Episode 15 A Matter of Life and Debt

Every day, all over the country,

millions of people are struggling to find the cash they need

to make ends meet or to realise their dreams.

40, 60, 80.

Withdraw £500.

-50, 60, five.

-Thank you, Lisa.

-OK?

Many struggle to qualify for high-street borrowing,

making them vulnerable to illegal loan sharks...

That first £100 loan leads to another, leads to another.

..but there are a growing number of community banks

or credit unions that

are offering a helping hand, whilst at the same time

supporting the local area.

We are looking to offer you a loan.

20, 40, 60, 70, eight.

We've had our ups and downs,

like any other family would in a family business.

They gave me the option of what I could afford.

I could actually live again and actually save again.

From household emergencies

to kick-starting a new life or business.

Organic veg boxes!

I am a bit nervous, but I'm still excited.

It's like I'm getting married, it's crazy!

We're following some of these life-changing stories.

It basically meant that something I never thought I would ever do in my

life was actually going to happen.

Without that help,

the transformation to my life

would have been impossible.

So it's a win-win situation, really.

Today, a loan helps a couple realise their sweet dreams...

It's already thriving. It's standing on its own two feet within a year

and there aren't that many businesses that can say that.

..a young woman recovering

after her credit card debt gets out of control...

It's easy to get it,

so I might as well...get it.

..and a former teen mum gets help to start her own photography business.

I'm going to risk all of what I've got

and hopefully this is going to work.

PHONE RINGS

And you're a member of the credit union, yes?

-PHONE RINGS

-Your membership number?

Most people rely on some sort of credit.

Can I please apply for a loan?

Sure.

With unsecured debt in the UK approaching £200 billion,

whether it's credit cards or car finance,

buy now and pay later has become the norm for many us.

I thought, if I can get a loan,

that'll tide us over and then I'd get a credit card,

that would tide us over.

And... Yeah, I just started growing the debt.

Those on low incomes, or who have bad credit ratings,

can't always borrow from traditional high-street lenders.

Instead, they are sometimes forced

to turn to high-interest payday loans, or illegal moneylenders.

My mum passed away and then her funeral costs

were quite a bit of money,

so I went to a loan shark.

I had no idea what APR meant at the time.

Looking back now, I realise the APR

for that loan was nearly 800%,

which is...

um...

..an awful lot of money.

But there is an alternative.

A growing number of responsible lenders are trying to help.

-So, do you have your benefit coming in here?

-Aye.

-You do?

-Across the country,

there are over 400 credit unions

offering a lifeline to their local communities.

Started in the 1960s by immigrants who couldn't borrow from traditional

routes, these ethical lenders

encourage people to save, as well as borrow responsibly.

So maybe paying a payday loan 200 a month,

they probably could get a loan from us for 1,000 for just £50 a month,

so they're saving some money and it can cut back on their debts.

Nationwide, they have almost two million members

and £1.25 billion out on loan.

It's about getting people to learn the habit of budgeting,

taking control of their money,

helping them help themselves.

London Capital is one of Britain's oldest credit unions

and serves those who live, work,

study or worship in North London.

Well, you can trace its roots back to 1962, when it was operated from a

metal tin in the back of a church in Fern Park in Hornsey.

They have just over £12 million in savings.

Interestingly, 90% of our members said they had no savings before they

joined us.

Yeah, that was from our manager.

Do you have a pen and paper handy when you're ready?

HE HUMS

47-year-old Alev has been a member for four years.

-Hello.

-Today she's hoping for a loan to help her with a family emergency.

Mum lost her brother.

My mum's in her 70s and she can't travel alone.

I needed a little bit of extra cash to be able to help my mum to

travel abroad to visit her family,

so it's to reconnect with the family and to go to a memorial service.

I asked for £1,000,

I needed the money to cover the cost

of travel and the expenses, and to ensure

that my expenses and my bills at home don't suffer.

Cos it was an unexpected event and I just want to make sure that I

can go comfortably without having that kind of worry and that concern

about what's left behind.

Whether or not Alev gets the loan she needs today

is in the hands of manager Martin.

Alev, would you like to come on over?

Have a seat. How are we keeping?

-Good, how are you?

-I'm very well, thank you.

Long time no see.

Just had a look through your loan, good record with us, obviously.

