CREDIT GUIDE
About Us
Connective Credit Services Pty Ltd is licensed under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009.
The details of our licence are as follows:
Business Name Connective Credit Services Pty Ltd- ABN 51 143 651 496
Address Level 20, 567 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Telephone 1300 656 637
Email compliance@connective.com.au
Australian Credit Licence Number 389328
We have authorised Mark Spithill as our credit representative. The details of Mark’s authorisation is:
Credit Representative Name: Mark Spithill
Address: 6 Summer Road
FAULCONBRIDGE NSW 2776
Telephone 0411 684 444
Email mark@mortgageline.net.au
Credit Representative Number 400211
This Credit Guide contains important information about us, the services we provide and the activities of the credit representative operating under our credit licence. It also contains:
• information about fees and charges that may be payable by you to us
• commissions that we may receive when we are acting as a credit representative
• commissions that we may pay to third parties for the introduction of business, and
information about what you should do if you have a complaint or dispute in connection with our services and activities.
We are required to provide this document to you as soon as practicable after it becomes apparent that we are likely to provide credit assistance to you. We provide “credit assistance” when we:
1. Suggest or assist you in applying for:
a. a particular loan with a particular lender, or
b. an increase to an existing loan with a particular lender, or
2. Recommend that you remain in an existing loan contract.
Preliminary Assessment
Prior to providing credit assistance to you, we must assess whether the particular loan is “unsuitable”. A loan will be “unsuitable” based on the information you provide to us if:
1. You will be unable to repay the proposed loan or will only be able to repay the proposed loan with substantial hardship, or
2. The proposed loan does not meet your requirements and objectives.
We are required to document our findings that the proposed loan is not unsuitable by way of completing a Preliminary Assessment. The Preliminary Assessment will set out your:
• requirements and objectives
• financial and relevant personal situation, and
• ability to repay the proposed loan.
We are also required to take reasonable steps to verify information provided by you to us.
This verification may include:
• requesting you for copies of documents that demonstrate your financial situation – in some cases we may also need to sight original documents, and
• contacting third parties to assist in verifying the information that you provide.
Obtaining a copy of the Preliminary Assessment
If we provide you with credit assistance, you may request a copy of our Preliminary Assessment anytime for up to 7 years and we must provide you with a copy of the assessment within the following time frames:
Your request is made to us: We will give you your assessment as follows:
1. Before the Credit Day* As soon as possible after we receive your request
2. Up to 2 years after the Credit Day Within 7 business days after we receive your request
3. Between 2 to 7 years after the Credit Day Within 21 business days after we receive your request
*The Credit Day is the date the credit contract (i.e. the loan) is settled or the loan amount is increased.
*There is no charge for requesting or receiving a copy of the Preliminary Assessment.
Fees and charges that are payable by you in relation to our credit assistance
We may charge a fee for providing credit assistance to you. If applicable, details about these fees payable by you will be set out in a Credit Quote which we will give you prior to submitting your loan application.
Other fees and charges
You may have to pay other fees and charges (such as application fees, valuation costs and other applicable fees) to the lender or other parties. You should review the particular loan contract documentation for further details of any such fees and charges.
How I get paid?
Our licensee receives commission from the lenders and then pays us commission in relation to loan contracts (such as home and investment property loans) for which we act as the credit representative in providing credit assistance to you.
An upfront commission is payable by lenders in relation to settled (drawn-down) loans and is calculated as a percentage of the loan amount. It is usually paid after settlement of the loan.
Trail commission is payable by lenders in relation to settled (drawn-down) loans. It is calculated monthly on the outstanding loan balance and is paid in arrears.
The upfront and trail commissions that we are paid by lenders are not payable by you. Details of commission to be received will be included in the Credit Proposal Disclosure document that we will provide you with when credit assistance is provided.
From time to time, I may also receive a non-commission benefit by way of training, professional development, entertainment, gift, conference attendance, sponsorship, or entry into a competition run by a lender or my aggregator, at no extra cost to you. The nature of such arrangements are temporary, and the occurrence and amounts are often not readily ascertainable, however if they are apparent as a result of assisting you with credit assistance, this will be disclosed to you.
Our Lender Panel – Credit Providers
We are authorised to engage in credit activities and therefore provide assistance to obtain loans for you from a panel of credit providers. The following are the credit providers through which we generally conduct the most business:
1. ANZ
2. Commonwealth Bank
3. Westpac
4. NAB
5. St George Bank
6. ING
As a Credit Representative of Connective Credit Services my top six lenders are also as above.
Other people we deal with
Our aggregator
We have approval to utilise credit providers and their loan products through the services of our aggregator ‘Connective Broker Services Pty Ltd ABN 77 161 731 111, Credit Representative 437202 authorised under Australian Credit Licence 389328’. The aggregator charges us a fee depending on our contract arrangements, consisting of:
• a share of commission that is paid by the particular credit provider
• a membership fee for our business
• a monthly fee for each of our accredited loan writers.
Macquarie Bank Limited has a minority, non-controlling interest in Connective Broker Services Pty Ltd. Commissions paid by Connective’s lender panel are transparent and do not influence the broker or consumer choice. Connective is committed to quality consumer outcomes in all circumstances.
Referrers and referral fees
We obtain referrals from a range of sources, including accountants, financial planners, real estate agents and other people. If you were introduced or referred to us, we may pay the referrer a commission or a fee.
Details of any commission or fees being paid to the referrer will be included in the Credit Proposal Disclosure document.
Dispute resolution and complaints
We are committed to providing you with the best possible service, however we understand there may be times where you are not satisfied. If this occurs please inform us verbally or in writing with the exact details of your complaint, so we can work towards a prompt and fair resolution.
If we are unable to reach a satisfactory resolution, you can make a complaint in writing to the Australian Credit Licence holder, Connective Credit Services. With regards to complaints resolution, we are mindful of the need to ensure that consumers are treated fairly and with respect during the complaints handling process. Any dis-satisfaction with a credit representative operating under the licence will be handled in an efficient, timely and effective manner in accordance with ASIC regulations of Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR).
Connective Credit Services details are:
• Attention: Compliance and Complaints Handling Officer
• Level 20 / 567 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
• Telephone: 1300 656 637
• Email: compliance@connective.com.au
•Website: http://www.connective.com.au
If you are not satisfied with how I or my licensee have handled your complaint, you may take the matter ‘free of charge’ to the relevant External Dispute Resolution (EDR) service provider (subject to the provider’s terms of reference).
Please note that the EDR provider will request the matter be first attempted to be resolved through our IDR process via Connective. If our IDR process is still in progress, they would expect that this process be completed before any external consideration.
Our EDR service provider is the Credit and Investments Ombudsman Ltd, which can be contacted via:
•Telephone: 1800 138 422 (Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm AEST)
•Fax: 02 9273 8440
•Post: PO Box A252 South Sydney NSW 1235
•Website: http://www.cio.org.au/
•Online complaint form: http://www.cio.org.au/complaint-resolution/making-a-complaint/
Things you should know
We don’t provide legal or financial planning advice. It is important you understand your legal obligations under the loan, and the financial consequences. If you have any doubts, you should obtain independent legal and financial planning advice before you enter any loan contract.
Further Information
For more information about this Credit Guide or anything else regarding our services, please contact us at any time. We’re here to assist you and we look forward to working with you.