|
To learn more about us, click one of the following links:
|
|
|
Financial Hardship Policy
Financial hardship occurs when a customer is unable to meet their
contractual obligation to pay their bills due to:
- Unexpected illness
- Unexpected unemployment
- An unexpected and recent death in the family
Financial hardship does not occur due to an inability of a customer
to pay their bills or simply electing not to pay their bills.
A customer who wishes to apply for assistance under our financial
hardship policy must do so no less than seven (7) business days
before their monthly billing anniversary. No application for
financial hardship will be considered after the billing anniversary
unless cause can be shown that the customer did not reasonably
expect the hardship to occur.
When deciding if a customer is facing financial hardship, we will
seek evidence such as:
- Demonstration that the customer was not aware of the hardship or
likely occurrence of the hardship prior to the charges being accrued
- A statutory declaration from a person familiar with the customers
circumstances (doctor, clergy, bank officer, etc)
- Evidence of the customer having consulted with a recognised financial
counsellor
- Demonstration that the customer has been denied a raise in their
credit limit or overdraft from their bank or credit provider (if paying
by credit card or direct deposit respectively)
Likely outcomes of considering a customer's financial hardship application
include:
- Provision for the customer to pay for the current debit in installments
over a period of no more than thirty (30) calendar days while maintaining
full and on time payment for any new or ongoing charges
- Provision of assistance to the customer in order to select the product
or service best suited to their budget
- Provision of additional time to pay for the debt prior to service
termination up to a maximum of twenty one (21) days
- Delay of the debt being referred to a debt collection agency by a
maximum of fourteen (14) days
- Prevention of access to additional services likely to accrue
further charges
|
Home
