Crédit municipal is a banking institution with a social vocation : you go there with an object and you leave a few minutes later with its value in cash, while having the possibility of returning to redeem this object a little later.
The most unusual object seen by the head of the Tours agency is a certified piece of the Berlin Wall, but in general, the deposits are more classic: “It is mainly jewelry, but we also lend on wine, cars, paintings, bronzes, musical instruments“explains Valérie Flais. “For all items other than jewelry, we call on experts. It is the auctioneers of Tours who estimate the objects. And since you remain the owner, you can take them back at any time. On the other hand, if you do not recover the object after six months, you must pay past interest“. This interest amounts, for example, to 60 euros, every six months, for an object worth 1,000 euros.
Last year, nearly 1,700 people have used pledge loans in Tours, for an average amount of 969 euros. There is no typical profile: some come for 10 euros to help them finish the month. Others need tens of thousands of euros for a wedding, or not to dip into a profitable investment.
Nadia, she deposited in two installments 1,600 euros of gold jewelry: “the first time to go on vacation and the second time to help my mother pay her rent debts. I pay slowly as soon as I can and then I take out jewelry when I can“.
Jacqueline made another choice: she recovered 2,500 euros by depositing jewelry two years ago. His finances would allow him to take them back but she prefers to leave them in the safe of the Crédit municipal : “I know they’re safe here more than if it was my house“explains the septuagenarian. “On the other hand, I was very careful to pay my interests so that they were not put up for sale automatically.“. Indeed, if you do not extend your initial contract by six months or if you do not buy back your object, it can be put up for auction, after eight months. This has happened in 7% of cases.
Along with pawnbrokers, Crédit municipal also offers micro-loans, up to 8,000 euros : “these are small loans for people who do not have access to the banking world, for example for medical care or for a return to work by facilitating the purchase of a vehicle” explains Valérie Flais.
© Radio France
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©Boris Compain
Crédit municipal is open to the public from Monday to Friday from 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and from 1.30 p.m. to 5 p.m., place du president Coty, in Tours. The phone number is 02 47 05 58 58
