BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A member of the Police Cooperative Credit Union St. Christopher and Nevis Ltd. is calling for a full investigation into the operations of the financial institution.
Avan Lapsey, a former police officer and member of the credit union for 20 years, said that he recently applied for a loan from the institution and alleged that there is too much of a hassle when doing business there.
Lapsey told SKNVibes that he applied for an EC$8 000 loan two weeks ago and noted that he is qualified for the loan but the process is taking is very long.
“I pay for my loans there. Sometimes I default but I always bring them back up to date. I applied for a loan of $8 000 and up to now there’s a lot of run around and I think there are personal reasons why I’m not getting through with the loan,” he said.
Lapsey said that he is not the only person that has been complaining or had experienced “bad treatment” when applying for loans from the institution.
“I’m not the only one crying out because of personal feelings from board members and the manager. I know there are police officers out there crying out and afraid to come forward, but I came forward because I’m fed up. Yes, I get my loan but the things I have to go through…I get loans from other organisations without harassment, such as FND, Credit Union, National Bank and Finco, but I didn’t expect this coming from my own,” he said.
Lapsey said too that there is a lot of “wrong doings” going on and that the institution should be investigated from the board members to the manager.
“If someone is in good standings and meets requirements for the loan, they should not be dealt like that,” he opined.
Lapsey also claimed that an EC$8 000 loan should not take more than a day to be issued once a person’s finances are up to date.
Lapsey also claimed that an annual general meeting is long overdue and that a number of members are withdrawing their monies from the institution.
The evidently frustrated man said that he was also told that the credit union would be able to approve an EC$6 000 loan and not the amount he requested.
SKNVibes contacted the Manager of the Credit Union, Mario Wigley, who said that he preferred not to comment on the issue at this time.
This media house also learnt that the credit union received a complaint from Lapsey and that the Supervisory Committee would be investigating the matter.
