A CREDIT union in Derby has seen an 800% increase in its website traffic over the past few days after a row involving a payday loan company and the Church of England.
It follows revelations that the Church of England indirectly invested £75,000 into payday loan company Wonga after the Archbishop of Canterbury had spoken out against the credit industry.
Andrew Kennedy, administrator of Derby United Credit Union Ltd, believes the row is a great chance to highlight the positive work done by credit unions as opposed to credit companies.
He said: "Credit unions don't get much publicity and something coming out like this has had a good effect, I think.
"We've not had an actual increase in membership yet but this news has only come out in the past few days.
"When I heard the news about the Church, I thought it might have a positive effect on us.
"I think Wonga is being treated like McDonalds were in the 1980s, when they were being blamed for the rise in fast food outlets, and is a scapegoat at the moment.
"There were plenty of others to blame then and that applies exactly the same today."
Andrew, 45, of Alvaston, is now keen to help anybody out through the union who finds themselves in a difficult financial situation.
He said: "My advice to people in financial difficulties is to join a credit union. We're very safe and are highly regulated.
"I believe if the banks had the same regulation we did, the banking crisis a few years ago might not have happened.
"We work very differently from payday loan companies because people have to make 12 weeks of savings before we would offer them any money.
"We also only operate with a 28.6% annual interest rate yet the payday loan companies' interest rate looks like a phone number."
Andrew thinks television adverts offering credit always look "very fluffy" but says the reality is "very different".
Lloyd Newby, head of the supervisory committee at the union, believes credit unions provide a much safer service.
He said: "If you follow the procedure we have in place then people can't really go wrong so people should be fine."
The Archbishop, the Most Rev Justin Welby has suggested a comprehensive review of the Church's investment portfolio could follow the recent disclosures.
He expressed his unease over its ties to the short-term, high-cost credit firm Wonga.
