel manager or solicitor may be accepted as evidence of identity.
And finally, before you become a member, you will need to pay a minimum of £1 into your savings and pay the Membership Fee of £2 - this is to cover the administration costs of joining you up. You can make payments by standing order, via payroll deduction, direct from your benefit payment, at your local post office, or at one of our many service points using your credit union membership number as a reference.
Any change of name or address, change of e-mail address or change of telephone or mobile number must be notified to us immediately. If you do not do this we may charge your account with the cost of locating you. Proof of change of name or address may be required.
To become an adult member of City of Plymouth Credit Union, a person must live or work in Devon, Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly at the time of application, be 18 years of age or over and have permanent UK Residency.
Membership shall commence on provision of proof of identity and current address, and on payment of the membership fee of £2, plus a minimum of £1 in savings.
If the total of all savings accounts falls below £25 and no transaction is performed for 12 months, we reserve the right to charge an administration fee of £5 and declare the account dormant.
If the total of all of a member's savings accounts falls below £5 and no transaction is performed for 12 months, we reserve the right to charge an administration fee of up to £5 and close the account.
The credit union has the right to suspend an account if fraudulent activity is suspected.
Your account is for personal use only.
You will need to provide proof of identity and proof of current address unless we can carry this out online.
Any change of name or address, change of e-mail address or change of telephone or mobile number must be notified to us immediately. Proof of change of name or address may be required.
An annual dividend may be paid, gross of tax, on all sums deposited, subject to surplus. City of Plymouth Credit Union is not responsible for tax declarations and does not give advice on tax due on dividends. Please contact HMRC for advice.
The dividend will be recommended by the Board of Directors and authorised by the members at the Annual General Meeting. Any dividend due will be paid as soon as practicable after the Annual General Meeting. Any dividend payable may be freely withdrawn by the member.
Any dividend due is calculated for the credit union financial year which is 1st October to 30th September. Dividend can only be paid to active members' accounts. Accounts closed after the financial year end (30th September onwards) but before the dividend is credited, will forfeit the right to any dividend due. Members who close their account during the financial year also forfeit the right to any dividend due. Dividend is not paid to any member that has a current bad debt within the credit union.
A member may leave the credit union at any time without penalty providing no debts are outstanding. All savings accounts will terminate on closure of the membership.
Should a member die, the balance of all accounts, after addition of any Life Insurance due and after repaying any outstanding loans, will be paid to the Executor for the estate of the deceased, or to the Beneficiary as recorded on the Beneficiary Form if available.