Financial Hardship Assistance

Consideration of a financial hardship situation and appropriate assistance are services available to all our members. You need not be currently in default on your loan or credit card.

Hardship assistance involves you and First Option working together to determine appropriate actions that will assist you to work through your financial difficulty.

The Assessment Process

In assessing requests for financial hardship assistance, we genuinely and carefully consider all the information you have provided about your financial circumstances and why you are experiencing hardship. On the basis of this information and your willingness to repay the debt, we determine whether you will have the capacity to meet your financial obligations at the end of the assistance period.

We will not provide assistance, where to do so would merely delay inevitable foreclosure and/or enforcement action.

Types of Assistance Available

The types of financial hardship assistance that we will consider depending on the particular financial circumstances, reasons for experiencing financial hardship and future prospects. Depending on those circumstances, the following types of assistance may be available:

  • Alterations to loan repayments for a period
  • Moratorium on loan repayments for a period
  • Capitalisation of arrears
  • Debt consolidation
  • Reduced repayments while you may be voluntarily selling your property

We may also consider other forms of assistance that are consistent with the objective of discharging the financial obligations to us.

To Apply

Financial hardship assistance requires genuine motivation and co-operation to address the situation. In order to make an assessment, we generally require:

  • A completed Financial Hardship Application form;
  • Documentary evidence of the hardship situation; and
  • Appropriate supporting documentation that will assist us in assessing your situation.

You can submit your application in one of the following ways: