Hastings & Rother Credit Union Ltd, trading as 1066 Community Bank

You do not need to worry as your money is safe.

On 8 August 2023 Hastings & Rother Credit Union Limited trading as 1066 Community Bank was placed into Administration and has now stopped trading. Dina Devalia & James Varney of Quantuma Advisory Limited (“Quantuma”) are the appointed Joint Administrators.

The Joint Administrators will contact you by post with documents about the Administration for your information only, you do not need to do anything.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (“FSCS”) declared Hastings & Rother Credit Union Limited trading as 1066 Community Bank in default on 8 August 2023 which means it can step in and return money to members.

FSCS is a free service that protects the customers of authorised financial services firms, such as Hastings & Rother Credit Union Limited trading as 1066 Community Bank. This means FSCS protects any savings you have with this credit union up to £85,000 per person.

You do not need to do anything. FSCS will automatically pay you back your savings using the account information it receives from Hastings & Rother Credit Union Limited trading as 1066 Community Bank. FSCS will contact you by post.

In most cases, FSCS aims to make payment within seven days from 8 August 2023, the date Hastings & Rother Credit Union Limited trading as 1066 Community Bank was declared in default. For more complex cases, which may need further investigation, FSCS will aim to return members’ money within 10 working days.

If you have a balance below £1,000, you will get a letter to get cash over the counter at the Post Office. To receive payment, take this letter to any Post Office counter, with personal identification, as outlined in that letter. If you have a balance over £1,000, you will receive a cheque. In both events, we will contact you by post in an unmarked envelope.

FSCS will receive information from Hastings & Rother Credit Union Limited trading as 1066 Community Bank that will detail your individual balance. The amount you receive will be the balance on your account as at Friday 4 August 2023.

Please contact FSCS on 0800 678 1100.

If you disagree with the amount paid by FSCS, please call us on 0800 678 1100. Do not return your payment to FSCS unless you are specifically asked to do so.

You will need to open a bank account with another provider (e.g. a bank, a credit union, building society or the Post Office) so that you can bank the cheque as soon as possible.

If you need help in opening a basic bank account, your local Citizens Advice Bureau should be able to help you. Alternatively, please visit your local high street branch of a bank or building society. Below are the details of a Citizens Advice Bureau that is near to the Credit Union.

Details for the Citizens Advice Bureau near Hastings, East Sussex

Citizens Advice 1066
The Magnet Centre, Alfred Street, St. Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex TN38 0HD
Website: www.citizensadvice1066.co.uk 

The Citizens Advice 1066 website explains that it no longer offers a drop in advice service at its city centre office in Alfred Street. But the website explains that if you need advice, you can still contact Citizens Advice 1066 by telephone using the details as set out below. You can also contact Citizens Advice 1066 by email by visiting the ‘Contact Us’ section of the website.

Telephone and Webchat Services:      
You can contact Citizens Advice 1066 by telephone on 01424 869 352 Monday to Friday, between 9:00am and 5:00pm.

The Webchat service is available via www.adviceguide.org.uk.

Further information on basic bank accounts can be found on the internet, one such example is the MoneyHelper website.

Some people may need the money and do not have another bank account that they can pay a cheque into. The 'cash over the counter' option is very flexible and allows people to have access to their money much more quickly than a cheque for a small balance.

No. FSCS will pay you your compensation by sending you a cheque in an unmarked envelope or by sending you a letter to get cash over the counter.

Yes, your funds are safe and are not affected by the closure of the Credit Union.

If you hold a prepaid money card with Engage, any funds loaded onto it can continue to be used as normal.

For any questions about your prepaid Engage card, please contact them directly. Their contact details can be found on their website as follows:

Website: www.engageaccount.com
Email: info@engageaccount.com
Telephone: 0333 202 3642.

