Madeline* is a 41 year old single mother of three children. One of her children is disabled, and as her full time carer, she is unable to work. She needed a car to take her daughter to medical appointments and more generally to allow her to get out and about.

She applied for a loan with Leeds Credit Union to purchase a car. Unfortunately, because of some recent missed payments on her utilities accounts, she was initially declined due to her low credit score.

Leeds Credit Union invited Madeline to apply for a No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) loan with them. This meant that Madeline was able to receive a £1500 interest free loan, with weekly repayments of £29 over 12 months. With this amount, she was able to buy the car and set aside a small amount for her daughter’s upcoming birthday. She told Leeds Credit Union that having access to this loan has been ‘a massive help’.

Madeline has already started paying off her loan. By building up a good repayment history with Leeds Credit Union, it will be easier for Madeline to access credit in the future.

*Name changed to respect the anonymity of contributors