I think I've been a member for about four years.

Credit union actually have really helped me to learn how to save,

so I've got considerable savings with the credit union now and

I'm really pleased that it's the first time that I've been able

to do that with their help.

Was it for a holiday? You had a death in the family, wasn't it?

Yes. It's to be able to travel to Cyprus with my mum.

Whatever a loan is for, Martin needs to check it's affordable,

so Alev will have a little wait.

While credit unions mostly deal with personal finances,

there are 55 responsible lenders

across the UK who offer business start-up loans

to people who would find it difficult to borrow elsewhere.

Unlike with the traditional lenders,

a poor credit history doesn't

automatically exclude you from borrowing.

37-year-old single mum Jo...

..would have struggled to get a bank loan,

but ethical lender Lancashire Community Finance

helped Jo open her own professional photography company in Preston.

When I'm setting up for a newborn shoot, I like to include...

..what we call props.

So here we have got like, a little romper,

that we might put this little boy

Lachlan in today, and a little hat.

It's just to create obviously texture and...

..bring in some more detail to the photograph, really.

Jo's passion for photography began at a young age.

I used to just run around with a camera constantly.

I used to take pictures of the family dog

and random other things in the house. I always take loads.

I always take too many photographs, to be honest.

It felt very natural and I enjoyed it, I loved it.

So I'm just going through the final checks,

just to make sure that everything is how it should be to hand over.

I love doing the weddings. Um...

It's hard work, you are on your feet

for at least 10-12 hours a day.

It gets me out and about. I've been to Italy.

This one was up in Lancaster.

I've got one up in Edinburgh soon,

so I do get to travel around with my job as well,

so I enjoy that part of it, too.

Jo's successful business photographs around 20 weddings a year.

But this morning, she's getting a visit

from one of her younger clients.

Twins born years apart.

When you're working with couples and brides and grooms,

they have got their own ideas of what they want for the day,

and that's great cos you do kind of get the creative input

from them as well.

BABY CRIES

That's the difference. They'll tell you when they're not happy!

Some brides won't!

I use the womb sound to relax the babies.

Look at his little legs going!

Are you having a little dream, there, buddy?

Good boy. Turn my camera on, that'd help, wouldn't it?

Like most businesses, Jo started small.

I used to camp out at my mum's house,

so I'd be setting up all of this stuff every day

from my mum's, when I was working from there...

inviting people in. And the environment was great,

but it's not as professional as I wanted it to be.

Oh, shhh.

And I wanted something more welcoming

and a specialised environment for

what is that I was actually doing.

There we go. All ready to go home.

I think I just look the same.

Hair colour's changed.

That's about it.

As a single mother with son Reece,

Jo's dreams of professional photography

were put on hold when she was a teenager.

I became a mum shortly after my 16th birthday,

so I was pregnant when I was 15,

which had obviously a knock-on effect throughout my schooling.

-Scotland.

-Yes.

Cos that was where we went last time.

People think, "Oh, she's ruined her life. What's she going to do?"

But when I was 18, I decided, you know, I want to get a career.

I don't want to just be a single mother.

-How old was I? I was like...

-Nine.

-Yeah.

-So, I went to college to...better myself,

to get myself qualifications and

kind of prove people wrong, really,

that being a single parent was the worst decision

that I could have ever made.

-Look at them. Do you remember that?

-I do!

When Reece left home for university,

Jo was finally free to follow her dream.

Financially, he wasn't reliant upon me any more.

He had his own money,

which then freed up some money for me to be able to be able to kind of

say, "Yeah, that's what I'm going to do.

"I'm going to risk all of what I've got and, hopefully,

"this is going to work."

To start up the photography business,

Jo needed more than just a studio.

You don't just have one camera, you have to have a backup camera.

You have to have the best computers that you can find to edit well.

It's very expensive.

It's not a cheap hobby,

so a lot of people will be an amateur photographer,

but then transitioning over to a professional role

is a lot harder if you don't have the finances.

Money issues in her past meant Jo had a poor credit rating,

so she was advised to seek help from a local responsible lender.

She approached Lancashire Community Finance for a loan of £2,500.

Elaine Rimmer is the charity's Chief Executive.

Joanne had no adverse credit,

however she had something called a debt management plan.

