The credit card and personal loan debt recovery process

The debt collection process will begin if we can’t get in contact with you or if we haven’t made a payment arrangement.  This is a last resort only and will only occur after every possible option is explored. If you’re unsure at any time during this process, you should seek legal or financial advice.  You can also talk to a financial counsellor for free.

The steps below outline the debt recovery process.

1. Default notice

A default notice will tell you how you are in default of your credit card or personal loan and how you need to fix it.  For example, if the default is that you’ve missed repayments, we will give you at least 30 days to catch up on your repayments.  We’ll usually only issue a default notice if you have missed some scheduled repayments and you aren’t already working with us to find a solution.

It's your responsibility to pay what is outstanding or let us know if you need more time.

2. Contact from one of our partners

We may refer the collection of your credit card or personal loan to a trusted third party who will contact you on our behalf. We’ll usually only refer your account if you aren’t working with us or have an arrangement in place to bring your account up to date.

3. Demand notice

If you can’t fix the default shown in the default notice, we or a third party acting on our behalf, will send you a demand notice that requires you to repay the entire credit card or personal loan balance.  We’ll usually issue a demand notice if we haven’t reached an agreement to repay the overdue amounts that works for both you and us. Once you’ve received the demand notice you’ll need to tell us how you plan to pay the full debt.

4. Sale of your credit card or personal loan

If you haven’t been able to repay your credit card or personal loan, we may sell your debt to a third party. This usually occurs once you’ve missed six months of your contractual repayments. We’ll advise you once your debt has been sold. You’ll be contacted by the third party and you’ll need to work with them for repayment of the debt. The third party will attempt to contact you via phone, SMS and letter.