Our client was recommended a strategy by her financial advisor to refinance her home and obtain additional funds to invest for the future. The financial firm issued our client with new loans comprising a home loan and multiple investment loans. Our client alleged that the loan repayments were beyond her means and that the financial firm did not fulfil its obligations when assessing the borrower’s ability to service the loans.
Actions Taken to Assist & Result Achieved We investigated the loans' serviceability and found our client had not been able to service the loans on her income capacity. We compiled a detailed submission to AFCA in regard to these claims. AFCA reviewed the submission and decided the financial firm were required to pay compensation for the interest accumulated on the home loan since 2008—resulting in a fair and successful outcome for our client. With 2020 behind us, many businesses are now in recovery mode. This year will be one of budget repair for most businesses through developing long term strategies. Here are some issues all small to medium businesses should consider to ensure their survival.
1. Build client or customer relationships A priority as once COVID-19 hit how many businesses have had the time to do this proactively? Cost-cutting, streamlining operations, implementing new health and safety procedures were the focus. It is now time to revisit customer relationships and how to support them for mutual benefit. If your customer base has changed, focus on building new relationships to deliver repeat business in the future. Ask yourself what the real value of each customer and the cost to you is to get them. New customers generally cost more to acquire than maintaining existing ones. However, this is sometimes not the case. You may spend more time and money serving low-value clients, and those precious resources would be better spent forming new relationships. |
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February 2022
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