Over the last few months all our lives have been turned upside down due to COVID-19. During this unsettled time Tipton has remained committed to supporting both staff and members with both their physical and mental health being our top priority.

Throughout the peak of the crisis the Society has continued to provide members support with branches open on restricted hours providing access to essential transactions; for members experiencing financial difficulty, mortgage payment holidays have been made available.

Looking forward the Society is now making plans to continue supporting our members and the local community throughout this difficult time and below are a few of these:

• Our branches are all open having returned to their normal opening hours. However social distancing will continue to operate as the health and safety of our staff and members remains our priority. Restricted numbers of members allowed into branch at any one time will remain. If asked, please remove your face mask for ID purposes;
• For those members experiencing financial difficulty meeting their mortgage commitments, help is available so please visit our website thetipton.co.uk/coronavirus-covid-19/ or call us;
• While many lenders have been withdrawing high loan to value mortgage products from the market, the Society has kept their 100% loan to value Family Assist product available to support the housing market and help first time buyers make their move onto the property ladder; and
• Mortgage advice is still available directly over the phone with our highly trained mortgage advisors, so please let us know if you would like an appointment.

Supporting the local community through advertising and local sponsorship for clubs and charities remains important and part of our commitment. Our staff actively continue to fundraise for Midlands Air Ambulance.

Be alert! Members should be aware of scams and fraud. With the UK seeing an increase with people using COVID-19 as a way to take advantage, members should be extra vigilant about any messages or calls you receive from any financial services organisations. To be clear, we will never:

• Encourage you to move money from your own account into a different ‘safe’ account;
• Telephone you asking for your account details or PIN numbers;
• Email you asking you to click a link or log in;
• Charge upfront fees for payment holidays; or
• Demand immediate payment for arrears via email or over the phone.

If  you have any queries or concerns, please do contact us on 0121 557 2551 or visit www.thetipton.co.uk/contact-us.