If you are experiencing financial difficulties and are unable to meet your financial obligations with P&N Bank, you may be eligible to receive Financial Hardship Assistance.
We understand that unexpected or exceptional circumstances can occur for any number of reasons such as injury or illness, unemployment, divorce or relationship separation, or an unexpected reduction of income. These circumstances can impact your financial situation and your ability to make repayments to your loans and other credit contracts.
We are here to help customers experiencing hardship or having genuine difficulty meeting repayments. We’ll do our best to work with you and may be able to offer you Financial Hardship Assistance.
Examples of assistance we may be able to provide include, but are not limited to, flexibility or moratorium in meeting your scheduled repayments, or an extension of your loan term resulting in lower monthly repayments.
How do I apply for financial hardship assistance?
In the first instance, we recommend you contact our Financial Hardship team on 1300 591 276, 8.30am to 5.00pm AWST Monday to Friday.
Alternatively, you can apply for help in the following ways. Please ensure any requested supporting documents are included with your application.
Email us
You can email the team direct with a query or to return your completed application form.
Download application form
Download the application form, print, complete and return in the mail or to your nearest branch.
Your questions answered
The information that we'll need from you will vary depending on your circumstances, but usually include:
- your last two pay slips or a letter from your employer verifying your employment and income (if self-employed, your last two tax returns)
- recent bank statements or transaction history if accounts not held with us
- confirmation from Centrelink of any current benefits paid, and
- any other documentary evidence of income or as required.
We may also require additional information such as:
- medical certificate or any relevant medical documents
- notice of employment termination
- any relevant legal documentation, and
- any other documents that may support your application or as required.
Please call 1300 591 276 Monday to Friday between 8.30am to 5.00pm AWST in the first instance to discuss your situation.
The financial hardship assistance we can provide you will depend on your circumstances, and what type of difficulty you're experiencing.
Assistance may be offered in the follow ways:
- defer payments,
- reduced repayments - which may included an interest-only period,
- interest-only repayments,
- capitalising arrears - repayments recalculated over the remaining loan term, after the period of assistance has ended,
- loan restructure - via discussions with a lender,
- fee waivers.
We’ll assess each application on its merits and offer the type of help that is most appropriate to your situation.
We’ll acknowledge your request for financial assistance within two business days of receiving your request.
We’ll then review your application and may be able to offer you assistance if you're suffering genuine financial hardship and can demonstrate that you're still able to meet your loan and credit contract obligations if provided with assistance.
We'll advise whether we are able to offer you financial hardship assistance, or any other appropriate arrangement within 21 days of receiving your application along with all supporting information.
In line with legislation introduced 1 July 2022, if you receive help for financial hardship, P&N Bank is required to indicate that you are under 'Financial Hardship Assistance' and a record will be placed on your repayment history indicator. This will be in place for a period of 12 months from the date assistance was provided. We will not advise any credit provider of the reason for assistance.
However, if you default on that arrangement or otherwise break the terms of the help offered, we do reserve our rights under the loan contract.
Australian legislation outlines your rights to financial hardship assistance and how banks and financial institutions must manage applications. There are three key frameworks that govern how banks can provide hardship assistance to their
customers:
- National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (NCCP Act) which includes the National Credit Code as a schedule to the Act
- Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice
- Australian Government’s hardship principles “A common approach for assisting borrowers facing financial hardship”
If you have concerns or are unsure about your legal rights should always seek independent legal advice.
Whilst we'll always attempt to provide assistance to those that are experiencing genuine financial difficulty, we may not always be able to provide this assistance, for a variety of reasons.
If you're not satisfied with the response or help provided by P&N Bank, or wish to make a complaint in relation to your request for hardship, you can utilise our internal dispute resolution (IDR) process by contacting the Member Engagement Team.
Phone: 13 25 77
Email: Member Advocate
Mail: Attn: Member Advocate, P&N Bank, PO Box 8609, PERTH BC WA 6849.
We also subscribe to an external dispute resolution scheme (EDR) provided by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). AFCA can be contacted as follows:
Website: www.afca.org.au
Phone: 1800 931 678 (free call)
Email: info@afca.org.au
Mail: Australian Financial Complaints Authority, GPO Box 3, Melbourne VIC 3001.
AFCA is an independent complaints scheme that is free to customers of financial institutions. Please note that it is important to attempt to resolve your dispute with P&N Bank prior to contacting or lodging a dispute or complaint with AFCA.
You may find the following tools and information helpful.
- Your Financial Wellness - a online website designed to help you improve your financial literacy, build confidence and make sound financial decisions.
- mymo by P&N Bank
- Five steps to creating a budget
- Easy online calculators
- MoneySmart, an online resource provided by ASIC
- Financial Counsellors Association for links to financial counsellors within WA
- National Debt Hotline
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