Financial Inclusion

Darren Boon from Northumberland was recommended by his friend to contact Five Lamps as he had a very specific problem

Darren already had a thriving car spare parts business but was finding it difficult to obtain funding to help him expand his business. Initially, Darren contacted Five Lamps Financial Inclusion service to apply for a personal loan.

Gavin Hutchinson, Five Lamps Loan Officer looked as Darren’s application but initially contacted Five Lamps’ Economic Development Team to see if they were aware of any business loan services that Darren could apply for in his local area.

A couple of days later Darren contacted Gavin to say that the organisations we recommended were unable to offer him any funding due to the restrictions they themselves were facing. Darren then asked if there was any way we could offer him an affordable personal loan to pay for some new equipment he needed.

Darren was successful in his application and was able to purchase the equipment he needed. Gavin explain to Darren to keep in touch as Five Lamps may be able to help with further funding at a later date to help him to continue with his business growth.

Darren said

“Five Lamps were a great help, when I needed it most”

Having a condemned cooker meant Mr Littlefair from Stockton was relying on ready cooked meals and processed foods for his meals

This was causing him a problem as he was unable to prepare healthy nutritious meals for himself and it was also a great expense which he could not afford

He was referred to Five Lamps by Stockton Council for help on the Warm Homes Healthy People project to see if there were any grants he may be eligible for, to help him receive money towards a new cooker.

John Hird and Amy Baker from Five Lamps visited Mr Littlefair at his home and they discussed with him the grants he could apply to. The grant scheme which looked the most suitable was the Teesside Emergency Relief Fund.

The Teesside Emergency Relief Fund provides funds to help people relieve immediate hardship. The application was a success and Mr Littlefair was awarded a new cooker.

When Amy contacted Mr Littlefair to let him know the good news, he explained that his washing machine had now broken and he couldn’t afford to replace it.

Amy explained to Mr Littlefair about the option of having a Five Lamps personal loan. Five Lamps provide affordable loans to people who are financially excluded. Five Lamps also work with a company called Smarterbuys who would be able to provide Mr Littlefair with a brand new energy efficient washing machine if he was eligible.

Mr Littlefair applied for a personal loan. When the loan application was passed to John McCoy Five Lamps’
Loans Officer, he made sure the loan was affordable for Mr Littlefair and found him an A+ energy efficient washing machine on the Smarter Buys website.

The loan application was a success and Mr Littlefair is now waiting to receive his new washing machine.

Mr Littlefair said:

“Thanks to Five Lamps who were very helpful and supportive, this has enabled me to get the household goods I required”

Five Lamps are currently working with Stockton Council on the Warm Homes Healthy People project helping people in Stockton on Tees who are suffering from fuel poverty.

Claire from Tyne & Wear approached Five Lamps recently for a loan towards car repairs

Whilst discussing her income and expenditure, Vince Rogers Five Lamps Loan Officer at their Newcastle office established she was paying fees of £30 per month to a debt management company.

He introduced Claire to Step Change, a leading UK debt charity who arranged to cancel Claire’s payment arrangement and set her on a fee free revised payment plan. This means she will save 18 months fees as the new arrangement will be completed in 42 months compared to the original arrangement which would have taken 60 months.

Claire is delighted with the outcome and said

“Vince was very supportive and helpful throughout my application. I feel that a massive weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Big thanks to Vince and everyone at Five Lamps, keep up the good work”

Vince said

“Five Lamps provides affordable credit to financially excluded individuals and last year provided loans to over 11,746 customers, enabling them to move away from high interest credit. However, I recognised that in Claire’s case I was pleased to refer her to Step Change who have really supported her and given her a better longer term solution to help ease her debt problems”

David from Northumberland contacted Five Lamps in February 2013, to discuss extended his current personal loan

Vince Rogers, Five Lamps Loan Officer spoke to David about his request and discovered that he needed additional money to cover utility arrears accrued when David moved property.

Vince realised that the best option for David was not to extend his personal loan but to refer his case to DAWN Advice. DAWN Advice are based in Morpeth and provide free, confidential, independent and impartial advice on a range of legal issues, including debt, housing, employment, welfare benefits and family law. DAWN Advice is also a member of the Citizens Advice service.

Hayley Cherry at Dawn Advice worked on David’s behalf and managed to agree affordable payment plans with the utility companies so that David could repay his energy debt without getting into further debt. In discussion she also established David had Council Tax arrears for the new property. As David receives full disability benefit, Hayley realised these should not have accrued and liaised with the local council to have the charges removed.

David said:

“I was very pleased with the help received; it’s great to know things are being sorted out for me, putting my mind at ease”

Vince said

“Five Lamps provides affordable credit to financially excluded individuals and last year provided loans to over 11,746 customers, enabling them to move away from high interest credit. However, I recognised that in David’s case a loan wasn’t the answer to his problems and was pleased to refer him to DAWN Advice who have really supported him and given him a better solution to help ease his energy debt”

Glyn lives on Tyneside. For years he enjoyed his work as a self-employed delivery driver, combining his work with caring for Karen, his disabled wife

Glyn then became ill himself contracting Crohn’s Disease. This affected his ability to make a living and he began to rely on their daughter, who visited every day to check on his medication and that they were both ok. Glyn turned to doorstep lenders to help make ends meet but realised just how much interest he was paying on these loans.

He searched the internet for organisations that ‘helped people get out of debt’ and found Five Lamps. As a registered charity, Five Lamps provides support and access to affordable credit throughout the North East, helping people move away from their reliance on high-interest and illegal credit from doorstep lender.

With help and advice from Five Lamps Glyn was given a personal loan on affordable terms that enabled him to pay off his doorstep lender loan.

Glyn recently came back to Five Lamps for another loan after successfully repaying his first loan and spoke with Five Lamps Loan Officer David Walker. Glyn explained that he and his wife had not been away on holiday for years and had the chance to rent a cottage in Northumberland in the spring that had been specially adapted for disabled people. He just needed the money to pay for it.

David was happy that Glyn could afford the repayments and duly provided the loan he needed. Glyn will be having a major operation before then. Knowing he has this holiday to look forward to has raised his spirits ahead of the operation.

Glyn wrote a thank you letter to David saying

“I’d like to say thank you for all the help all the staff have given me over the years to enable me to get out of debt and now be debt free from doorstep lenders. I will never use them again”

Five Lamps provides affordable credit to financially excluded individuals and last year provided loans to over 11,746 customers, enabling them to move away from high interest credit.

Rachel Baird from Gateshead is a current Five Lamps Financial Inclusion customer who due to ill health is confined to a wheelchair

Rachel recently got in touch with Five Lamps Loan Officer Gavin Hutchinson as she wanted to renew her current personal loan. The request was to ensure that she could pay for the care her children would need while she returned to hospital for yet another operation on her spine.

Gavin enquired how much Rachel would need to pay for her children’s care and help towards ensuring her stay in hospital was without additional financial worries. Five Lamps was able to offer Rachel the funds she needed but over a slightly longer term to ensure that the repayments were affordable.

When asked how this would help her Rachel said

“Five Lamps have helped me again in a time of need and contributed to making my hospital stay more bearable. I can’t thank Five Lamps enough for their help.”

Five Lamps provides affordable credit to financially excluded individuals and last year provided loans to over 11,746 customers, enabling them to move away from high- interest credit.

Lee Brunton from North Tyneside has suffered mental health problems recently and has been out of work for some time, which contributed to his problems

He was offered a job that involved travelling between garages valeting cars and required a car to do this.

Unfortunately, being unemployed Lee didn’t have access to affordable credit and the job offer was at risk unless he could obtain finance to buy a car to be able to carry out the role.

