5 Things To Do If You’re Battling To Pay Your Bills
If the COVID-19 pandemic has affected your finances or your job, you’re not
alone. According to a TransUnion survey, eight out of every ten South
Africans say their household income has been negatively impacted by the
pandemic, and more than 14% of people have lost their jobs. Trans Union
has 5 debt relief tips that you can use today!
How badly have people been affected? According to the survey, consumers
expect to be R7,500 short of their usual income on average. This severely
affects their ability to pay their bills. As a result, there has been a
significant increase in consumers using the many payment holidays being
offered by South African banks and lenders. Here are some of the debt relief
options available to you if you’re struggling to make ends meet.
Talk to your banks and lenders early and often
If money is tight and you’re worried you’re going to miss a payment or two,
it’s best to contact your lender before the payment is due to make
alternative payment arrangements. You can explain your situation and ask
whether they can offer any assistance. Don’t just ignore your bills.
Check if you’ve got credit insurance
If you’ve been retrenched or put on unpaid leave due to the pandemic, you
may be able to claim from credit insurance, which covers your debt
repayments if you have a loss of income, are disabled or die. You might not
even know you have credit insurance, so check your store cards, home loans
and car finance agreements to see if it was included in your policy. Credit
insurance could cover your debt repayments for up to 12 months, so it’s well
worth checking.
Consider taking a payment holiday
A payment holiday is an agreement with your credit provider/s to temporarily
stop making repayments on your loans for an agreed period of time. It is
important to remember that you still owe the amounts that you haven’t repaid
during your payment holiday. These will have to be repaid at a later date.
Your credit provider will be able to explain all the details and how this
will work. Taking a payment holiday will not be recorded on your credit
report.
Don’t just stop paying your bills
The worst thing you can do in a financial crisis is to just stop paying your
bills, or to assume you will automatically get a payment holiday. Don’t stop
paying until you have spoken to your credit providers. If you stop paying
your bills without talking to your lenders, or making arrangements for a
payment holiday, your credit score will be affected negatively.
Keep protecting your credit health
We understand that you may be facing some tough financial choices right now.
We encourage you to pay what you can to avoid late payments on your credit
report. If you can’t make minimum payments, talk with your lenders to find
out if they’re offering any assistance. The important thing is to pay all of
your bills on time if you can. Paying on time is the biggest factor that
affects your credit score.
Are you concerned about your ability to pay current bills and loans?
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