Hastings & Rother Credit Union Limited trading as 1066 Community Bank savings accounts will be closed. If your salary or benefits are paid into your savings account, you will need to open a new bank account as soon as possible. You should contact your employer, pension provider or the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to tell them to pay your salary or benefits into your new account.

Details for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) near Hastings, East Sussex

Website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions

Address: Heron House, 149/159 London Road, St Leonards on Sea, TN37 6LJ

You can contact DWP by telephone on 0800 169 0190 Monday to Saturday between 9:00am and 5:00pm, except for Wednesday when you can contact them between 10:00am and 5:00pm.

If you are in receipt of any of the following benefits:

• Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income Support
• Employment and Support Allowance
• Universal Credit
• Personal Independence Payment
• Disability Living Allowance

Some useful contact details are as follows:

• You can contact your local Jobcentre Plus, or telephone the DWP on the following Freephone numbers:
  • Employment Support Allowance (ESA) – 0800 169 0310
  • Income Support (IS) – 0800 169 0310
  • Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) – 0800 169 0310
  • Universal Credit – you can contact Universal Credit by calling the Universal Credit Helpline on: 0800 328 5644 or through your online account. Further information can be found here: www.gov.uk/universal-credit/contact-universal-credit
  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – 0800 121 4433
  • Disability Living Allowance (DLA) – 0800 121 4600

All customers will need to provide details of an alternative bank or building society to enable future DWP payments to be made.

To have your benefit payments paid into an alternative bank, building society or local credit union account you will need to contact the following agencies with your new bank details:         

• Housing Benefit – Details of the local Council in Hastings, East Sussex: Hastings Borough Council
  Website: www.hastings.gov.uk
  Telephone for Hastings Borough Council’s Benefits service (includes Housing Benefit/Council Tax Support): 01424 451081
• Contact details for Hastings Borough Council about its services:
  Website: www.hastings.gov.uk/contact/ here you can select the service you’re looking for and complete the form based on the service you require.
  A full A – Z list of Hastings Borough Council’s services can be found here: www.hastings.gov.uk/a_z/
  Address: Hastings Borough Council, Muriel Matters House (formerly Aquila House), Breeds Place, Hastings, East Sussex TN34 3UY
  Contact details for Benefits and support services
  Website: www.hastings.gov.uk/benefits/
  Hastings Borough Council’s website says you can visit a Counter Service for advice on benefits, housing and other issues. The Counter Service section can be found here: www.hastings.gov.uk/contact/council-office-locations/
• Working Tax/Child Tax Credits. This is an HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) administered benefit. To change your bank account details, you will need to contact HMRC on 0345 300 3900
• Child Benefit. This is also HMRC administered. You can change your bank account details online using the HMRC webpages at gov.uk or telephone 0300 200 3100. Alternatively, you can write to HMRC at: HM Revenue & Customs, Child Benefit Office, PO Box 1, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE88 1AA.

If you need help in contacting these agencies, your local Citizens Advice Bureau should be able to help you.

Details for the Citizens Advice Bureau near Hastings, East Sussex

Citizens Advice 1066, The Magnet Centre, Alfred Steet, St. Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex TN38 0HD
Website: www.citizensadvice1066.co.uk

The Citizens Advice 1066 website explains that it no longer offers a drop in advice service at its city centre office in Alfred Street. But the website explains that if you need advice, you can still contact Citizens Advice 1066 by telephone and webchat using the details as set out below. You can also contact Citizens Advice 1066 by email or by visiting the ‘Contact Us’ section of the website.

Telephone and Webchat services:      
You can contact Citizens Advice 1066 by telephone on 01424 869 352 Monday to Friday, between 9:00am and 5:00pm.

The Webchat service is available via www.adviceguide.org.uk.

Further information on basic bank accounts can be found on the internet, one such example can be found on the Moneyhelper website.

Hastings Advice & Representation Centre (“HARC”)
Website: www.harcuk.com
Address: The Advice and Community Hub, Renaissance House, London Road,St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex TN37 6AN

You can contact HARC’s benefit helpline by telephone on 0333 344 0681 and the HARC Advice line on 01424 428375.

