The Credit Union’s AGM will be held at 12.30pm, on Monday 22nd February, in the Banqueting Suite, 1st Floor, City Hall.

There will be a buffet provided for all who attend and three raffle prises of M & S vouchers. Top prize is £20 – but the raffle is only open to members who attend!

The office will be closed from 10am to 3pm that day to cover the meeting.

It would help us if you could let us know in advance if you are going to attend, and we hope to see as many of you as possible.

The AGM was originally scheduled for the 28th of January but was postponed. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Some people are lucky enough to get a christmas bonus, and it seems loansharks did very well this year – according to the The Financial Inclusion Centre, 100,000 families had borrowed a total of £29m from illegal moneylenders over Christmas. Get the full story from the BBC.

Here are the first lottery results of the new year. Congratulations if you have bagged one of January’s prizes. As usual we will be notifying the winners in writing. You have to be in it to win it, so if you want a chance to win the lottery in 2010, join now!

Moneymadeclear, the personal finance advice site from the Financial Services Authority has a dedicated section for people looking for help with their fuel bills.

The comprehensive page lists a variety of grants, benfits and advice available to people struggling with their bills.

It also has a very useful section detailing action you can take to make dealing with fuel bills easier in the future.

The site as a whole has a wealth of information covering cards and loans, mortgages and homes, insurance, pensions and retirement, savings and investment, tax and benefits and much more.

We are pleased to announce new paying in facilities across the district.

Working with Bradford Council we can now offer the facility for members to pay in deposits at five new locations across the district. Coupled with our main office in Bradford City Hall, there are now six offices where you can make a deposit.

The new locations are Bingley council shop, Britannia House in Bradford city centre, Ilkley Town Hall, Keighley Town Hall and Shipley Town Hall.

You may pay in by cheque or cash by producing your credit union membership card. Receipts are issued against any deposit made and your account is updated at the end of the day.

This should be invaluable to those of you either without transport or living in outer areas of the district, as it means that you now have access to closer offices every weekday, Monday to Friday.

But that’s not all, we are also going to be offering loan application appointments to members at the above offices early in the New Year – watch this space for details of when this service will be available.

Not already a member, but you are interested in joining the credit union? Not a problem! Call into any of the above offices and join by opening an account, and making a deposit.

Credit Unions are regulated by the FSA, so you will need the same proof of identity to open an account as is required by banks. Remember to take along personal proof of identity such as a valid driving licence or passport and proof of your address, such as a bank statement or current benefit letter.

January brings the winter snow, makes our toes and fingers glow. It also pushes up our energy bills.

If you have an old boiler you could be paying hundreds of pounds a year more than you would with a modern, efficient boiler. To help with the cost of replacing your boiler, the government has launched a scrappage scheme for old G-rated boilers. Find out more from this BBC article on the scrappage scheme, and see this page from the Energy Saving Trust to check if your boiler is G-rated.

A very happy new year to everyone from all of us at the Credit Union.

We hope 2009 went well for you and that 2010 will be even better. We look forward to seeing you in the year ahead.