In 2013 I worked as a waitress for very little money, I was barely keeping well. I needed to find a better job thus needed a car and the best way I could budget it in my view was to get a fixed interest personal loan.
I went for 10,000, but they (Commonwealth Bank) granted me 12,000 initially. I only took 10 not wanting the excess to go to waste.
I got a car and a new computer and used the rest to set myself up for uni.
I have paid off almost $7000 of the loan in total over 3 years, which I asked for but somehow ended up with a 5 year plan.
I gave them all the information they asked for, and I did not embellish or lie about my income. I provided 3 months of pay-slips, statements from Centrelink which I was also on at the time and had no previous work history beyond those 3 months.
I was sort of shocked when it came though, everyone was given that I know people who have 3 jobs and can't get credit from any bank for any amount.
10,000 was in my account 3 days later.
A year later my car broke down *sigh* and It was getting harder to make the nearly $500 repayments per month.
So I went back to the bank to try and get another loan or to change it to unsecured so I could borrow from my repayment stock, to fix my car so I could get another job. I only wanted the extra $2000, but was denied and told to go to a branch and get a fortnightly overdraft.
So I did that, the lady at the next branch said she shouldn't grant it to me, but gave me $100 overdraft.
From then on I kept defaulting on payments because I couldn't afford to pay back just the $100 a fortnight.
This is the interesting part. When I went to get the overdraft, the lady was confused going through my 2012-2013 financial history. She claimed that whoever did the paper work for the loan must have improved my income, that is jacked up the numbers to get the loan granted to me, and "it should never have been granted to you". She tried to explain but for some reason granted me an overdraft anyway, which I paid out in 2013.
Now I am in financial trouble as I lost hours at my new job (almost all of them) due to a mild but debilitating illness, and our housemate ran off leaving me in more debt.
I am not in over my head, but I am living off $40 a fortnight with almost 2 years still hanging on these repayments. Every month if I am a few bux short, I get charged anywhere from $15 to 30 in overdraw, reversal admin and default fees. I can't even remember if I have loan protection.
It really just feels like this loan crippled me for nearly 5 years. I am still paying it off but having to call the bank more regularly to explain my situation.
What can I do? I feel responsible in some ways, my budgeting is not great as I have difficulty with numbers and all the random charges on my statements and couldn't afford financial counselling. Would it be worth getting a record of all these statements and taking them to a financial counsellor for advice?
Years ago I was ripped off 20,000 by a real estate that rented me an untenable property, but I didn't know my rights and didn't know I could have taken them to Court. I have kicked myself for years over that loss, and am tired of being duped into debt.
What advice can you give for me here?
I went for 10,000, but they (Commonwealth Bank) granted me 12,000 initially. I only took 10 not wanting the excess to go to waste.
I got a car and a new computer and used the rest to set myself up for uni.
I have paid off almost $7000 of the loan in total over 3 years, which I asked for but somehow ended up with a 5 year plan.
I gave them all the information they asked for, and I did not embellish or lie about my income. I provided 3 months of pay-slips, statements from Centrelink which I was also on at the time and had no previous work history beyond those 3 months.
I was sort of shocked when it came though, everyone was given that I know people who have 3 jobs and can't get credit from any bank for any amount.
10,000 was in my account 3 days later.
A year later my car broke down *sigh* and It was getting harder to make the nearly $500 repayments per month.
So I went back to the bank to try and get another loan or to change it to unsecured so I could borrow from my repayment stock, to fix my car so I could get another job. I only wanted the extra $2000, but was denied and told to go to a branch and get a fortnightly overdraft.
So I did that, the lady at the next branch said she shouldn't grant it to me, but gave me $100 overdraft.
From then on I kept defaulting on payments because I couldn't afford to pay back just the $100 a fortnight.
This is the interesting part. When I went to get the overdraft, the lady was confused going through my 2012-2013 financial history. She claimed that whoever did the paper work for the loan must have improved my income, that is jacked up the numbers to get the loan granted to me, and "it should never have been granted to you". She tried to explain but for some reason granted me an overdraft anyway, which I paid out in 2013.
Now I am in financial trouble as I lost hours at my new job (almost all of them) due to a mild but debilitating illness, and our housemate ran off leaving me in more debt.
I am not in over my head, but I am living off $40 a fortnight with almost 2 years still hanging on these repayments. Every month if I am a few bux short, I get charged anywhere from $15 to 30 in overdraw, reversal admin and default fees. I can't even remember if I have loan protection.
It really just feels like this loan crippled me for nearly 5 years. I am still paying it off but having to call the bank more regularly to explain my situation.
What can I do? I feel responsible in some ways, my budgeting is not great as I have difficulty with numbers and all the random charges on my statements and couldn't afford financial counselling. Would it be worth getting a record of all these statements and taking them to a financial counsellor for advice?
Years ago I was ripped off 20,000 by a real estate that rented me an untenable property, but I didn't know my rights and didn't know I could have taken them to Court. I have kicked myself for years over that loss, and am tired of being duped into debt.
What advice can you give for me here?
