Financial Hardship & Support
"Get a Second Chance with CarCoop "
Struggling with your repayments? Talk to us early.
Life happens. Job changes, health issues, family stuff, cost of living… it can all make it harder to keep up with repayments.
If you’re finding it tough, please reach out before things snowball. We’d much rather work with you on a plan than have your arrears and stress levels keep climbing.
What do we mean by “financial hardship”?
You might be in financial hardship if:
- You’re behind on your repayments, or know you’re about to fall behind
- Your income has dropped, or your expenses have jumped
- You’re dealing with illness, injury, separation, caring responsibilities or other major life changes
- You’re experiencing family or domestic violence, or other vulnerabilities
If that sounds like you, it’s completely okay to ask for help. That’s what this page is for.
How CarCoop may be able to help
We look at each situation individually. Once we understand what’s going on, we’ll assess your circumstances and may be able to offer options such as:
- Temporarily reducing repayments
Short-term breathing space while you work through a change in income or expenses. - Short-term payment arrangement to catch up
A structured plan to help you reduce your arrears over time, while keeping repayments realistic. - Returning the vehicle to minimise further debt
If keeping the vehicle is no longer workable, we can talk about surrendering it to prevent the debt from increasing. We’ll explain what that means for your balance and work closely with you on the process and steps following. - Other tailored options
In some cases we may suggest something different based on your circumstances and contract.
Whatever we propose, we’ll explain:
- What you’ll pay
- How often
- What happens to your arrears
- Whether your contract term changes so you can make an informed decision.
How to ask for hardship help
You don’t need to fill out a big form. The easiest way to get started is to email our Payments Team or give us a call.
Email – Payments Team: payments@carcoop.com.au
Phone – Payments Team: 1300 614 299
Our Payments Team handles hardship discussions every day and can resolve most situations directly with you. If your situation needs a deeper review, they’ll work with our Compliance Manager to find the best solution.
Request Financial Hardship Assistance
If you’re not happy with the outcome
We take hardship and complaints seriously, and we’d like the chance to sort things out directly with you first.
Step 1 – Talk to our Payments Team
If you’re unhappy with the outcome of your hardship request, please start by contacting our Payments Team and asking for a review:
- Email: payments@carcoop.com.au
- Phone: 1300 614 299
Tell us what outcome you’re hoping for and what you’re concerned about.
Step 2 – Contact our Compliance Manager
If you’re still not satisfied after speaking with the Payments Team, you can escalate your concern to our Compliance Manager:
- Compliance Manager: compliance@carcoop.com.au
Please include your full name, contract number, and a short summary of what’s happened so far. We’ll review your matter and respond within our internal dispute resolution timeframes.
Step 3 – External review (AFCA)
If you’ve been through our internal review process and you’re still not satisfied with the outcome, you can lodge a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
AFCA is an independent external dispute resolution scheme. There is no cost to you to lodge a complaint with AFCA.
AFCA contact details:
Website: www.afca.org.au
Phone: 1800 931 678 (free call)
Mail: GPO Box 3, Melbourne VIC 3001
Important:
In most cases, if you contact AFCA before contacting us, AFCA will refer the matter back to CarCoop so we can go through our internal review process first.
That’s why it’s always best to contact us directly first and give us a fair chance to resolve things with you.