Established in 1850, the Cambridge has played a major role in the development
of local home ownership and provided a secure home for local savings for over
150 years.
During this period the Society has never lost
sight of its local status: providing a convenient, local service for savers
and the financial means to enable local people to purchase the ir own homes.
the Society's head office remains in the Centre
of Cambridge. In addition, it has 6 branches in the City area and a furthe r
15 branches in the surrounding towns and villages.
Because of the Society's strong, local focus,
it does not generally provide savings accounts and mortgage facilities outside
its branch network area.
MISSION
STATEMENT
" the Cambridge Building Society is an
independent, local, mutual society. It aims through responsible administration
to offer competitive rates of interest to both savers and borrowers; and to
provide a first class service to the community from conveniently situated
offices."
COMMITMENT TO MUTUALITY
the Board and Senior Management of the Cambridge
Building Society believe, strongly that it is in the best interest if its
members, and the community within which the y live and work, that the Society
should maintain its independent mutual status for the following reasons:
the Cambridge Building Society was created
by previous generations for the benefit of the mselves, as members, and for
the benefit of future generations of members;
being mutual and, the refore, not having to
pay dividends to shareholders, enables it to charge lower rates on mortgages
and pay higher rates to investors;
because part of the Society's strategic objective
is "maintaining adequate reserves" it does not need to maximise
profits at the expense of its investors and borrowers as do the banks;
the Society is prepared to open and maintain
branches in rural communities from which othe r financial institutions are
withdrawing;
the Society is open to all members of the community
and is one of the few financial institutions which will allow an account to
be opened with as little as £1;
the Society does not make charges for counter
transactions and othe r minor administrative services;
the Society supports othe r local organisations
in, for instance, the provision of social housing and community savings and
loans activities;
the Society encourages its staff to become
involved in local community activities;
the Society is a significant local employer
with its head office based in Cambridge;
it tries, where ever possible, to use the services
of othe r local businesses, thus adding to local prosperity;
the Society offers a choice in the financial
services market in which most of the othe r players are national or international
plc's.
SERVICES AVAILABLE FROM the CAMBRIDGE
Savings accounts for all
the Cambridge offers a range of savings accounts
to meet the needs of all local savers.
Travel money
the purchase of travellers cheques and foreign
currency can be arranged at any of our branches. Orders received by lunchtime
will be available for collection the following day.
Mortgages
Home loans, home improvement loans and secured
personal loans are available from all of our branches.
Insurances
We can provide a range of insurance services
for our borrowers:
Home and contents
Buildings only
Mortgage payments
Cambridge Building Society is a member of the General Insurance Standards
Council
Life assurance and investment products
If you want advice about life assurance or
investment products, we can put you intouch with Legal & General.
Representative only of the Legal & General
marketing group, members of which are regulated by the Financial Services
Authority, for the purposes of making introductions to othe r representatives
for recommending, advising on and selling life assurance and investment products
bearing Legal & General's name.
Security is required on property. All loans
are subject to appraisal of the applicant's status and financial standing
and satisfactory valuation of the property. Loans are not available to persons
under 18 years of age. the Society complies with the Mortgage and Banking
Codes and is a member of the Financial Ombudsman Service. Written quotations
available on request, telephone 01223 727727.
YOUR HOME IS AT RISK IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP
REPAYMENTS ON A MORTGAGE OR Othe R LOAN SECURED ON IT.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Your information Data Protection Act 1998
the information you have supplied will be used by Cambridge Building Society
for the registered purposes of: Management of Customer Records; Research;
Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations. the information will be kept
confidential and only disclosed in strictly limited circumstances.
Occasionally we may use the information held
to bring to your attention details of products and services available from
Cambridge Building Society, or from othe r selected suppliers, which may be
of interest to you.
If you do not want us to use your information
for marketing purposes please tick the box on the application form or write
to us.
the Data Protection Act 1998 provides you with
the right of access to your personal data held by the Society on completion
of a 'Request for personal data' form and payment of a £1 fee.
Information will normally be provided within
15 days of receipt of the form.
IF YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT, WE WANT TO PUT THINGS
RIGHT.
Our commitment to you
We are committed to providing you with a first class customer service. However,
the re maybe occasions when you feel you have cause for complaint. If so, please
tell us about it straight away and we will do all we can to put things right.
We will investigate your complaint thoroughly
and aim to resolve it as quickly and amicably as possible. To do this, we
need to understand the problem. So please help us to help you and follow our
'complaints procedure' below.
Complaints procedure
Your local branch
Contact a member of staff at your local branch. You can do this in person,
by phone, via email or in writing. Our member of staff will be pleased to
assist you. If, however, our staff member is unable to resolve the matter
to your satisfaction, he or she will refer your complaint to a Branch or Department
Manager.
the Manager's decision
the Branch or Department Manager will write to you the same day to confirm
that your complaint is being investigated and indicate how long it will take
before we can put things right. If it takes longer than the time specified,
the Manager will provide you with a progress report before sending a detailed
response.
If you are still dissatisfied
If after receiving the Manager's detailed response you believe that we have
failed to deal with the complaint to your satisfaction, you can take the matter
up with our Head of Service. Write to: Head of Service, Cambridge Building
Society, Head Office Administration Centre, PO Box 232, 51 Newmarket Road,
Cambridge CB5 8FF or telephone 01223 727727. Our Head of Service will review
your complaint and will provide a full and considered response on behalf of
the Society.
Referral to the Financial Ombudsman Service
We are committed to resolving complaints whenever possible through our complaints
procedure. If after following the procedure you are not satisfied that we
have resolved your complaint, you can take your dispute to an Ombudsman.
the Ombudsman is an independent adjudicator who can investigate and make a
decision about outstanding disputes. the address to contact is: Financial
Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR.
A leaflet detailing the Financial Ombudsman
Service is available on request at all of our branches and at our Head Office
Administration Centre.
This complaint procedure does not affect your
legal rights.
FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPENSATION SCHEME
Cambridge Building Society is a participant
in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme established under the Financial
Services and Markets Act 2000. Payments under the Scheme are limited to a
maximum of £31,700, that is 100% of the first £2,000 of an investor's
total shares and/or deposits in a Society, and 90% of the next £33,000.
Most investors are covered, including individuals and small firms. A small
number of categories of shares and deposits are not covered. Although most
shares and deposits are denominated in sterling, all othe r currencies are
covered. Furthe r details are available on request from the Society.
