A Dad in a dilemma

Tony was referred to our Financial Counselling service by the Cancer Council after undergoing six months of weekly chemotherapy.

Ashe was a self-employed contractor, Tony was concerned about his ability to cover his ongoing household costs which had the real possibility of severely impacting on his family. He had been told by his doctor that he would have to undergo surgery and the expected recovery period would be at least three months so he’d be unable to work.

Tony has a partner and two young children to look after and no other family income. The family had mortgage repayments of $350 per week plus business and car loans totalling another $300 per week; a scenario that is not unusual for the average family.
Tony came to Cafs in severe distress regarding his financial situation. At the first appointment, Tony told the Financial Counsellor that he was waiting to hear back from his bank to see if he could borrow more money against his mortgage and that he felt like he was teetering on the edge of the unknown. It was incredibly stressful.

Cafs’ Financial Counselling team spoke to Tony about options available regarding hardship variations that he could be entitled to under credit laws and advised him that they may be able to assist with his creditors by applying for a six-month moratorium on payments which would allow him to focus on his treatment. Tony began to feel some hope with the Financial Counselling team quickly springing into action. The six-month moratoriums on all of Tony’s credit contracts were granted as was his application for Centrelink support while being unable to work.

While the surgery and subsequent treatment saw Tony initially lost over 10 kilograms, his strength slowly returned and after three months he was able to work two days per week. Chemotherapy was ceased after six months and by that time Tony was working full time again. He resumed normal payments on his loans and began to return to a ‘normal’ life.

If you or someone you know is in a similar situation, please call us on (03) 5337 3333

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