Financial Hardship
We understand that life can take unexpected turns. For this reason, we have developed policies and processes to assist members with their mortgage loans, personal loans and credit cards in times of financial hardship.
About this Rate
Financial difficulties can be caused by a number of situations, such as injury or illness, unemployment, family and domestic violence, natural disaster, reduced income, and relationship separation.
At Heritage, we pride ourselves on taking care of our members. That's why if you're having difficulty meeting your financial commitments, we encourage you to reach out to us as soon as possible.
How to get in touch
Contact our Member Assist department on the details below. They'll discuss your circumstances discreetly and provide a solution to help you through this tough time.
Alternatively, you can apply for Hardship relief by completing the Hardship Relief form and returning it to Heritage. When the form is received, we will contact you to discuss your application further.
Contact us now for assistance
If you've been impacted by bushfire or flood please reach out to us as soon as possible. Our team is available 24/7 and will work quickly to assess your situation and advise how we can help.
If you’re unable to make your next mortgage, personal loan or credit card repayment due to bushfire or flood impacts, contact our Member Assist Department on 1800 222 030
For all other Member Relief Package enquiries please call 13 14 22.
Our Member Relief Package includes:
- Hardship provisions to help impacted members through their situation.
- Waiving fees associated with restructuring of loans needed because of flood or bushfire impacts.
- Waiving or refunding fees incurred because flood or bushfire impacts have made it impossible for members to comply with requirements of their accounts, for example missed payments.
- Early redemption on Term Deposits and Farm Deposit Management accounts for members impacted by flood or bushfires, without fees or penalties.
Above all, safety is the number one priority. If you live in an impacted area we encourage you to monitor the situation through the media and emergency service websites.
How financial hardship impacts your credit report
A financial hardship arrangement is an agreement between you and Heritage. If something has impacted your ability to repay your your credit card, personal loan, car loan or mortgage loan repayments, we can help by reducing them or deferring them for a set amount of time. Financial hardship information is not a reflection of poor credit management. In fact, having a hardship agreement can help protect your credit report from missed repayments.
If you agree to a financial hardship arrangement with Heritage, this will show on your credit report during the arrangement. It will remain on your credit report for 12 months after the end of the agreement. This helps safeguard your repayment history as it will show that a special payment arrangement is in place for a period due to financial hardship.
Being in a financial hardship arrangement won't impact your credit score. However, repayment history information can be included in the calculation of your credit score. So, if you miss a payment under your arrangement, your credit score might be impacted.
What does financial hardship look like in my credit report?
If you've missed one, or multiple loan repayments, this will show on your credit report. Your credit report is updated with your repayment history monthly. Any missed repayments will show on your credit report for 24 months after they are reported.
If you have an approved financial hardship arrangement, your credit report will show the type of arrangement you have with us. This could be a temporary arrangement or a variation to your loan. Your credit report will not include the reason for the hardship arrangement, or any further details of our arrangement.
- Letter code 'A' refers to a temporary hardship arrangement. This is a type of short-term relief or deferral of your credit obligations. This gets reported each month that the financial hardship is in place.
- Letter code 'V' refers to a variation financial hardship arrangement. This is a permanent variation to the terms of a credit agreement, such as capitalising your arrears after being in a temporary hardship arrangement. This gets reported once, in the month that the permanent variation took place.
Does financial hardship exclude me from applying for credit?
Financial hardship information does not exclude you from applying for credit in the future, once your financial hardship arrangement has ended.
If your credit report has financial hardship information, a potential lender may ask you for more information about your current situation to understand whether you are still experiencing hardship.
It can be hard to keep up with regular payments like rent, electricity and phone bills or unexpected fines.