Credit Guide

Our Credit Guide

‘Xcellerate Finance’ is the trading name of Megonne Group Pty Ltd ABN 70 160 590 296, Credit Representative 429941, a related body corporate of Connective Credit Services Pty Ltd Credit Services Pty Ltd ABN 51 143 651 496, which holds Australian Credit Licence 389328.

Xcellerate Finance and its employees act on behalf of Connective Credit Services Pty Ltd  in providing you credit services.

This Credit Guide sets out important information about the licence holder, the credit representative and the services we provide.

What is Credit Assistance?

Connective Credit Services Pty Ltd is licensed to provide credit assistance to you under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009. We are required to provide this Credit Guide to you as soon as practicable after it becomes apparent that we are likely to provide credit assistance to you. We provide “credit assistance” when we:

• suggest or assist you to apply for a particular credit contract with a credit provider; or
• suggest or assist you to apply for an increase to an existing credit contract with a credit provider; or
• suggest you remain in a particular credit contract with a credit provider.

Preliminary Assessment

What we will need from you

When we provide you with credit assistance, we are legally required to only recommend credit products that are not unsuitable for you. Xcellerate Finance strives to achieve better customer outcomes and suitable products and services.

To enable us to review which loan products might be suitable for you, we are required to complete a Preliminary Assessment. When we make this preliminary assessment, we will ask you about your requirements and objectives, your financial and personal situation and your ability to repay the loan that you are considering. In assessing these factors, we are also required to take reasonable steps to verify some of the information you provide us. This verification may include asking you for copies of documents that demonstrate your financial situation (in some cases we may also need to sight original documents) and contacting third parties to assist in verifying the information that you provide.

Obtaining a copy of your Preliminary Assessment

You may request a copy of our Preliminary Assessment and we must give you a copy of it within:

• seven (7) days, if the request is made within two (2) years of completion of the document; or
• twenty-one (21) days, if the request is made between two (2) and seven (7) years of the completion of the document.

There is no charge for requesting or receiving a copy of the Preliminary Assessment.

How do we and our Representatives get paid?

Xcellerate Finance is paid commissions by lenders for introducing customers. The lenders we deal with will usually pay us a commission based on the size of loan and the particular loan product you have selected. We will only be paid this commission if your loan is settled and drawn down. We are also paid an ongoing commission by your lender based on the outstanding balance of your loan. The licensee is not paid any commissions from lenders.

The commissions that we are paid by your lender are not payable by you (they are paid to Xcellerate Finance either directly by the lender or by our Aggregator) and do not alter your interest rate.

At this stage, the amount of fees payable are unascertainable. As part of the application process, we will provide you with a Credit Proposal Disclosure Document which will include an estimate of the commissions we are likely to receive from the Lender if you decide to proceed with the application and the loan settles, and details of how that commission is calculated. You can also request this information from us.

Home Loan Specialists employed by Xcellerate Finance acting on behalf of the licensee receive a salary and may receive additional performance incentives depending on a number of metrics including successful loan applications, customer satisfaction, and other quality metrics.

Non-monetary remuneration or benefits

Home Loan Specialists may also receive non-monetary benefits, which can include access to tiered servicing programs, conferences, courses, competitions, entertainment benefits, and other forms of hospitality. Our Home Loan Specialists have access to training and educational courses or seminars run by lenders, aggregators, and third parties, which are intended to assist our staff in understanding lender products. They may also be members of lender tiered servicing programs which can enable them to receive improved service and other benefits. The value of these benefits is usually unascertainable. Where any training or educational courses are organised by Connective Credit Services Pty Ltd, we ensure that access is available to all our Home Loan Specialists.

All our conferences and professional development events are held at suitable locations, are primarily educationally focussed, and are aimed at improving consumer outcomes. The ability to attend conferences and access additional educational opportunities is not based on loan volumes written by a broker.

We do not accept entertainment or hospitality benefits above $350 per person per event. We maintain a register of soft-dollar benefits above $100 that we may receive from lenders or aggregators. If you would like to view a copy of this register, please contact us at money@XcellerateFinance.com.au.

Fees and charges payable by you in relation to our credit assistance

Our fees and charges (if any) are laid out in our credit quote when you enquire about our services.

Other people we deal with

Our Aggregator

We gain access to the loan products we recommend to you through the services of our Aggregator, Connective Credit Services Pty Ltd. In order to gain access to their panel of lenders, our aggregator charges us an annual fee as well as a monthly fee for each of our loan writers. We also have access to the loan products we recommend to you by way of direct agreements with some lenders.

Referrers and Referral fees

In some cases, your business may have been referred to us by non-regulated third parties such as real estate agents, accountants, financial planners etc. Where this is the case and a referral fee is being paid by Xcellerate Finance to these parties, the fee will be disclosed to you in the Credit Proposal Disclosure Document

Dispute resolution and complaints

While we always strive to provide the best possible service, we understand there may be times where you are not satisfied. If this occurs and you wish us to do something about it, we have a formal process in place to address your concerns.

Internal Dispute Resolution

If you do have a complaint, please contact us at complaints@Xcellerate Finance.com.au or by using the phone number or postal address at the start of this document. You may do this verbally or in writing. Please try to explain the details of your complaint as clearly as you can and include as much relevant information or supporting documents as possible.

When we receive a complaint, we will aim to acknowledge it within five (5) business days and try to resolve it as soon as we can (usually within 45 days). Where we are unable to provide a final response to your complaint within 45 days, we will send you an email or letter advising of the reasons for any delay, and your right to complain to our External Dispute Resolution (EDR) scheme.

External Dispute Resolution

If you are not satisfied with our response or how we have handled your complaint, you may make a formal complaint to our EDR scheme, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), which can be contacted on:

T. 1800 937 678  (free call)
E. info@afca.org.au
W. www.afca.org.au
P. Australian Financial Complaints Authority – GPO Box 3, MELBOURNE, VIC 3001

Time limits may apply to complain to AFCA, so you should act promptly or otherwise consult the AFCA website to find out if or when the time limit relevant to your circumstances expires.

Things you should know

We don’t make any promises about the value of any property you finance with us or its future prospects. You should always rely on your own enquiries. We don’t provide legal or financial advice. It is important you understand your legal obligations under the loan and the financial consequences. If you have any doubts, you should obtain independent legal and financial advice before you enter any loan contract.

Privacy

We are committed to protecting your privacy. We use the information you provide to assist you with your credit needs. We only provide your information to the companies with whom you choose to deal (and their representatives) unless we are compelled by law. We do not trade, rent or sell your information. If you don’t provide us with full information, we can’t properly advise or assist you. You can check the information we hold about you at any time. For more information please see our Privacy Policy which can be found on our website (http://www.XcellerateFinance.com.au/privacy-policy/) or ask us for a copy. For more information on your privacy rights please visit http://www.privacy.gov.au.