Being told "no" when you've asked for help is stressful. But a refusal isn't the end of the road. Here's what your lender has to do, and the free steps you can take next.
If your lender refuses your hardship request, it must give you the reasons. If it's a member of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), which all consumer lenders are, it must also tell you how to make an internal complaint and that you can complain to AFCA.
For personal loans and credit cards, your lender must give you a decision in writing within 21 days. If you haven't heard back by then, you can treat that as a problem to complain about too.
Write to your lender and ask its complaints team to review the decision. Ask them to put your account on hold from collection action while they look at it. Our free tool creates a follow-up letter you can use for this.
If your internal complaint doesn't fix things, lodge a free complaint with AFCA on 1800 931 678 or at afca.org.au. AFCA can require your lender to agree to a reasonable hardship arrangement. You'll need to show your request is reasonable and that you can afford the payments you're offering.
While all this is happening, keep paying whatever you can afford, even if it's less than usual. It shows good faith and stops the debt growing as quickly. Check your email and mail regularly so you don't miss anything from your lender or AFCA.
Sometimes a request is refused because the lender doesn't think it's affordable or realistic. Ask yourself: