Ed Lend FAQs

Borrowing

1. Can I see my loan account or request a loan summary?

You can see your loan account, balance, payments, interest and so on at any time by logging in to your account. You will have received a link to your account when your loan was first set up. Follow that link (you will be required to login) and you will see your full loan details.

2. Can I add to my loan?

You can add more studies to your loan if you wish. Your education provider will complete your new enrollment indicating you want to pay by Ed Lend flexi-pay loan. When Ed Lend receives the application we’ll complete a credit check at the time and approve or decline your loan for the new enrollment.  If we decline your loan, your original loan won't be affected.

3. Can I re-draw my loan?

No. Your loan is only for study so you cannot redraw on the loan without enrolling with your education provider for more courses. Ed Lend always pay the education provider your fees directly so you can’t redraw funds directly from your loan.

4. If I cancel my loan, what happens?

You can cancel your loan by giving us notice within 7 days of your loan being confirmed.  You can do that by submitting this form. If you want to ‘cancel’ your loan after this time you need to pay off the outstanding loan balance to bring the loan to zero which effectively cancels your loan.

5. What happens if I get a refund from my course education provider?

Any refund is applied directly to your loan balance by your education provider and then any balance from the refund will be paid to you by your education provider. As the loan made to you is for a particular course with a particular education provider, any loan funds must be repaid first if that course isn’t going to occur or is refunded for any reason. Your education provider will give you a breakdown of the loan repayment if it occurs.

Fees and interest

6. How is interest charged?

Interest is charged weekly on the outstanding balance of your loan. As an example, if your loan balance was $1000 your interest would be calculated as $1000 x 1week/52weeks x 14.95% annual interest (your AIR is fixed for the term of your loan). This means for the week your interest cost on your loan is $2.88. If your weekly installment was $49 then your principal would reduce by the balance ($46.12). $1000 - $48.12 = $951.88

7. What extra fees can I be charged?

You can be charged for any of the below:
• Dishonour fees - $20. Charged if a payment declines.
• Debt collection fees – 20% or more of the loan balance. Charged if your loan is sent to debt collection.
Any other fees chargeable in your particular loan are covered in your loan agreement (you should have received an email with a link to this when you applied for your loan). A breakdown of fees and reasons for them can be found here.

8. Does it cost me anything if I pay off the loan early?

No. You can repay some or all of your loan at any time without additional fees or charges.

9. How much interest could I save?

Paying your loan or some of your loan off early saves you interest. To see some examples go here.

If you make only the minimum payment each week, you will pay more interest and it will take you longer to pay off your balance. Visit www.sorted.org.nz/creditcards to calculate how you can pay off your loan balance faster and pay less in interest.

Payments

10. Can I change my payments from being on a Thursday?

No. Ed Lend is set up to be as simple as possible to keep the costs of lending down. As such, we collect direct debits on a Thursday only. You can not change the day your payments are due.

11. Can I change the amount of my payments?

No. Ed Lend sets a minimum weekly payment that you must make each week on a Thursday. You can pay more at any time via the Ed Lend bank account using your Customer Reference number. Any extra payments you make reduce your principal. You can find the Ed Lend bank account number here and your Customer Reference number on your account or in the loan confirmation email you received.

12. Can I pay by Automatic Payment or Credit Card?

No. You can only pay by direct debit. You must check and confirm the bank account you supply is able to process direct debits and you must have legal control of that account as a sole or joint signatory.

13. Can I change the account my payments come from?

You can fill out another Direct Debit Authority for the new account and email us a copy here, then lodge the DDA at your bank. Note, you MUST continue to pay from your old account until your new account is active.  If you don't and your payments decline, you will incur default fees and you may end up at debt collection after a series of payment declines.

Declined payments

14. What does it cost me if a payment declines?

A declined payment incurs a $20 dishonour fee which is added to your loan balance. All our fees can be found here.

15. What happens if one of my payments declines?

If any direct debit payment declines the qualifications you are studying toward are ‘withheld’ which basically means when you achieve your qualifications your education provider will dispatch them to Ed Lend and we will hold them as security until your loan is paid off. It is critical to keep making your direct debit payments without fail to prevent this happening. Your qualifications remain 'withheld' even if you make a manual payment to bring your arrears up to date. Under the loan agreement it is your responsibility to ensure the direct debit is paid every week.

If a payment declines the first time a direct debit is attempted, you should contact your bank immediately as it is likely your signature isn't matching at the bank anymore, or the account you are trying to direct debit from isn't set up to do that, or there is another account specific issue.  You need to resolve any payment failures with your bank as Ed Lend has no authority to contact the bank about your accounts directly.

16. What if I have several payment declines?

Ed Lend isn’t set up to chase payments when you default. We created Flexi-Pay loans for students to study and pay regularly. As such, if you have three payment declines in a row your file will be prepared for debt collection. If a payment is declined a fourth time in a row, we stop the direct debit, call in the entire loan balance, and give you 14 days to pay that balance. If you don’t pay the balance, we send your file to a debt collector who will pursue payment. Debt collectors are set up to manage poor payment, Ed Lend is not. The best way to avoid debt collection is to pay your minimum weekly installment regularly.

17. What if my circumstances change and I can't pay?

You can apply via this online form for hardship relief. There are several options to apply for. Refer to your loan agreement for full details.

Debt Collection

18. What happens if my file goes to debt collection?

If your loan balance goes to debt collection the debt collectors will add their fees and then contact you and begin working with you to pay your debt. Debt collection fees can be 20% or more on top of the loan balance. Debt collectors will usually give you a timeline for payment and if the debt isn’t paid they will register a default against you personally which will affect your ability to borrow money and can be reported to other lenders who have already lent you money.

19. Who do I talk to if my debt goes to a debt collector?

Once your debt is sent to debt collection Ed Lend don’t enter into any discussions around your debt as the debt collectors are now managing the debt on our behalf. You will be dealing exclusively with the debt collector.

20. Can I apply for hardship relief after my debt has gone to debt collection?

No.  Once your debt is with a debt collector you cannot apply for hardship relief from Ed Lend anymore.  Ed Lend is happy to help with hardship relief before any debt collection action.