This is a plan where your circumstances may change

and you have to look at

agreeing a low amount of repayment

with all your creditors.

That would normally exclude her from one of our loan products.

However, she had tenacity,

she had resilience and some of the issues

in starting up a business that

you will have day-to-day,

she had the personality that would be able to overcome any of these

-challenges.

-The Lancashire Community Finance sat down with me and looked

at how much I'd earned and forecast for how much I would be earning

the year after and for the year after that as well.

So somebody was sat there helping me to do this,

looking at how much I could afford

to repay and whether it was, again, viable.

The business of photography, it can be challenging.

There are photographers

in every town and city.

However, with Joanne, in particular,

we felt she knew a market.

She had been trading part-time,

so she had some evidence of what she'd done,

who her client base were, all of these point to her

being able to run and deliver a successful business.

The feeling when I got the money into my account, it was great

because somebody's actually looked at my business and gone, "Yes,

"there's potential." You can move forward, you can build the business,

get more clients and make more money,

which is what I'm obviously here to do.

So the couple are going to come and pick up their box tonight and on the

USB are all their photographs for their album.

And I've picked a selection of 6x4 prints to put into the box because I

always feel it's nice for the couple to actually open the box as if they

were opening a present, so that they

can kind of relive their wedding day.

At times in our lives,

we all have bumpy periods and

it's not about that bumpy period,

it's about how we react to those

and how we manage that situation.

We try to look at the individual and where they are now.

We are a responsible lender.

We wouldn't increase the level of debt with somebody

if it was clearly unaffordable.

However, we think it's really important

that everybody is given a choice

and a chance to move forward.

I borrowed £2,500 over four years

from them and I paid for things like a new lens for my camera,

some marketing equipment, and I also paid for a gentleman to help my

presence upon the internet

so that people could find me a lot more easily.

-Hi!

-These are for you.

-Oh, thank you!

-Thank you for everything.

You do feel like you're part of the family afterwards

because you've spent their wedding day,

which is the best day of their life,

through to them having a child,

which is possibly a better day than they ever imagined it to be.

Don't cry!

It's a really nice job.

I do actually have the best job in the world, I think.

Although Jo's photography business is thriving,

she's got a side-line in mind, too.

Within the next few years, I would like to get into more mentoring,

training. A lot of people like the newborn photography

and if I can pass on my tips when I feel that I'm at a good level,

to be able to train people,

then hopefully I'll be able to offer that as another service,

as an add-on to what I'm doing now.

So training, teaching, weddings and newborns, really.

It's amazing!

Jo had to be patient in order to achieve her dreams,

but now she's been inspired to help others.

It's not a natural thing to be confident all the time

and believe in what you can do,

but if you do have an idea, just believe in yourself,

ask for help, find out what's available to you

and take that idea forward.

Thank you! See you soon.

-Thank you.

-Bye!

In Islington, north London...

Can you confirm your address, please?

OK, then. So if you just bear with me a moment.

Thanks for calling. Bye.

..Alev is awaiting a decision

on a loan she urgently needs to pay for her to

accompany her mother to a family funeral in Cyprus.

I asked to borrow £1,000.

If I don't get the loan, it may mean that I can't travel with her.

This would be a really great help

and ease my mind, and allow me to support my mum at this time.

It's now up to Martin to decide

if Alev gets the money to go to Cyprus or not.

-Is that when most of your family are out there, now?

-Yeah.

-Very nice.

But it's going to be hot!

I know, I've heard it's in the 40s this week.

The loan's been approved, anyway.

-That's great.

-So we'll get the...

We've got all the documentation ready for you.

If you're happy with that, sign and date there, please.

Any problems with money, just come and talk to us.

-Thank you.

-As I say, that payment will come out.

The money will go direct to your bank account and should be in your

-account later today.

-Thanks again, Martin.

Take care. Don't forget this.

Ooh, gosh. Sorry!

-There you go, my darling. Bye-bye.

-Thank you!

They offered me the loan that I asked for...

..and I'm really pleased cos it means now I can support my mum.

I feel great. I feel good. I feel relieved, actually.

That's probably, yes, probably the best way to describe how I feel.

I feel relieved.

Still to come...

a Cornish couple with a sweet idea to expand their business.

This is probably bigger than the

first day we sat in Cornwall with all of our ideas, so this is huge.

