Helping the People of Essex to Access Credit for Over 50 Years

At Cockle Finance, we have been helping people throughout the county of Essex to access the credit they need for over fifty years. From our base of operations in Romford, the company has become a truly trusted supplier of credit to people in the west of the county as well further afield on the Thames Estuary, the Essex coast and the northern part of the county, too. Cockle Finance is a family firm, too. Steve currently runs the business, having taken over from Alf, his father.

In fact, it was Alfred John Cockle who began the business half a century ago. He had witnessed his mother supplying much-needed credit to friends and neighbours when times were tough during the war. Back then, the family lived in the East End of London but they relocated to Romford sometime after that. Alf’s vision was to help people with a range of different credit options so that he could help people with their finances in a way that suited their individual circumstances.

Since then, Alf’s son, Steve, and his wife, Jan, have continued in this tradition, offering a range of financial services not just in Romford but expanding the businesses. At first, places like Dagenham, Barking, Basildon and Harold Hill were the sort of locations where Cockle Finance began to offer handy credit services like doorstep loans to the local inhabitants. Later, the business continued to expand throughout the rest of the county. These days, residents of Chelmsford, Chigwell and Colchester can apply to us for a doorstep loan. We also offer them in South Ockendon and South Benfleet along with a number of other Essex towns, such as Grays, Aveley and Wickford, among others.

One of the things that our many satisfied customers often report to us about our doorstep loan service is that they feel they are getting a professional but personalised service from us. This is often the case because we deal with our clients face-to-face, something that is just not so with the majority of high street lenders. It is not just that we provide doorstep loans directly in cash, either. The application process can be conducted locally, where you are and even in your own home if wanted.

This is the way we have been doing things for the last five decades, after all. We see no reason to change given that this is what our customers in Essex want from us. In short, this is a big difference between choosing a local firm in the county, like us, compared to an impersonal national lender, perhaps one that only allows you to apply for a loan over the phone or on the internet.

Of course, we don’t just offer doorstep loans in Essex these days. Since our early days in the 1970s, we have expanded the range of loan types on offer to the people of Essex. Other loans you can enquire about include pay weekly loans, payday loan alternatives and short-term loans, for example. We also specialise in providing loans to unemployed people as well as those with previous poor credit histories. Here’s to the next 50 years helping people to obtain the finance they need wherever in Essex they might be!

Dan Cockle is the Managing Director of Cockle Finance and current Vice Chairman of the Consumer Credit Association. He has over 15 years’ experience in Financial Services with a passion for Finance, and particularly Fintech. He was shortlisted for Business Leader of the Year in the Alternative/Consumer Finance category of the 2023 Credit Strategy Leadership Awards. Outside of work Dan enjoys cooking and is a keen golfer.

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