Understanding and Supporting Financial Hardship – CCSG’s Approach
As a leading debt collection agency in Australia, CCSG is dedicated to offering compassionate and effective debt recovery solutions tailored to each individual’s circumstances. We are committed to taking extra care with customers who experience financial difficulty and hardship.
Our approach is to understand your situation and tailor our solutions to best suit your individual needs, whether caused by unemployment, injury or illness, divorce, a natural disaster, or an unexpected reduction in your income.
We are here to help you get back on track.
Application Process
Contact us as soon as you feel that you need hardship support. Our team is dedicated to assisting you during this challenging time.
Once you reach out, we will promptly send you a Statement of Financial Position. This document needs to be completed and returned to our office within 21 days. Our goal is to make this process as smooth as possible for you. We are here to help you every step of the way, ensuring you receive the support and guidance needed to navigate your financial difficulties.
Fostering Open Conversations for Financial Recovery
Open and honest communication is crucial during the hardship application process. We encourage you or your representative to tell us about your financial hardship so that we can work with you to discuss your situation and the options available to support you.
You do not need to be in arrears for help to be provided.
Assessment of Your Hardship Request
We will request information from you only if it is reasonably necessary for us to assess your hardship application.
When assessing your hardship request, we may require:
- evidence of serious illness that prevents you from earning income;
- evidence of a disability, including a disability caused by mental illness;
- if you are a Centrelink client, your Centrelink statements; and
- evidence of your unemployment.
Pausing Debt Recovery During Hardship Assessment
We understand that financial hardship can be overwhelming. To provide you with the necessary support, all debt collection activity and legal proceedings will be placed on hold until we have thoroughly assessed your hardship application.
Once we have reviewed your situation, we will notify you of our decision and discuss the next steps. Our priority is to offer you the relief and assistance you need during this time.
Response Timeframes for Hardship Applications
We will notify you in writing of our decision within 21 days after receiving your hardship application, unless we have asked you to provide more information.
The timeframe for our response depends on whether you provided the requested information.
If you provide all information requested: We will respond with our decision within 21 days of receiving the requested information
If you do not provide all information requested within 21 days (or by a later date, we agree to): We will respond with our decision within 7 days of that deadline passing.
Find the Support You Need During Hard Times
Understanding that facing financial difficulties can be a challenging and often overwhelming experience, we’re here to help guide you through these times with compassion and support. If you’re looking for additional assistance or resources to navigate through your hardship, we invite you to explore our Support Directory. Here, you’ll find a comprehensive list of services and support systems designed to offer the extra help you might need. Let’s take this step together towards a solution that works for you.