-This is massive.

-And the woman deep in debt who turned her life around.

I would get quite agitated by it, but then I would think,

"Well, it's my own fault for getting into this state,

"so you need to sort it out."

Most credit unions and responsible lenders offer loans to people from a

specific geographical area...

..but that's not always the case.

-£75.

-What it does mean is that I

-can actually tell you you've been agreed...

-OK.

-..your loan.

-OK.

-I wanted to give you a nice surprise!

So, that's a very good one!

Some credit unions take their membership

from a particular profession,

like London taxi drivers, the Open University or the NHS.

To be able to apply for the credit union,

it obviously goes hand-in-hand with your job.

You can speak to people and ask them

advice and they've always just been very, very helpful.

There is also an ethical lender

specifically for former members of the Armed Forces

looking to start up or expand their own business.

In Penzance, in Cornwall...

That's 116 grams, in old money, that's a quarter.

So, there we go.

Have you got aniseed sticks?

Former soldier Phil and his wife Angela

used all their savings to open a sweet shop.

We've been here just over a year

and it's been absolutely fantastic.

-Look at that - bang on 116 grams!

-Thank you very much.

It's already succeeding.

It's already thriving.

It's standing on its own two feet within a year

and there aren't that many businesses that can say that.

It's doing so well that the couple have decided it's time to expand

and need a £29,000 loan to fund the lease and stock for a new premises.

What we haven't got here is the coffee shop

and that was the main premise of Ma Larkin's, right from the off.

The coffee shop is where we can do everything that Ma Larkin's is all

about, which is the cakes, the bakes

and all of the coffee and the tea and the Cornish goods that we've

-always wanted.

-It's to have a place where people can come and sit

and enjoy and chill.

You know, we can't think of better...

Better place to do it, can we?

Really? A little coffee shop by the sea.

Yeah.

These are two business owners who have a passion for their products.

This is... These are more of an intense one.

Do you want to try one of them, look?

I always remember the trips to the sweet shop.

I used to love it. I think it was on a Friday evening I used to get our

penny and we were able to go there and so, yeah,

I am a big kid in a sweet shop, to be fair!

You like that now, you've got it now.

It starts off really sort of like a mild...

and then it comes through quite strong.

Getting to where they are today has taken a lot of hard work.

All that was here, basically, was just that one counter.

So everything else, we've had to do.

So we built the shelving, we've got these centrepieces in.

So we've got dispensing from the jars there,

we've got lots of old-fashioned sweets.

There you are, look. The original liquorice stick.

Years ago, your grandad probably used to talk to you about these.

You used to chew those, that's the actual stick itself.

Everybody... They can't believe

you can actually still get that, but we can.

We've got butter Brazils, butter Brazils,

you can't buy them any more, so we make them now.

Opening the sweet shop a year ago

marked a turning point in the couple's lives.

In December 2005, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia...

..and then spent the next eight months in hospital.

At the time, the boys were very young -

Max was 18 months and Ben was ten weeks -

which was very, very difficult, very hard.

And after four bouts of chemotherapy,

came out and then was quite ill for a few years.

I've lost my hearing, but part and parcel of that,

I never believed I could have any more children,

which was quite a difficult one to sort of get my head round.

I'd missed quite a lot of their major development,

so things like Max taking his first steps...

Ben's first words, things like that.

Before he met Angela, Phil's life had not been plain sailing either.

I was 19 years old when I joined the Army.

I got married at 19, my wife was 18 years old.

I was married for 24 years

and I had four lovely children.

Sally died of cancer nine years ago, now.

Yeah.

I met Phil in 2012 and we got together properly

in July of 2013.

And lo and behold, in January 2014,

I found out I'd fell pregnant with Teagan.

She was born early.

Apart from being diddy, she's absolutely perfect in every way.

And very much we regard her as...

She is our little miracle.

THE GIRLS GIGGLE

Together, the couple have gone from strength to strength.

Now with the sweet shop established, they're ready for a new challenge.

Ah, look how scrummy that is!

Look, it's even got... It's even got the springiness you're looking for.

Nice, crusty top...

Raising the funds to open the tea shop hasn't been easy.

We've had people turn round and say no

when we've been looking for funding.

