Payment Assistance Policy
Payment Assistance Policy
We understand that financial hardship can arise without warning and may be for a limited or long term period. We are dedicated to supporting you through financial hardship by finding a sustainable solution to help you retain access to your telecommunications services. Disconnection will only be used as a measure of last resort. Assistance is offered on an individual basis, dependent on your circumstances. Our financial hardship support is free of charge.
Financial Hardship
Financial hardship means a situation where a customer is unable to meet their financial obligations in relation to our services due to illness, unemployment, low or insufficient income, being a victim of domestic or family violence, a death in the family, a change in personal or family circumstances, a natural disaster, unexpected events or unforeseen changes that have impacted their income or expenditure, or other reasonable causes.
Our Team
During challenging times, we recognise the importance of providing our customers with access to compassionate and trained staff. Swoop is committed training our staff to identify customers facing financial hardship effectively.
Our Support Team is trained to balance empathy and the operational goals of the business, ensuring that they consider each customer’s unique situation when agreeing to payment arrangements.
For assistance, please call us on 1300 66 55 75 or email [email protected]. We are available from 8 am to 9 pm Monday to Friday, 9 am to 6 pm on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays (AEST).
Assessment of applications
To assess whether you are eligible for financial hardship assistance, we may need to ask you some questions about your financial hardship. We may also request documentation in support of the information you provide to us. This may be in circumstances where the application is for long term assistance, the amount to be repaid is more than $1,000, you have been a customer for less than 2 months or we reasonably believe there is a possibility of fraud.
Documents to be provided may include a statutory declaration or official written communication from a person or support group that is familiar with your circumstances, evidence that you have consulted a recognised financial counsellor, or your financial position statement. If we require such supporting documentation, we will advise you at the time we discuss your situation.
No documentation will be requested if your application is for short term assistance or you are victim of domestic or family violence.
We will assess your request within 5 business days of receiving a complete application and notify you of the outcome of the assessment within the following 2 business days. We will notify you immediately if it becomes clear to us that you do not meet the eligibility criteria to receive financial hardship assistance.
Options for assistance
Once we have assessed your request, we will consider appropriate options available to us to assist you in the management of your financial hardship as it relates to the services we supply to you, which may include:
- Applying spend controls
- Restrictions
- Transferring you to a different plan that better suits your circumstances
- Adjusting internal threshold limits so that you are not disconnected
- Temporary postponement or deferral of payments
- Payment plan which is tailored to meet your ability to pay
- Discounting a bill charge
- Waiving a debt
Communicating arrangements
If we agree to an arrangement for financial hardship assistance, we will let you know within 2 business days about the details of the arrangement, your rights and obligations under the arrangement, outline the circumstances in which credit management action may be undertaken, the duration of the arrangement and how you may seek a review of the arrangement if your situation changes.
If your circumstances change during the arrangement, you have an obligation to inform us within 14 days of the change. We must then review the financial hardship arrangement within 5 business days of being informed.
Complaints and review
If you wish to review the outcome of a financial hardship assessment, you can do so via our Complaints Handling Policy.
You can make a complaint to us by:
- Calling 1300 66 55 75 8 am to 9 pm Monday to Friday, 9 am to 6 pm weekends and public holidays (AEST)
- Emailing [email protected]
- Contacting us online
If you are still not happy with the outcome of your complaint after following our complaints process, you can contact the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) for external dispute resolution. The TIO can be contacted by calling 1800 062 058 or visiting the TIO website at tio.com.au/making-a-complaint.
Making a complaint does not prevent you from agreeing to an arrangement for financial hardship assistance.
Special Communication Needs
Spoken Language Interpretation
If you require a spoken language interpreter, you can call the Australian Government’s Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450 (personal account required, fees apply).
Written Language Interpretation
If you require a translation of this document, ethnic.com.au is a commercial translation service that may be able to assist (fees apply). Call (03) 9998 2280 to get in contact.
Nếu bạn yêu cầu bản dịch tài liệu này, ethnic.com.au là một dịch vụ dịch thuật thương mại có thể hỗ trợ (có tính phí). Hãy gọi (03) 9998 2280 để liên lạc.
如果您需要翻译本文件，ethnic.com.au 是一家商业翻译服务机构，可以为您提供帮助 (需付)。请致电 (03) 9998 2280 取得联系
إذا كنت بحاجة إلى ترجمة لهذا المستند، فإن موقع ethnic.com.au عبارة عن خدمة ترجمة تجارية قد تكون قادرة على مساعدتك (تطبق الرسوم). اتصل بالرقم
(03) 9998 2280 للتواصل.
ਜੇਕਰ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਇਸ ਦਸਤਾਵੇਜ਼ ਦੇ ਅਨੁਵਾਦ ਦੀ ਲੋੜ ਹੈ, ਤਾਂ ethnic.com.au ਇੱਕ ਵਪਾਰਕ ਅਨੁਵਾਦ ਸੇਵਾ ਹੈ ਜੋ ਸਹਾਇਤਾ ਕਰਨ ਦੇ ਯੋਗ ਹੋ ਸਕਦੀ ਹੈ (ਫ਼ੀਸ ਲਾਗੂ)। ਸੰਪਰਕ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ (03) 9998 2280 ‘ਤੇ ਕਾਲ ਕਰੋ।
Εάν χρειάζεστε μετάφραση αυτού του εγγράφου, το ethnic.com.au είναι μια εμπορική μεταφραστική υπηρεσία που μπορεί να σας βοηθήσει (ισχύουν χρεώσεις). Καλέστε (03) 9998 2280 για να επικοινωνήσετε.
National Relay Service
If you have a speech impairment, are hard of hearing, or deaf, you can contact us through the National Relay Service on 1800 555 677. This is a free service.
Financial Counselling
If you are facing financial difficulty, you may wish to consider obtaining advice from a financial counsellor at the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday to Friday.
Contacting Us
Please call us on 1300 66 55 75 or email [email protected]. We are available from 8 am to 9 pm Monday to Friday, 9 am to 6 pm on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays (AEST).