Credit Guide

1. Who we are

Credit4U is a trading name of Local Capital Pty Ltd (ABN 79 142 973 279, ACN 142 973 279), holder of Australian Credit Licence 393689. Registered office: 55 Miller St, Pyrmont NSW 2009. Email: info@credit4u.com.au.

2. What we do

We provide credit assistance. We suggest or assist you to apply for credit with lenders on our panel. We are not a credit provider — we do not lend money, and any credit contract you enter is between you and the lender.

3. Our obligations to you

Before we provide credit assistance for a consumer loan, we must make reasonable enquiries about your requirements and objectives, make reasonable enquiries about your financial situation, and take reasonable steps to verify that situation.

We must not suggest, assist with, or arrange a credit contract that would be unsuitable for you. A contract is unsuitable if you could not repay it without substantial hardship, or if it does not meet your requirements and objectives.

We are also subject to a best interests duty. When providing credit assistance for consumer credit, we must act in your best interests and give priority to your interests over ours where there is a conflict.

4. Your right to our assessment

We must prepare a written preliminary assessment of whether a proposed credit contract is suitable for you. You may request a copy at no charge.

If you request it before we provide credit assistance, we must give it to you before providing that assistance. If you request it within 2 years of the assistance, we must provide it within 7 business days. If later than 2 years but within 7 years, we must provide it within 21 business days.

5. How we are paid

We are generally paid a commission by the lender when a loan you enter through us settles. Commission is typically calculated as a percentage of the amount financed and varies between lenders and products. Some lenders also pay a trail commission over the life of the loan.

You do not pay us a fee. If that ever changed for a particular transaction, we would disclose the amount to you in writing before you incurred it, and you would have to agree in writing.

We will disclose the actual commission payable in relation to your loan before you enter the credit contract. Because commission rates differ between lenders, this creates a potential conflict of interest. Our best interests duty requires us to recommend what is right for you regardless of what we are paid.

We may pay a referral fee to a third party who introduced you to us. If so, it is disclosed to you.

6. Our lender panel

We work with a panel of Australian lenders. We do not compare every lender in the market, and a product outside our panel may be more suitable for you. You are free to approach other brokers or lenders directly. A list of lenders we most commonly deal with is available on request by emailing info@credit4u.com.au.

7. If you have a complaint

We have a free internal dispute resolution process. Email info@credit4u.com.au with the word COMPLAINT in the subject line, setting out what happened and what you would like done.

We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and give you a written response within 30 calendar days, as required by ASIC Regulatory Guide 271.

If you are not satisfied with our response, or we do not respond within 30 days, you may take the matter to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority at no cost to you.

AFCA provides fair and independent financial services complaint resolution that is free to consumers. Time limits apply.

8. Financial hardship

If you are struggling to meet repayments on an existing loan, contact your lender directly and ask for their hardship team. Every Australian credit provider is required by law to consider a hardship notice. Free financial counselling is available from the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007.

9. Privacy

We handle your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles. See our Privacy Policy.