Because all of our capital went into the shop in Penzance,

we have something that now is freestanding and operating

and paying its way and a little bit more now.

But... But we didn't have the capital to be able to kind of grow

Ma Larkin's and, you know, we had banks saying no.

These doors kept closing and closing and closing.

And then this day, we just picked up, didn't we...?

The couple's luck changed when they were introduced to a responsible

lender who specialises in helping people from the Armed Forces

start up in business.

Anthony took on Phil and Angela's application for a loan of £29,000.

Obviously, when they leave the Armed Forces,

they're very regimented in how they do things.

And by actually helping them with their business plan,

the financials, that gives them structure,

so that they can transfer that structure to their business.

We spoke to Anthony from ex-forces and he got the ball rolling,

took the business plan, we showed him the model,

we showed him the site and, within weeks, we were approved.

I mean, it was amazing, really.

The couple received the loan money, but the input from their

-lender didn't stop there.

-Every business I support,

I always follow them on social media and also try,

if I can, to buy some of their products as well.

On the back of that as well,

we do give them a lot of mentoring and support

and also further training if needed.

It's that personal service I remember from banking years ago

has all but disappeared now.

With the finance in place and the plan of action ready to go,

all that's left for Angela and Phil to do

is sign the lease and pick up the keys.

The bit that worries me is trying to put it all together in one go,

like cooking a dinner,

are you going to get everything on the plate at one time

and it's all going to be warm enough?

This is probably bigger than the first day we sat in Cornwall

with all of our ideas, so this is huge.

This is massive. If the phone call comes through tomorrow with the key,

that's all we're waiting on now.

And the minute we get the key, it's all hands to the deck.

All Phil and Angela can do is wait for the phone to ring.

With spending on credit cards in the UK at a record high,

it's clear that many of us are used to borrowing on plastic.

Young people aged 16 to 24

have the highest level of debt compared to their income.

And while much of the older generation still prefer not to take on credit,

increases in the cost of living mean this is changing.

I don't have credit cards.

I wouldn't pay any interest on credit cards whatsoever.

No, never. Never in my life.

I think I'm of the generation that thinks that...

..having credit is not the done thing.

I think there's an economic pressure in their life.

I think there's a social pressure

for people to have things they probably can't afford

and they kind of think it's on the never-never.

For many people, the concept of buying now and paying later

is a part of daily life.

Buying something now and getting that instant gratification,

but not having to worry about paying for it is really

what everybody wants.

The really important thing is when you are buying something now

with the intention of paying for it later,

start squirrelling away that money that you are going to need to pay

off that debt, otherwise it's going to come to the day when you do need

to pay and you are going to struggle.

Right.

CAT MEOWS

One 29-year-old knows only too well the cost of a buy-now-pay-later

attitude. She's willing to tell her story,

but prefers we don't use her name.

We haven't had a lot of money

when I was growing up, but my mam always made sure

that there was love within the family,

and that we were provided for and we got everything that we needed.

We never really wanted for anything, to be honest.

Do you want some more?

Despite this, she took out her first loan when she was just 19.

I was working at McDonald's at the time and I was studying.

I was training to be a car mechanic.

And I just thought, "Oh, well, I'll see if I can get a loan."

I think it was for about 1,100.

I got it to buy a laptop.

I had a wage coming in, I could have saved up for what I needed...

or what I wanted.

Just thought, "Well, I can get it, so it's easy to get it,

"so...I might as well...get it."

Whilst living at home,

she was earning enough to cover the repayments.

But things changed when she moved in with a friend.

I think I was about 22 when I moved out.

I think I managed to pay the first loan back quite...

..well, but then I got another loan, then I got a credit card.

It was a full-time wage, but it wasn't enough to cover...

..living costs. So, you know, I just...

I just got a credit card and got a

loan to try and cover us for day-to-day living.

I knew what I was walking into.

I knew what I was getting myself into.

And I thought at that age,

when I look back, I thought that I knew it all

and that I could pay it back and...

You know, I could have the nice things for like my home,

and stuff like that, and I could do it.

Within months, she was juggling credit cards to try and manage the debt that had built up.

I thought, if I get a credit card, I can pay my other credit card off.

Get the balance transfers.

If I get a loan, I can pay that loan off.

But then...

I got other loans and stuff like that,

so it just had a knock-on effect.

