• Credit Guide

     

    ABOUT US (“we, us, our”):

     

    Credit Representative

     

    Credit Representative Number         475096

     

    Contact details:                                  RHOEMELL SUAREZ

     

    Address:                                                Suite F, Level 1 110 George St                                                                       Parramatta NSW 2150

    Tel:                                                        1300002362

    Fax:

    Email address:                                    rsuarez@afmb.com.au

    Website:                                                www.afmb.com.au

     

    An employee or representative of: Australian Finance & Mortgage Brokers Pty Ltd

    Corporate Credit Representative

     

    Credit Representative Number 475112

    Licensee

    BLSSA Pty Ltd ACN 117 651 760 (“BLSSA”)

    Australian Credit Licence Number:  391237

    Level 10, 101 Collins St

    Melbourne VIC 3000

    Tel:  03 86161000

    Fax:   03 86161677

     

    Broker Group

     

    Finance & Systems Technology Pty Ltd (“broker group”)

    ACN 092 660 912

    Credit Representative Number:  392527

     

    This document provides you with information relating to our activities and those of our credit representatives. It contains information about various fees and charges that may be payable by you to us, as well as about certain commissions we may receive from a licensee when we are acting as a credit representative, or we pay to certain third parties. It also contains information about what you should do if you have a complaint or dispute in connection with our services as a credit representative.

     

    WHAT IS A CREDIT REPRESENTATIVE?

     

    A ‘credit representative’ is a person who has been authorised by a credit licensee to engage in specified credit activities on behalf of the licensee. Our licensee is BLSSA.

     

    WHAT IS CREDIT ASSISTANCE?

     

    We give you credit assistance when:

     

    • we assist you to apply for a particular loan or lease;
    • we suggest you apply for a particular loan or lease (or suggest you apply for an increase to an existing loan); or
    • we suggest you remain in your current loan or lease.

     

     

     

    THE ASSESSMENT WE NEED TO DO BEFORE GIVING YOU CREDIT ASSISTANCE

     

    Before we provide credit assistance to you, we assess whether the particular loan or lease is suitable for you. To do this, we need to make reasonable inquiries and verify that:

     

    • the loan or lease or increase will meet your requirements and objectives; and
    • you can meet the proposed repayments.

     

    We won’t be able to give you credit assistance if our assessment shows that:  

     

    • you won’t be able to meet the proposed repayments without substantial hardship; or    
    • the loan or lease won’t meet your requirements or objectives.

     

    GETTING A COPY OF OUR ASSESSMENT

     

    If we provide you with credit assistance, you can ask us for a copy of our assessment any time up to 7 years after we provide you with a credit assistance quote. To request a copy please contact us. We will provide you with a copy: 

     

    • within 7 business days after the day we receive your request –  provided you make the request within 2 years of the date of our credit assistance quote; or
    • otherwise, within 21 business days after the day we receive your request.

     

    INFORMATION ABOUT THE LICENSEE AND ITS CREDIT REPRESENTATIVES 

     

    We act as a credit representative for BLSSA. We are authorised to engage in credit activities including providing credit assistance on its behalf.

     

    Subject to meeting credit criteria, we are able to assist you to obtain loans and leases for you from a broad range of lenders and lessors through our broker group.

     

    The following are the lenders or lessors with whom we generally conduct the most business:

     

     

    • WESTPAC
    • SUNCORP
    • FASTLEND
    • ANZ
    • CBA
    • TEACHERS MUTUAL BANK
    • MACQUARIE
    • NAB

     

     

     

    FEES AND CHARGES

     

    FEES PAYABLE FOR THE PROVISION OF CREDIT ASSISTANCE

     

    We may charge a fee for providing credit assistance. More detail about those fees will be set out in a quote we will give to you before we provide you with credit assistance.

     

    FEES PAYABLE IN RELATION TO ACTING AS A CREDIT REPRESENTATIVE

     

    We may receive remuneration from our employer, BLSSA and/or broker group and do not charge you any fees or charges in relation to acting as a credit representative. 

     

    OTHER FEES AND CHARGES

     

    You may have to pay other fees and charges (such as an application fees, valuation fees and other fees) to the lender, lessor or other parties. You should review the disclosure documents and your loan contract or lease for further details of any such fees and charges.

     

    COMMISSIONS

     

    COMMISSIONS WE RECEIVE FROM OUR LICENSEE

     

    BLSSA has appointed our broker group as its agent to receive commissions from lenders and lessors and to pay us commission in relation to loan contracts or leases for which we act as a credit representative and provide credit assistance. The total amount of commission we may receive in relation to your loan or lease may vary depending on the lender or lessor, the term, the features, the amount of the loan or lease you ultimately choose and the amount and timing of the repayments that you make.

