Credit Union News

Even if you cannot make it to our head office in Dudley town centre withdrawals are still easy with Castle and Crystal.

We offer many simple and convenient ways for you to access your money, without the need to travel into Dudley;

• Alto Prepaid Card- Just a short telephone call to our office will arrange for funds from your savings account to be loaded directly on the card.
• Bacs Transfer- We can transfer funds from your savings account directly to a bank account of your choice.
• Cheques- Can be made payable to yourself or any third party and posted to your home address.

For more information on any of the above services, call and speak to a member of our admin team on 01384 815771.

Employees of the Dudley Borough can save or pay for a loan via payroll deduction.

Employees from Dudley Council, Dudley College, Dudley Group of Hospitals, Dudley Primary Care Trust and Chadd can currently benefit from using Payroll Deduction with Castle and Crystal.

This is a hassle free service where a set amount of money is deducted directly from your salary each time you are paid.

These funds are then put aside into a savings account and can be used to pay for Christmas, holidays or any other expenses that may occur from time to time. Employees can even pay for a loan and save at the same time....Watch your savings balance grow as your loan balance decreases!

If you are an employee of any of the above organisations and would like to start using this service, all you need to do is become a member and fill out a payroll deduction form.

If you are not an employee of any of the above but are interested in setting up Payroll Deduction at your place of work, call our office on 01384 815771. Alternatively, you can still become a member and save money via cash, standing order or cheque.

Some important changes have been made to our housing benefit policy...

Changes introduced in April 2008, mean that tenants in receipt of housing benefit now have this benefit paid to them instead of it being paid directly to the landlord.

If you are a tenant and do not have a bank account with which to handle your rent payments, you now have the option of opening an account with Castle and Crystal.

Providing that your landlord is happy to pay a small monthly charge, we can receive housing benefit from Dudley Council into your account and with your agreement, pay this directly into your landlords bank account via BACS transfer. This enables a speedy receipt of payment and maximises convenience for both tenant and landlord.

This service is of no extra cost to our members and saves the hassle of having to withdraw large sums of cash on a monthly basis.

Unfortunately we no longer offer a cash withdrawal facility for housing benefit accounts. If you need access to cash to pay your rent, please ask at our office for an alternative guide to banking.

If you are interested in setting up this arrangement you must live or work in the Dudley borough. For further information please contact our head office on: 01384 815771.

After reviewing our rates in July 2009 the board of directors made the decision to reduce our ISA rate to 1.5%.

Existing members who opened an ISA before this announcement will still receive a rate of 3% until 1st September 09 and 1.5% thereafter. Meanwhile, any new members who open a cash ISA with Castle and Crystal before the 1^st September will also receive 3% and 1.5% thereafter.

Cash ISAs currently offer tax free savings of up to £3,600 in each financial year. So if you have not invested in any other cash ISA since 6th April 2009 there is still time to take advantage of our great rate before April 2010.

The government has recently increased the current ISA allowance, meaning you can get more from your tax-free savings! The annual limit will go up from £7,200 to £10,200 from 6 October for those over 50 years old and for everyone else from April 2010.

You can invest a regular amount or lump sums. Although we do not accept transfers from existing cash ISAs, there is nothing to stop you keeping a cash ISA with your existing provider but opening a cash ISA with us, so long as you have not invested in your existing cash ISA in the same financial year.

In order to open a cash ISA, you need to join Castle and Crystal and to do this, you must either live or work in the borough of Dudley.

For more details, please ring 01384 815771.

Regrettably, we have now withdrawn this service.

But existing members who have been issued with a card can continue to use it to deposit funds into their Castle and Crystal account.

This means you can make a deposit anywhere you see the Paypoint logo. 

There are more than 90 PayPoints around the borough, for details of venues please go to www.paypoint.com/locator.htm

If the card is lost or damaged it can no longer be replaced. However, we are still taking photographs to maximise our security procedures on the counter!

Looking for an ideal way to save for Christmas? Our Christmas Savings Club could be for you...............

• Do you dread getting your New Year credit card statements?
• Do you want to start the New Year without a financial hangover?
• Do you always run out of money for last minute presents?
• Do you always plan to save for Christmas but never get round to it?

If the answer is yes our Christmas Savings Club is the perfect way to save for Christmas 2009. By paying a little each week/month, funds are set aside for when they are most needed so it doesn’t feel like Christmas has crept up on you.

Features of the Christmas Savings Club

• Save as much or as little as you want
• Withdrawals can only be made between 01st October until 28th February. This is to prevent the temptation of dipping into it in advance of the festivities!

To set up a Christmas Savers Account please call 01384 815771.

Updated KA 10/01/08