This can be a stressful time for anyone to go through. Take a moment to look at the existing features of your loan (do you have additional funds available to make repayments, or a large offset balance?) so you can take stock of your current financial situation and understand how much buffer you might have to help meet repayments.
However, if your circumstances do change and you are unable to meet your loan repayments or pay for essentials such as groceries and bills, please apply for assistance or contact us on 137 377 to discuss your situation and the options that might be available to you.
If you notify us of your changing circumstances, we’ll work with you to understand your options.
We’ll discuss with you:
- The reasons why you are in financial hardship
- An indication of how and when your situation will improve
- Whether you can make any repayments to your loan and over what period
- If you need to provide a 'statement of financial position', which provides information that validates your income and expenses.
If your tenant is a day or two late with rent, your real estate agent or property manager should be helping you throughout this process.
Depending on the circumstances, if you find that due to a decrease in your rental income you are unable to meet your home loan repayments please apply for financial assistance or contact us on 137 377 to discuss your situation and the options which may be available to you.
A ‘repayment holiday’ is a temporary suspension to your loan repayments because of financial stress.
Find out more about repayment holidays.
If your income has been reduced temporarily, such as your partner losing their job, leaving you with only one income, you may be able to apply for a temporary reduction in your repayments.
In this situation, we’ll ask you to confirm a repayment amount that you can comfortably repay during the temporary reduction.
If you have been “stood down” and are experiencing any of the situations below, please contact us to discuss assistance options available:
- You are unable to make your loan repayments
- You are finding it difficult to make your loan repayments
- ·Your financial situation will be changing, and you may be unable to meet your loan repayments at that time
- You have received a default notice from Pepper Money or another lender.
Customers who receive financial assistance from us may have their credit history negatively impacted. Learn more about your credit health.
If you are experiencing financial difficulty due to losing your job, we encourage you to apply for assistance or contact us on 137 377 to discuss your situation and the options available to you.
You may have the option of varying all or part of your loan account from principal and interest repayments to interest-only repayments for a specified period, as agreed with us.
This will reduce your repayments, as you won’t have to pay the principal and will only pay the interest charge for the period.
It’s important to understand that the principal amount of your account isn’t being paid off during this period, so your monthly repayments will increase once your loan account converts back to principal and interest, in order to ensure that the remaining principal and interest balance is paid off over the remaining loan term.
If you have not reduced your direct debit amount in some time, you may be paying more than you are required to.
You may also choose to reduce your loan repayment amount to the minimum contractual repayment amount, including any monthly account keeping fees. To adjust your repayments or request a review of your interest rate, contact us on 137 377.
Insurance you have financed as part of your loan may provide cover for loss of income and/or loss of employment. You may also have separate insurance policies (such as income protection/salary continuance insurance) which may provide coverage for loss of income and/or loss of employment. Contact your insurer to find out if you can make a claim due to your current situation.
For customers who are currently under financial hardship arrangements with Pepper Money, we will suspend the repossession of your house or financed assets with us, until further notice.
Your repayments will be paused during the repayment break; however, it is important to note that interest will continue to accrue and will be added to your loan balance. At the end of the repayment holiday, your loan repayments will likely increase to ensure your loan is repaid within the original loan term. We’ll contact you prior to the end of the repayment break to discuss your circumstances.
For home loan customers, you can find out the estimated changes to your loan repayments after the repayment break by using our Repayment Deferral Calculator. You’ll only need to know your outstanding loan balance, current interest rate and remaining loan term.
You’ll continue to receive statements and other general communications from us if financial assistance is offered to you.
We know this must be a tough time for you, and our hardship assistance team will do what they can to help make the process as easy as possible.
What we’ll need to know:
- Who has passed away?
- Do you have a certified copy of the death certificate?
- Has an Executor or Administrator been appointed?
- What are your intentions in relation to the property?
Late payments may show on your credit report in the repayment history, this could impact your credit score. Credit Smart have developed some handy guides to help you understand how your credit report may be impacted if you miss repayments or enter into a financial hardship arrangement with us.