Though the debts were racking up,

there was little to show for all the spending

and no items of value she could sell.

I didn't have a car at the time, so I couldn't drive.

It was nothing to do with getting a loan to buy a car, or...

anything like that. So...

I don't really know, to be honest.

I don't know if I've blocked it out of my mind because obviously I did

feel ashamed or I just genuinely can't remember.

Despite the growing debt, she decided to get a flat on her own.

It was lovely for the first six months.

I was working full-time. I'd changed my job at this point

and it was really, really good money.

But then obviously, with the cost of bills and everything,

I just couldn't afford to live by myself.

When things became really difficult,

because I'd ignored the letters that came through at first,

I did ignore them, was thinking, "I'll deal with those later."

And then obviously, when I lived by myself,

everything just started catching up with us.

By her mid-20s, she had racked up over £4,000 of debt.

I think it's when I was starting getting these letters to the door

from different companies...

..that I realised that it was completely out of control.

They were piling up and mounting up and I just thought,

"I need to do something here."

I would panic, thinking, "Oh, goodness, they're coming to take things away from us"

or, "they want this money by this time,"

and you know, "I don't know how I'm going to be able to afford to pay it."

Some of them would be quite abrupt

on the phone and that used to get my

back up thinking, "They're there, they're meant to try and help us,

"but they're not."

So then, obviously, I would get quite...

..agitated by it and, yeah, sometimes I would get upset by it.

But then I would think, "Well, it's my own fault for getting into this state, so you need to sort it out."

I would worry that the bailiffs were going to come and take things away

because I didn't really have a lot.

Eventually, her debts reached £5,000.

Knowing now something had to change, she turned to her mum for help.

She couldn't understand how I'd gotten into the financial state I was in...

..but she helped us quite a lot.

Fred? Bella?

After coming clean, she contacted a debt management company,

who helped put her on the right track.

They just said that they could consolidate all of my debts

and could just sort it out for us, really.

And they contacted all the creditors on my behalf...

..to discuss what would be best to be paid

and then they come up with an amount every month that they wanted.

I think, at first, I was paying £100 a month,

which was more than manageable.

Every time I rang up and spoke to somebody,

they were absolutely lovely on the phone and that put me at ease.

That made me feel good. They would explain things.

If I didn't understand anything, like, on my statement or whatever,

they would explain it to us.

To help with managing her finances, she moved back in with her parents.

The £100 would go off my debt every month.

It was coming down, I could see it on bank statements,

on the statements from them, that it was coming down quite considerably.

So it just...

It worked. It was really good.

In February 2017, she made her final repayment.

I started getting letters through saying,

"Congratulations, you are now debt-free."

Now, I can go and get the things I want.

I can go for a mortgage.

Yes, it's going to be a bit of a longer slog,

but it'll give us time to save up.

If I could go back and talk to myself at 19,

I would be like, "Absolutely not, don't do it, don't be stupid.

"You'll get yourself into so much...

"So many problems.

"You will get out of it in the end, but just don't do it!"

This story is only too common,

as more and more people go in search of help when debt gets out of hand.

Experts like Hannah Maundrell from money.co.uk

say, when you borrow money,

it's critical to know exactly what you're letting yourself in for.

Buy-now-pay-later deals can be a good option

if you're not going to be charged any interest on them.

You simply just need to do a sense check to make sure that whatever

you're buying is going to be affordable

once you need to pay it back.

Do think about when you are going

to have to start making those repayments, as well?

Because it's possible that your situation may have changed by then,

so you need to consider whether it's going to be affordable and

whether you have got a bit of wiggle room

in case your situation does change.

In Cornwall, with their £29,000 loan secured,

sweet shop owners Phil and Angela's dreams of expanding their business

are now on hold...

..as they anxiously wait to find out if they've secured the lease

on their new premises.

PHONE RINGS

Hello, there.

Yeah, yeah.

Oh, have we got green lights, have we?

Right, OK. Time frames for keys, please?

Thanks, bye then, bye-bye.

Yahey!

With plans for the new shop approved,

it's all hands on deck to be ready

in time for the busy bank holiday weekend in Falmouth.

Right, this is the shop.

This is what all the heartache's been about.

The coffee machine is going to be sat there,

and we've got different types of cakes, which we're going to sell,

and different sundries.

