The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has announced the failure of Harp Credit Union Ltd, based in London, which was declared in default on 4 September 2018.
Harp Credit Union Ltd was placed into administration and has now ceased trading. Jo Milner and Stephen Cork of Cork Gully LLP have been appointed as Administrators.
As a customer of Harp Credit Union you don’t need to do anything. FSCS is a free service and we’ll automatically return customers’ individual balances as they were on the date of 4 September, based on the information we’ve received from Harp Credit Union.
We’ll contact customers by post in an unmarked envelope. Customers with up to £1,000 in their account will receive a letter to get cash over the counter from their Post Office. For balances of more than £1,000 you’ll receive a cheque. Customers who don’t have another bank account should open one as soon as possible to bank their cheque.
If your child has a Harp Credit Union account we’ll send payment in their name. If an adult operates the account on a child’s behalf, we’ll make the cheque out in the child’s name and send it to the adult’s address (if the address was registered with Harp Credit Union).
We aim to return customers’ money within seven days from 4 September, which was when we declared Harp Credit Union in default. If a case is more complex, we’ll settle claims within 20 working days.
If for whatever reason, you disagree with the amount we've paid, please contact the administrators and they’ll look at your query. Don’t return the payment to us unless you’re specifically asked to do so.
Cork Gully
Please direct any further questions about Harp Credit Union to the administrators, Cork Gully via phone or email: Harp@corkgully.com
Commonly asked questions
Any payments transferred to your account after 4 September won’t be added to your balance – the administrators will deal with them. Contact them via the details below.
Any account you held with Harp Credit Union will no longer operate. So if your salary and benefits are paid into your account, you’ll need to open one elsewhere as soon as possible – and tell your employer or the Department for Work and Pensions.
Members who wish to open a new credit union account can do so with alternative credit unions. The website www.findyourcreditunion.co.uk/ may be of help.
If you have any payments coming into your account by standing order, you should also cancel them, as no further money will be credited to your account. You can cancel standing orders at any branch of your bank or building society, over the phone or by 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 for a loan repayment though, don’t cancel it. Any loan agreement you had with Harp Credit Union will remain in place and you must maintain your repayments as originally contracted. The administrators will manage future loan repayments and they will contact you about this.
If you made payments covering both loans and savings then the administrator can advise you of the net payment you need to make each month for your loan so you don’t fall into arrears.
We’ll send any payment to the name and address that Harp Credit Union held on their database.
For any name change, you’ll need to provide an original document or certified copy of an official document showing your change of name, for example a marriage certificate or deed poll.
For any change of address, if you didn’t tell Harp Credit Union of your address change or told them but received no confirmation, we’ll need to see evidence of the address change. This can be through a document such as a council tax bill, utility bill (but not a mobile phone bill), or benefits entitlement letter – the letter must be less than 3 months old.
Please contact the administrators with evidence of your change of name or address. Once confirmed they’ll instruct us to make payment in your new name or to your new address.
If the estate has already received cash over the counter, or banked the cheque, you don’t need to do anything. If the estate hasn’t received the payment, you’ll need to provide at least one proof of identity in the form of the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration. If neither is available you'll need to provide a will and death certificate.
Please provide the relevant document to the administrators, who'll then contact us so we can arrange payment.