Credit Guide
ABOUT US (“we, us, our”):
| Credit Representative | The Mortgage Consultant you used
C/- Contact details:Address: PO Box 74 Belrose NSW 2085 |
| Credit Credit Representative | Seek Home Loans Pty Ltd Credit Representative Number: 393018 |
| Licensee | Mortgage Line Australia Pty Ltd ACN 107 284 677 (“MLA”) Australian Credit Licence Number (ACL): 386276 Address: PO Box 74 Belrose NSW 2085 |
| Broker Group | Seek Home Loans Pty Ltd (Aggregator Choice) (“broker group”) ACN 097 412 014 Credit Representative Number: 393018 |
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 MLA.
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 Mortgage Line Australia Pty Ltd. 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:
- St George
- ANZ
- Westpac
- Homeside
- CBA
- Suncorp
FEES AND CHARGES
FEES PAYABLE FOR THE PROVISION OF CREDIT ASSISTANCE
Under normal circumstances we will “not” charge you any fees for providing credit assistance to you. However if your loan is paid out within 24 months of drawdown a lender clawback may apply in which case we may seek reimbursement from you.
If we do charge a fee for credit assistance up front, the details about those fees will be set out in a “quote” we will give to you before we provide you with any credit assistance.
FEES PAYABLE IN RELATION TO ACTING AS A CREDIT REPRESENTATIVE
We may receive remuneration from our employer, our licensee 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
Our licensee 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 .10% and .70% 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 .10% per annum and .30% 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 .10% and .50% 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
We do NOT receive any volume based incentives from any of our lenders on our panel.
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.
We obtain referrals from a range of sources, including real estate agents, accountants, financial planners or other people.
If we do pay a referral fee, 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:
- In the first instance, please directly contact your broker/credit assistance provider to seek a mutual resolution.
- If your complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction within 5 business days, please contact our Complaints Area as detailed below:Telephone: 0402311456 Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm (AEST)
Email: enquiry@seekhomeloans.com.au
Mail: MLA Advice Complaints, PO Box 74, Belrose NSW 2085 - We may ask for additional information and request you to put your complaint in writing to ensure your issue is properly investigated.
- In cases where your complaint will take longer to resolve, we will update your 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 contract 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 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.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint:
- With the Financial Ombudsman Service Australia if lodged before 1 November 2018:
Online:www.fos.org.au
Email: info@fos.org.au
Phone: 1800 367 287
Mail: Financial Ombudsman Service Limited, GPO Box 3 Melbourne VIC 3001; or - With the Australian Financial Complaints Authority if lodged on or after 1 November 2018:
Website: www.afca.org.au
Email: info@afca.org.au
Phone: 1800 931 678
Mail: Australian Financial Complaints Authority GPO Box 3 Melbourne VIC 3001
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