In here will be the freezers,

coming around the back and then, coming along here,

we'll have ice cream machines,

a fudge counter...

coming a bit further along.

Then along the side of here, again, there will be more display units.

A £29,000 loan has helped get the new business this far.

Now the pressure is on the Larkins and their team to get the shop open.

Every day that it's closed is costing Phil and Angela money.

Just putting together the last few bits of construction that we're

building, so shelving, units,

waiting for some deliveries to come in.

We've got fridges coming in today

and hopefully the coffee machine, but that's not guaranteed.

Waiting for our plumber to come to plumb in the sink.

There's still hours of work left in here to go,

so I'd better crack on with this one!

With only one day left before their

advertised opening and local interest stirring,

Phil and Angela are concentrating all their efforts on being

-ready on time.

-All of this.

We'll clear all that out now.

Lots of late nights.

And then I need to pick up the sign for the front of the shop as well.

-That's it.

-And lots of worrying

about how we were going to juggle things financially,

how we were going to do things practically.

We're going to have to sort something out with that.

Just leave it unplugged for a minute.

Yeah, I want the slightly longer ones.

It will be done. Yeah.

The team are coming together.

Tomorrow's the day. Tomorrow's the day.

That's a good sign.

It was a struggle, but we did it.

With their deadline achieved,

Ma Larkin's Falmouth Cafe has opened just in time for business.

Yay! It's going really well.

We're getting lots of local support.

It's really good and it's lovely to see it

finally come to fruition and the business

is kind of up and running,

and we're just getting ready for our really busy summer season.

So...we're really excited!

Really excited.

Smells so nice!

Phil and Angela's dream is coming true,

thanks to their hard work and a lender who believed in them enough

to give them the money they needed.

The loan has paid for obviously the lease, the...

With the lease came a deposit and a very sizeable deposit,

may I add...

on that. It's paid for...

..pretty much most that you can see.

So everything down from the sweet jars to the fudge cabinet,

to the till registers that we've got,

scales, our old-fashioned weighing scales.

It paid some way to the deposit on the lease on the coffee machine.

It's incredible. I kind of pinch myself. I walk in and I go, "Wow!

"We've done that!" But it's being

able to turn what's a figure in your bank account

into something that's actually tangible

and something that's going to help build the business,

build Ma Larkin's and build the brand and you know, help us,

give us a way of life, really.

At last, the couple can stand back and admire what they've achieved.

What you see in Falmouth is what we've done, so blood,

sweat and tears has got us to where we are.

But there's no looking back.

We just won't go down.

The only way that we can go is up.

I do believe it. Sweets do make people happy!

THEY LAUGH

Every day, credit unions and responsible lenders

are changing the lives of millions of people.

The average size loan we do is 11,500.

Nationally, 50,000 of these loans have been approved.

That's created probably about 100,000 jobs.

We've had queues out the door and down the street.

This series, we've met people who have received

well over a quarter of a million pounds...

Hurray!

..money that saved the day...

We are going to offer you a loan.

-OK.

-OK?

The credit union were there for us

at a really difficult time in our lives.

..helped people achieve their dreams...

I'm so thankful for the loan we had,

because it was enough to start an idea

and, without it, we couldn't be here today.

It's always good to put a smile on people's faces.

-Hi!

-Guess what, I got it!

Yay!

It will just be the beginning of very exciting things.

He was so chuffed, I think he even came in here to say,

-"So pleased I've got the loan."

-Somebody saying yes,

that's a very good feeling.

From sandwich bars...

Cheers!

..to dog spas.

From ice cream...

Is that the wickedest?

..to keeping warm.

Without that help,

the transformation to my life would have been impossible.

From £100...

..to 29,000...

..they're all grateful that someone believed in them.

Without the credit union's help,

I can't even say where I would be without them, really.

-It's brilliant.

-I'm elated.

Good day, good decision,

-and I'm quite excited.

-I'm pleased to tell you

your loan has been approved.

Portugal, here we come!

You know what? I'd love to think it is the start of an empire.

It's been worth it. Absolutely worth it.

So, bye-bye and thanks again.

-Bye-bye.

-See you.

Bye-bye. See you.

-How are you feeling?

-I'm feeling good!

I can boogie. I can boogie down!

Whoa! Look at that!