Bank entitled to decline hardship application in absence of supporting information

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Bank entitled to decline hardship application in absence of supporting information

Categories:

Hardship and financial difficulty,

Summary:

On 2 June 2023, Sonny asked the bank for financial hardship assistance. On 23 June, he submitted an application form and statement of financial position. The bank asked for more information, much of which Sonny provided on 12 July. The bank came back the same day to say it needed further information, specifically, statements regarding four debts with other lenders (which he was unable to provide through no fault of his own), and transactional statements regarding food and vehicle expenses. On 19 July, the bank rejected his application on the grounds he had not supplied the latter of these documents. The bank told Sonny it would reconsider his application once he supplied this information.

Published:

February 2025

Our investigation

We found the bank already knew what was owing on the four external debts and could have made an assessment without this documentation. However, the request for statements regarding food and vehicle costs was a reasonable one, and Sonny should have provided it. Even after the 19 July rejection, Sonny did not provide this information, and there was no reason why he could not have provided it. The bank was therefore entitled to decline his application in the absence of these statements.