Having nowhere else to turn to Lee’s wife Dawn contacted Five Lamps and spoke with Loan Officer Symon Agnew who quickly realised that the job meant a lot to Lee and his family and how by providing finance to buy a car he would be able to get back to work, improving his own self-esteem and the wellbeing of his family.

Symon arranged for a Five Lamps low-cost affordable personal loan for Lee, which enabled him to purchase a car.

Lee said:

“Working will help improve my health even more and without the help of Five Lamps I would not have been able to this. My whole family is grateful for the help we received as it affects us all”

Five Lamps provides affordable credit to financially excluded individuals and last year provided loans to over 11,746 customers, enabling them to move away from high- interest credit.

Grace who lives in Northumberland called Five Lamps recently with an urgent request to help her clear a ‘pay day loan’

Her application was reviewed by Vince Rogers, Five Lamps’ Loan Officer who established that the payment for her pay day loan was due immediately or she would pay a further penalty. The annual percentage rate (APR) for this loan was almost 2000%.

Further investigation revealed Grace’s loan, taken shortly after Christmas 2011, had subsequently been ‘rolled over’ on a number of occasions, incurring significant additional fees.

Vince spoke directly to The Money Shop and obtained agreement to waive their fee subject to a same day payment being made. Vince worked with Grace to successfully apply for an affordable Five Lamps personal loan, which would enable Grace to pay off her loan to The Money Shop and also benefit from lower repayments and interest.

Grace was able to clear her debt with The Money Shop and avoid further penalties.

Both Grace and her daughter were extremely grateful for Five Lamps support. Grace said

“It is a massive relief to know I do not need to worry about how I will repay that loan. The payments with Five Lamps are so much cheaper and more affordable. I am so relieved they could help me, and very impressed at the speed of their response”

Last year, Five Lamps supported over 11,700 financially excluded customers across the North East with affordable loans to financially excluded individuals, enabling them to move away from their reliance on unaffordable or illegal credit.

Five Lamps have been helping people to manage their money through a ‘Capacity Builders’ course, which helps people to make a budget, understand what financial terms mean and also to cope better with their debt.

It also looks at what help is available for people if they are looking to get back into employment or self-employment. After the workshop, our customers have the option of a one to one meeting with a Five Lamps Loan Officer.

Jackie Dodsworth from Hartlepool attended a Five Lamps Capacity Builders workshop that was being held in her local school with an open invitation for parents to attend.

John Hird, Five Lamps’ Senior Loans Officer met with Jackie who explained that she was having financial problems due to her husband having recently been made redundant and they had a number of outstanding creditors to repay. Due to the unforeseen changes in her financial situation Jackie was not only struggling to continue making the full payments and keeping them up to date but she was unsure how to deal with this problem.

John wrote to four of Jackie’s creditors, offering them affordable and realistic monthly payments and asked for any further interest charges to be stopped. The offers were all accepted and the interest charges were also stopped. This has now put Jackie in a much better financial position going forward and will relieve the stress and worry she had been experiencing.

Jackie said

“Getting the help from Five Lamps to deal with my finances has lifted a huge burden off my shoulders and I cannot say thank you enough”

In February 2012, Katrina contacted Five Lamps to apply for a personal loan as she was going through a difficult time financially.

She had split from her partner some years earlier, leading to her house being repossessed. Katrina is a single parent who also works part time and she was unable to obtain affordable credit from her bank.

Vince Rogers, Five Lamps’ Loan Officer met with Katrina and established that she was looking to clear a Payday loan of £400, which was being charged at an APR of over 1300%. There was some urgency in the request, as a late payment would involve additional charges.

Despite time pressures we were able to complete the paperwork required to clear the loan quickly, which was a big relief to Katrina who said

“A big thank you for all the help and support I received during a difficult time. The speed and ease of the service you provided was fantastic. I would recommend Five Lamps to anyone in need of help”

Five Lamps provides affordable personal loans to people who are financially excluded. Since 2007, Five Lamps have issued over 26,000 personal loans; over £9million has been responsibly lent to help people become more financially included.