What happens if I miss a loan payment?
If you are struggling to make a payment, the sooner you reach out to us, the better and easier it will be for us to help. If you don’t contact us, here is what we will do.
Communication
We will get in touch with you as soon as we notice the missed payment. We will contact you by phone, text, or email to discuss the situation and remind you to make the payment. If you do not engage with us, we will send you a letter.
It’s essential to respond to communications and explain your situation if you’re facing financial difficulties so we can help to provide you with a suitable solution.
Restricted lending
If you miss a payment, you will be restricted from borrowing from us until your loan is brought to back up to date.
Once your loan is up to date, you will need to wait at least three months before being eligible to apply for a top-up on your existing loan.
Negative Impact on Credit Score
Late payments can have a negative impact on your credit score. Your credit score is a crucial factor that lenders use to assess your creditworthiness. A lower credit score can make it challenging to obtain credit in the future and may result in higher interest rates on future loans and will restrict your ability to borrow from us in the future.
If your payment remains overdue for an extended period, we will report the late payment to credit bureaus. This action will further impact your credit score and can remain on your credit report for several years.
Additional Interest
Interest on our loans is calculated daily on your outstanding balance and charged monthly.
Missing a payment can lead to additional interest charges as your balance is not reducing in line with the original agreement.
The longer your payment remains outstanding, the more interest you may accrue, increasing the overall cost of your loan.
Risk of Default
If you continue to miss payments, you risk defaulting on the loan. Defaulting occurs when you fail to meet the loan obligations as specified in the loan agreement. Defaulting can have severe consequences and we will pass your defaulted loan to our external debt collector, Corporate & Legal (C&L) for additional collection activity.
This could legal action, attachment of earnings, attachment of benefits through the Eligible Loans Deduction Scheme and further damage to your credit score.
