Financial Hardship Policy

If you are a Crown Mobile customer and are experiencing difficulty keeping up with your payments due to changed financial circumstances, you may be eligible for support. Each request is assessed individually to understand your situation and identify suitable assistance options.

• Short-term support when you need help for up to 3 months; and
• Long-term support when you need help for more than 3 months.

Whatever your situation, we will work with you to find a solution that is right for you.

You may qualify for support if circumstances such as the following are affecting your ability to pay:

• Loss of a close family member
• Serious illness affecting you or someone in your household
• Domestic or family violence
• Unemployment
• Reduced income or financial pressure impacting everyday expenses
• Impacts from a natural disaster

These are examples only, and support may also be available for other situations not listed above.

To access assistance, you must have an active Crown Mobile account. If support cannot be provided, we will explain the reason and discuss any available alternatives.

When assessing your eligibility for Financial Hardship, we may request supporting documentation to conduct an assessment. However, we would not ordinarily require it unless:

It appears that the financial arrangement will need to be long term;

• Crown Mobile considers the amount to be paid large or significant;
• You are not been our customer very long; or
• Crown Mobile reasonably believe there is a possibility of fraud.

If you satisfy one of the above criteria, we may ask you to provide certain documents such as:

• A statutory declaration or official written communication from a person or support group that is familiar with your circumstances;
• Evidence that you consulted a recognised financial counsellor; and
• A statement of your financial position.

Note that customers seeking short term assistance or who are a victim survivor of domestic or family violence are not required to provide evidence to support their application.

We may not be able to assess your circumstances if you do not provide us with the requested information. We may use the information you provide as well as other information available to us. Once we received all required information, we will let you know within 5 working days whether you are eligible for assistance under our Financial Hardship Policy.

Crown Mobile will assess your request for financial hardship assistance by reviewing your income, expenses and liabilities within five (5) working days after receipt of your completed application. In assessing your application, we will rely on the information which you provide to us, and that the provision of false, incomplete or misleading information may result in us being unable to make an assessment, as well as relying on any other relevant information available to us.

Once your application has been processed and if you are approved for access to Crown Mobile from Crown Mobile Hardship Program, we will work with you to tailor the best solution for your circumstances.