With the unprecedented impact of Covid-19 on many of my business clients as well as those who have been referred to me for car loans, I understand this is a stressful and turbulent time for you all. I have been working tirelessly in the background collating information, links and contact numbers for the bank’s hardship process for my lending panel.
Most are offering 3 months now with an option to extend for another 3 months, some are deferring automatically with the option to opt-in to make repayments if you are not affected. So please review which lender you are with below and act accordingly.
Please reach out via email if you require any assistance as I am your broker, I am here for you not just when times are good, but also through these rough patches. Together we will get through this and come out the other end and I look forward to sharing a wine with you all when this is over!
Stay Strong and Please Be Safe!
Commonwealth
Hardship assistance contact number -1300 720 814
Automatically defer BetterBusiness Loan and Asset Finance Equipment Loan principal and interest repayments for eligible small business customers with total lending limits with CBA up to $3 million in April, May and June 2020. From July, customers will be able to opt-in to receive a further three month deferral if needed in line with the ABA loan deferral arrangements.
We’ll communicate with our customers about how they can make repayments if they do not wish to be covered by the auto-enrolment.
Please see below links for more details.
Link for CBA Covid updates. Coronavirus support for business customers
Westpac
Hardship assistance contact number -1800 067 497
Link to deferring repayments automatically for 6mths click here .
Please refer to your bank statement for your account number (this can be located on your bank statement where you are debited your monthly installments) it will start with 012 etc, do not use the -dashes -, the system wont process if you do. Please read the “Things you should Know” thoroughly as it explains how interest is deferred and capitalized and loan terms extended.
If you have any problems, please give me a call.
Pepper Asset Finance
Hardship assistance contact number-1800 356 383
Email From Pepper this morning, please note, this is their position and doesn’t reflect other lenders policies:
As you can appreciate in the current environment information is being disseminated constantly and Pepper will endeavor to pass on any relevant and useful information.
Please find some questions and answers that have been coming into our Hardship team that may be helpful to you and our mutual clients: –
Q – Can the request for financial hardship be made by us on behalf of the customer or does that need to be directly from customer to Pepper?
A – An email can be sent to assist@pepper.com.au , noting they will want to speak directly with the client at some point. You are able to request hardship assistance on behalf of the customer via email and are required to provide the assist team with the email trail from the client that you are on forwarding. Please indicate to the assist team whether the client would prefer us to liaise with you and if so, they will require confirmation in writing of this.
Q – Will those customers that take up the moratorium on loan repayments be impacted by adverse credit references for future borrowings once we pass through this financial crisis?
A – Whilst under this agreement we will not report the Repayment History Information to the Credit Bureau and any agreement entered into will not impact future borrowings however they must understand that any future borrowings are assessed under the usual credit criteria and if approved/declined it is not because of the assistance period offered but another underlying factor
Q – Will interest accrue whilst payments are deferred?
A – Interest on the outstanding loan balance will continue to accrue on your loan during this period of assistance and will be added onto the principal balance on the date the payments are due.
Q – What happens to the payments that are deferred?
A – Any missed payments will be added to the balance of the loan (capitalised) and the repayments adjusted (re-amortised) to ensure the loan balance is repaid within the term remaining. In cases where extreme hardship exists, the assist team may consider another form of loan variation which may include extending loan terms however additional interest charges would apply for the months it is extended by.
Metro Finance
Hardship assistance contact number 1300 362 627
Metro is continuing to assist our customers with COVID19 relief requests and are working through high call volumes. We appreciate your support and patience during these unprecedented times.
How you best can assist your customers?
Metro has introduced a streamlined process to assist affected customers, including up to 3 months’ payment deferral which can be further reviewed and extended if required.
This process is conducted over the phone so please continue to encourage your clients to call Metro Finance Customer Service on 1300 362 627 (select option 2 and then 4). Customers have a call-back option to avoid waiting on hold.
There are long queues so please be patient, if prompted request the call back option and someone will call you to run through your options. You will be asked a series of questions regarding your current financial circumstances and then presented with the following options:
- Defer monthly
- Defer for 3 months now
- After 3 months review your current financial situation and call back to extend further if necessary.
If you have any problems, please give me a call.
ANZ
Hardship assistance contact number – 1800 252 845
Business Customer Covid support here
Financial hardship apply-online
Probably best to request a call back as the lines are flooded. You may also fill in their Apply Online forms however due to high volumes you may experience delays in downloading and submitting the form
Now Finance
Hardship assistance contact number – 1300 761 711
Now finance have an Accounts Management Team that will assess each customer separately, we’ve been told to simply refer the clients to the team, and they will work through all the options.
Macquarie Leasing
An easy online form to complete, just make sure you have your account number handy or car registration number.
Payment pause application form
*Please note, any Macquarie Leasing contracts are captured under ‘car loans’, they are seeking to adjust the language to make it clear it includes all our Plant & Equipment Deals.
Your Macquarie Questions Answered
Will a client’s credit score be negatively impacted if they take a payment pause?
No. During your client’s payment pause, we won’t report to credit bureau that they are missing their obligations on their loan. This means their credit score will not be negatively impacted during this period.
Please note this is the approach being adopted by Macquarie but it’s important your client checks with any other lenders they may have products with to confirm their approach.
It’s also important to let your clients know that if they are impacted by coronavirus, it’s best to get in touch with us as soon as possible so that we can help them. They can do so via the online form that’s located on our dedicated coronavirus support landing page.
Can a broker complete the payment pause application on behalf of their client?
No. Your client will need to complete the form themselves as they are required to acknowledge that this is a change to their loan.
Will my client need to provide any documents to complete the payment pause application?
No. Your client is not required to provide any documents for the payment pause.
Does the 6-month payment pause apply to contracts where a balloon is due within that period?
Yes. Your client won’t be required to make a balloon payment until after the 6-month pause period.
If my client doesn’t want a 6-month payment pause but wants an alternate form of assistance, what is available?
We are offering a 6-month payment pause at this time, however, clients are able to make ad hoc or reduced payments over this time if their cashflow allows. They also have the option to request a payment pause to their home loan or credit card repayment with Macquarie.
If my client takes a payment pause, what happens at the end of this pause period?
Before the payment pause expires, we’ll be in touch with your client with more information around next steps and any impact to their loan. During the payment pause period, interest will continue to accrue on their consumer loan. Interest will not accrue on a chattel mortgage, finance lease, or commercial hire purchase.
Firstmac
Hardship assistance contact number 13 12 20
Hardship Policy
As a group, we will continue to monitor this unfolding situation with a focus on what support we can offer to our customers who are experiencing job loss and hardship. We are putting the customers most impacted by this crisis at the front of all that we are doing and the decisions we make.
Our existing hardship policy is well suited to the current crisis, offering:
- a repayments holiday for three months
- the option to extend for a further three months
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, we have assigned additional local staff to our Hardship Team so we can speak to each customer personally and work through a solution to their individual circumstances.
If your customer is experiencing hardship, please have them call us directly on 13 12 20 and one of our Hardship Consultants will help them with consideration and empathy.