Advertisement
Christmas Special - Get your first 12 issues for just £12
SUBSCRIBE
News

Ice cream van man had 99 problems but the cash ain’t one after £3,000 loan

Credit union money gave dad-of-five ‘second chance’ to achieve his business dream. Now his story is being told on the BBC

When mainstream banks do not fit the bill, many Brits are forced to turn to loan sharks and payday lenders for quick cash.

But alternatives do exist and ethical lenders like credit unions offer money at a lower interest rate, ensuring that people are not sent spiralling into debt in their time of need.

In BBC documentary A Matter of Life and Debt, which airs this week, Roger Richards’ dream plans for a fresh take on the traditional ice cream van looked like they would have to be put on ice before he received a £3,000 credit union loan.

Unlike the mainstream banks which have their pretty pictures on the TV, credit unions are accessible to everybody

The father-of-five, from Catford, had to work two jobs – as a compliance officer at Islington Council and a safety officer on the railways – to save up £11,000 to kit out a clapped-out van he bought in 2015.

Ice Unit 2 is Roger's second attempt at getting his ice cream venture off the ground

The 47-year-old transformed the motor into Ice Unit 2 – a black-coloured ice cream van with a TV screen on top to make it a quasi-outdoor cinema – with the help of his children who wrote and sang his own custom jingle.

But his business ground to a halt when he was left with a £3,000 bill for an exhaust that would enable the van to be passed as road legal.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Credit union London Capital stepped in with the cash to allow Roger to hit the road.

The reception since then has been anything but cool and his ice cream van business is now hot property, having been booked for weddings and red-carpet events.

Roger said: “Unlike the mainstream banks which have their pretty pictures on the TV, credit unions are accessible to everybody. They give people a second chance and they look at individual cases.

Other types of lenders can be long-winded and there is a lot of jargon to get your head around, the interest rates can be extortionate. If I lost my job then the risk would be much higher and I would find myself in much more trouble.

Roger has been doing a roaring trade since being granted his loan

“Without that £3,000 loan, I wouldn’t like to say that I would never have got to the point where I am now but I wouldn’t be where I am so quickly.

“A lot of people wreck their credit rating when they are younger, like me, and credit unions give them a second chance to realise their dreams.”

Martin Groombridge, London Capital CEO, said: “It is not unusual for us to do loans for business purposes, people often think that it just about people on very low incomes and pay day lenders but we do loans for small and large values for all purposes.

“It is not just about us doing things for people, everyone has started saving when they have taken out a loan with us and that means those savings are available for the next person that comes to the credit union so they don’t have to resort to a loan shark or the high interest rates that are charged by conventional banks.”

Advertisement

Change a vendor's life this Christmas

This Christmas, 3.8 million people across the UK will be facing extreme poverty. Thousands of those struggling will turn to selling the Big Issue as a vital source of income - they need your support to earn and lift themselves out of poverty.

Recommended for you

View all
DWP benefit reforms to get people into work are 'smokescreen for cuts', disability activist says
dwp secretary liz kendall
Disability benefits

DWP benefit reforms to get people into work are 'smokescreen for cuts', disability activist says

Ending post-Grenfell cladding crisis could take until 2035 and beyond: 'Unacceptably slow'
Grenfell tower
Cladding crisis

Ending post-Grenfell cladding crisis could take until 2035 and beyond: 'Unacceptably slow'

We've given 50,000 haircuts to homeless people – here's how a simple trim can change everything
Photo of man hugging a woman to illustrate a story about the Haircuts 4 Homeless charity
Homelessness

We've given 50,000 haircuts to homeless people – here's how a simple trim can change everything

Cash-strapped council warns it's at breaking point as neighbour places homeless people in its town
homeless peoples' tents in street
Homelessness

Cash-strapped council warns it's at breaking point as neighbour places homeless people in its town

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know