Things You Should Know About Your Proposed
Credit Contract
This statement tells you about some of the rights and obligations of yourself and your credit provider. It does not state the terms and conditions of your contract.If you have any concerns about your contract, contact the credit provider and, if you still have concerns, your credit provider’s external dispute resolution scheme, or get legal advice.
The contract
Your credit provider must give you a pre-contractual statement, containing certain information about your contract.
The pre-contractual statement, and this document, must be given to you before:
- your contract is entered into or
- you make an offer to enter into the contract
whichever happens first.
If the contract document is to be signed by you and returned to your credit provider, you must be given a copy of to keep. Also, the credit provider must give you a copy of the final contract within 14 days after it is made. This rule does not, however, apply if the credit provider has previously given you a copy of the contract document to keep.
If you want another copy of your contract, write to your credit provider and ask for one. Your credit provider may charge you a fee. Your credit provider has to give you a copy:
- within 14 days of your written request if the original contract came into existence 1 year or less before your request; or
- otherwise within 30 days of your written request.
Yes. You can terminate the contract by writing to the credit provider so long as
- you have not obtained any credit under the contract or
- a card or other means of obtaining credit, given to you by your credit provider, has not been used to acquire goods or services for which credit is to be provided under the contract.
However, you will still have to pay any fees or charges incurred before you terminated the contract.
Yes. Pay your credit provider the amount required to pay out your credit contract on the day you wish to end your contract.
You can write to your credit provider at any time and ask for a statement of the payout figure as at any date you specify. You can also ask for details of how the amount is made up.
Your credit provider must give you the statement within 7 days after you give your request to the credit provider. You may be charged a fee for the statement.
Yes. The interest you can be charged depends on the actual time money is owing. However, you may have to pay an early termination charge (if your contract permits your credit provider to charge one) and other fees.
Yes, but only if your contract says so.
That depends on the type of change.
- you get at least same day notice for a change to an annual percentage rate. That notice may be a written notice to you or a notice published in a newspaper.
- you get 20 days advance written notice for –
- a change in the way in which interest is calculated or
- a change in credit fees and charges or
- any other changes by your credit provider;
except where the change reduces what you have to pay or the change happens automatically under the contract.
Yes. You should first talk to your credit provider. Discuss the matter and see if you can come to some arrangement.
If that is not successful, you may contact your credit provider’s external dispute resolution scheme. External dispute resolution is a free service established to provide you with an independent mechanism to resolve specific complaints. Your credit provider’s external dispute resolution provider is the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and they can be contacted at Phone: 1300 780 808, Email: info@fos.org.au, Postal address: GPO Box 3, Melbourne, Vic 3001, or go to www.fos.org.au.
Alternatively, you can go to Court. You may wish to get legal advice, for example from your community legal centre or Legal Aid.
You can also contact ASIC, the regulator, for information on 1300 300 630 or through ASIC’s website at http://www.asic.gov.au.
Insurance
Yes, if you have taken out insurance over mortgaged property or consumer credit insurance and the premium is financed by your credit provider. In that case the insurer must give you a copy of the policy within 14 days after the insurer has accepted the insurance proposal.
Also, if you acquire an interest in any such insurance policy which is taken out by your credit provider then, within 14 days of that happening, your credit provider must ensure you have a written notice of the particulars of that insurance.
You can always ask the insurer for details of your insurance contract. If you ask in writing, your insurer must give you a statement containing all the provisions of the contract.
Mortgages
Yes. It can be part of your credit contract or, if it is a separate document, you will be given a copy of the mortgage within 14 days after your mortgage is entered into.
However, you need not be given a copy if the credit provider has previously given you a copy of the mortgage document to keep.
See the answers to questions 22 and 23.
Otherwise you may:
- if the mortgaged property is goods – give the property back to your credit provider, together with a letter saying you want the credit provider to sell the property for you
- sell the property, but only if your credit provider gives permission first
OR
- give the property to someone who may then take over the repayments, but only if your credit provider gives permission first.
If your credit provider won’t give permission, you can contact their external dispute resolution scheme for help.
If you have a guarantor, talk to the guarantor who may be able to help you.
You should understand that you may owe money to your credit provider even after the mortgaged property is sold.
General
- to extend the term of your contract and reduce payments or
- to extend the term of your contract and delay payments for a set time; or to delay payments for a set time.
You will be expected to honour, or discharge, this changed contract.
If the credit provider refuses your request to change the repayments, you can ask the credit provider to review this decision if you think it is wrong.
If the credit provider still refuses your request you can complain to the external dispute resolution scheme that your credit provider belongs to. Further details about this scheme are set out below in question 25.
If you have any complaints about your credit contract, or want more information, contact your credit provider. You must attempt to resolve your complaint with your credit provider before contacting your credit provider’s external dispute resolution scheme.
if you have a complaint which remains unresolved after speaking to your credit provider, you can contact your credit provider’s external dispute resolution scheme or get legal advice.
external dispute resolution is a free service established to provide you with an independent mechanism to resolve specific complaints. Your credit provider’s external dispute resolution provider is the financial ombudsman service (fos) and they can be contacted at phone: 1300 780 808, email: info@fos.Org.Au, postal address: gpo box 3, melbourne, vic 3001, or go to www.Fos.Org.Au.
please keep this information statement, you may want some information from it at a later date.