For junior members, FSCS will send a payment in the name of the account holder for the money in their account at the date of default. If the account is operated by an adult on behalf of the child, the cheque will be sent to the account operator’s address, if that has been registered with the credit union, but the payment will be in the child’s name. A new account in that name will need to be opened with an alternative provider. We cannot pay to parents or guardians.

If this payment is just for savings, you should cancel it as no further money will be added to your savings account. You will need to arrange for these payments to be paid into a new or different account and should cancel any existing arrangements that direct these payments to your Hastings & Rother Credit Union Limited trading as 1066 Community Bank savings account.

You can cancel the standing order at any branch of your bank or building society, over the phone or via secure online banking. However, you will need to give your bank/building society a couple of days’ notice before the payment is due to come out of your account. If your standing order is also for loan repayments, do not cancel it and please read the answer to the question below.

Do not cancel any repayments as your loan agreement remains in place and you must make your repayments as originally contracted.

Future loan repayments will be managed by the Joint Administrators Dina Devalia  & James Varney of Quantuma Advisory Limited, who will write to you shortly and provide you with the Administration bank account details as soon as they can.

If you made payments covering both loans and savings then the Administrator will be able to advise you of the new amount you need to pay each month for your loan so that you do not fall into arrears.

For further information about your loan, please call us on 0800 678 1100.

Hastings & Rother Credit Union Limited trading as 1066 Community Bank is no longer accepting loan repayments through a service point (a service point is another point, or location, from where a Credit Union may have offered its services). Please contact us on 0800 678 1100 to discuss arrangements for the repayment of your loan another way.

If you wish to open a new credit union account you can do so with another credit union. The website www.findyourcreditunion.co.uk may help in seeing the options available.

FSCS will receive information from Hastings & Rother Credit Union Limited trading as 1066 Community Bank which will show the individual balances of all accounts held by its members as at Friday 4 August 2023.

Any amounts paid into your account on or after 4 August 2023 will not be added to your savings balance.

FSCS will send payment to the address that Hastings & Rother Credit Union Limited trading as 1066 Community Bank holds on its database. 

If you did not let Hastings & Rother Credit Union Limited trading as 1066 Community Bank know of your change of address before it was declared in default, or you notified Hastings & Rother Credit Union Limited trading as 1066 Community Bank of this change but did not receive confirmation that its records had been updated before it was declared in default, FSCS will need to see evidence of your change of address before any compensation payment can be made.

Please contact us on 0800 678 1100 and we'll arrange to make payment to the new address.

Documents that can be used as evidence to confirm your change of address include a council tax bill, a utility bill (not a mobile phone bill) or benefits entitlement letter, so long as they are less than three months old.

If you have already received your cash over the counter, or banked the Cheque, you do not need to take any further action. If you have not received your payment or can’t bank the cheque, we will need to see evidence of your name change before we can return your money.

Please contact us on 0800 678 1100 and we'll arange to make a payment in your new name.

Documents that can be used as evidence include an original or certified copy a marriage certificate or a deed poll. Additionally, you will need to provide a council tax bill, or a utility bill (not a mobile phone bill) or benefits entitlement letter with your new name, dated less than three months old.

If the estate has already received cash over the counter, or banked the cheque, you do not need to take any further action. If the estate has not received the payment, you will need to send FSCS the original Death Certificate, Grant of Probate and a copy of the will or letter of administration. These documents are required before FSCS can make a payment.

However, should you wish to contact FSCS regarding any issues that you may have, please call freephone 0800 678 1100 or 020 7741 4100. Lines are open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, excluding public holidays.

If you have a query about compensation from FSCS, further information is on our website at www.fscs.org.uk; or call freephone 0800 678 1100 or 020 7741 4100. Lines are open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm excluding public holidays.