“When someone has suffered a hardship they could not reasonably have seen coming, such as illness or injury, loss of employment, the end of a relationship, or death of a partner or spouse, and as a result cannot meet their current payments but could if the contract was varied.” – Commerce Commission.

We understand that unforeseen hardship can create difficult times which may be both financially and emotionally challenging for you. It’s important to us that we can work with you to reduce any financial stress that is caused by the unexpected things that happen in life.

Unforeseen hardship can impact people’s lives in different ways, we acknowledge that everyone’s circumstances will be different.

If you are worried about your situation or circumstances, it is important that you talk to us about your concerns. At Debtbiz, we care for your experiences and want to understand the best way to help you in your position. The information you tell us is confidential. It is our aim to assist you out of your financial difficulties and help you get back on track.

Applying for Unforeseen Hardship Assistance

To apply for unforeseen hardship assistance, you can send an email to askus@debtbiz.co.nz and our team will assist you with the forms you need to complete to apply for hardship.

We understand this is a difficult time. If you require any guidance in applying, please contact our team on 0800 922 922. Please have your reference number ready.

Reasons for unforeseen hardship

Hardship impacts people in differing ways. If any of the reasons below apply to your current circumstances, we may be able to help you:

• Redundancy

• Income loss

• Separation/Divorce

• Illness

• Injury

• Death of a family member

• COVID-19

• Natural disaster

• Domestic violence

• Any other reasonable cause

Unforeseen hardship assistance variation options

If approved for unforeseen hardship assistance, we can work with you to make changes to your contract which are fair and reasonable for both yourself and Debtbiz Limited. Here are the potential variation options:

• Reducing the amount of each payment due under the contract and extending the term of the contract

• Hardship Grace period: postpone payments for an approved period of time without extending the term of the contract

• Combination of the above: postponement of payments for an approved period of time while extending the term of the contract.

Further information

We may ask you for further information (such as a medical certificate, redundancy letter or other documentation) to support your application. Each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis, but we aim to make the process simple and easy for you.

What you need to know before applying for unforeseen hardship assistance

Requirement for your account to be repaid

Approval for unforeseen hardship assistance still requires the repayment of your account. The assistance is to help you during the time you are experiencing unforeseen hardship and financial difficulty.

Credit reporting

During the period you require unforeseen hardship assistance, your credit report may reflect your current financial assistance with Debtbiz Limited. This will no longer be reported once your unforeseen hardship assistance has been resolved.

Other options

We have found that customers have benefited from speaking with a financial mentor. Moneytalks is an independent and confidential service which is completely free. The financial mentors can help you with confidential advice, and talk you through your options for getting on top of debts and covering the essentials. You can contact them on 0800 345 123 or visit their website at https://www.moneytalks.co.nz/find-help-now

If you are not experiencing unforeseen hardship but still require assistance, we want to help. It is our aim to assist you during your time of financial difficulties, please get into touch with us so we can explore your options. You can contact our team on 0800 922 922 or send an email to askus@debtbiz.co.nz

If you have any questions related to any step of the unforeseen hardship assistance application or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact us, we are more than happy to help.