     

    Loan Contracts such as Home Loans, Investment Property Loans and Personal Loans

     

    Upfront commission payable by lenders in relation to loans is calculated as a percentage of the loan amount and is generally in the range of 0.3% and 1.65% of the loan amount. It is usually paid after settlement of the loan.

     

    Trail commission payable by lenders in relation to loans is generally calculated regularly (monthly, quarterly, bi-monthly or annually) on the outstanding loan balance and is paid in arrears. The trail commission payable by lenders is generally in the range of 0.1% per annum and 0.35% per annum of the outstanding loan amount.

     

    Leases

     

    Upfront commission payable by lessors in relation to leases is calculated as a percentage of the lease amount and is generally in the range of 1% and 4% of the lease amount. It is usually paid after settlement of the lease.

     

    Trail commission is generally not payable in relation to leases.

     

    Further details of the commission earned by us will be included in the credit proposal disclosure document we will provide to you at the same time as we provide you with credit assistance.

     

    You can request information from us about the fees that we are likely to receive, how those fees are calculated, and our reasonable estimate of the fees or commissions that will be payable.

     

    VOLUME BONUS ARRANGEMENTS

     

    From time to time we or our broker group may receive a benefit, directly by way of cash bonus or additional commissions or indirectly by way of training, professional development days or sponsorship, if we or our broker group write a particular volume of loans offered by those lenders.

     

    COMMISSIONS PAYABLE BY US

     

    We are not likely to pay a commission to any third party for the introduction of credit business or business financed by the loan contract or lease.

     

    If a third party has introduced you to us or referred you to us, we may pay them a commission or a fee. 

     

    We obtain referrals from a range of sources, including real estate agents, accountants, financial planners or other people.

     

    Further information about referral commissions, including our reasonable estimate of the amount of any commission payable and how it is calculated is available from us on request and will be included in the credit proposal disclosure we will supply to you when we provide you with our credit assistance.

     

    DISPUTES OR COMPLAINTS

     

    WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE A DISPUTE OR COMPLAINT?

     

    We are committed to providing our customers with the best possible service. If at any time we have not met our obligations – or you have a complaint about any of our services – please inform us so we can work towards a resolution. We will endeavour to deal with your complaint promptly, thoroughly and fairly.

     

    HOW TO MAKE A COMPLAINT AND THE COMPLAINTS PROCESS?

     

    If you have a complaint, we request you follow these steps:

     

    1. In the first instance, please contact your credit assistance provider.

     

    1. If your complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction within 5 business days, please contact our Complaints Area as detailed below:

     

    Telephone:  03 8616 1443 Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm (AEST)

    Email:  resolutions@BLSSA.com.au

    Fax:  03 8616 1918

    Mail:  BLSSA Advice Complaints, PO Box 626, Collins Street West, Melbourne VIC 3000

     

    1. We may ask for additional information and request you to put your complaint in writing to ensure your issue is properly investigated.

     

    1. In cases where your complaint will take longer to resolve, we will update you progressively.

     

     

     

     

    THIRD PARTY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES

     

    If your complaint relates to a product or service acquired through a third party (for example, a lender) we may ask you to contact the relevant third party. They will deal with your complaint under their complaints resolution process.

     

    If you are not satisfied with the resolution of your complaint by the third party under their complaints resolution process, you are entitled to have your dispute considered by their External Dispute Resolution Scheme. Please contact the third party for further details.

     

    KEEPING YOU INFORMED

     

    Our Complaints Area will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within five business days. If unable to resolve the complaint/dispute to your satisfaction within five business days, they will write to you advising the procedures we will follow in investigating and handling your complaint.

     

    Within 45 calendar days from the date you lodged the complaint with us, we will write to you advising you the outcome of the investigation and the reason/s for our decision, or if required, we will inform you if more time is needed to complete the investigation.

     

    STILL NOT SATISFIED?

     

    If you do not think we have resolved your complaint to your satisfaction, you may take the matter – free of charge – to the relevant External Disputes Resolution Scheme (provided it is within the scheme’s terms of reference) as detailed below. You may also refer the matter to the relevant External Disputes Resolution Scheme at any time, but if our internal process is still in progress, they may request that our internal processes be complete before considering the matter further.

     

    Our external dispute resolution service provider is the Credit and Investments Ombudsman, which can be contacted via:

     

     

    BLSSA’s external dispute resolution service provider is the Credit and Investments Ombudsman, which can be contacted via: