Credit Guide
About us
Raymond Dib of Switch Finance is licensed under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009. The details of our licence are as follows:
| Business Name | Switch Finance |
| Address |
PO Box 60 SOUTHPORT BC QLD 4215 |
| Telephone | (07)5532 0030 |
| ray@switchfinance.net.au | |
| Australian Credit Licence Number | 469024 |
Customer First Charter
Our priority is to you, our customer. We place your finance needs above those of any lender, our company or our aggregator, Connective.
Our duty is to ensure you obtain a loan which is appropriate (in terms of loan amount and structure), affordable, suitable for your needs and requirements and delivered in a responsible manner which provides you with a good outcome.
We will be transparent about products and options and applicable fees and charges. We will communicate in simple to understand language and act with the highest standards of integrity. We are committed to ensuring the product selected will meet your needs and requirements at the time of providing credit assistance.
Credit Guide
This Credit Guide contains important information about us, the services we provide and the activities of the credit representative operating under our credit licence. It also contains:
- information about fees and charges that may be payable by you to us
- commissions that we may receive when we are acting as a credit representative
- commissions that we may pay to third parties for introduction of business, and information about what you should do if you have a complaint or dispute regarding our services and activities.
We are required to provide this document 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 in applying for:
- a particular loan with a particular lender
- an increase to an existing loan with a particular lender, or
- Recommend that you remain in an existing loan contract.
Preliminary Assessment
Prior to providing credit assistance to you, we must assess whether the particular loan is “unsuitable”. A loan will be “unsuitable” based on the information you provided to us if:
- You will be unable to repay the proposed loan or will only be able to repay the proposed loan with substantial hardship, or
- The proposed loan does not meet your requirements and objectives.
We are required to document our findings that the proposed loan is not unsuitable by way of completing a Preliminary Assessment. The Preliminary Assessment will set out your:
- requirements and objectives
- financial and relevant personal situation, and
- ability to repay the proposed loan.
We are also required to take reasonable steps to verify information provided by you to us.
This verification may include:
- requesting 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 the Preliminary Assessment
If we provide you with credit assistance, you may request a copy of our Preliminary Assessment anytime for up to 7 years and we must provide you with a copy of the assessment within the following timeframes:
| Your request is made: | We will give you your assessment: |
| Before the Credit Day* | As soon as possible after we receive your request |
| Up to 2 years after the Credit Day | Within 7 business days after we receive your request |
| Between 2 to 7 years after the Credit Day | Within 21 business days after we receive your request |
*The Credit Day is the date the credit contract is settled, or the credit limit is increased.
There is no charge for requesting or receiving a copy of the Preliminary Assessment.
Fees and charges that are payable by you in relation to our credit assistance
We may charge a fee for providing credit assistance to you. If applicable, details about those fees payable by you will be set out in a Credit Quote which we will give you prior to submitting your loan application.
Other fees and charges
You may have to pay other fees and charges (such as application fees, valuation costs and other applicable fees) to the lender or other parties. You should review the particular loan contract documentation for further details of any such fees and charges.
How do I get paid?
Our aggregator receives commission from the lenders and then pays us commission in relation to loan contracts (such as home and investment property loans) for providing credit assistance.
An upfront commission is payable by lenders in relation to settled (drawn-down) loans and is calculated as a percentage of the loan amount. It is usually paid after settlement of the loan.
Trail commission is payable by lenders in relation to settled (drawn-down) loans. It is calculated monthly on the outstanding loan balance and is paid in arrears.
The upfront and trail commissions that we are paid by lenders are not payable by you. Details of commission to be received will be included in the Credit Proposal Disclosure document that we will provide you with when credit assistance is provided.
From time to time, I may receive a non-commission benefit by way of training, professional development, entertainment, gift, conference attendance, sponsorship, or entry into a competition run by a lender or my aggregator, at no extra cost to you. The nature of such arrangements are temporary, and the occurrence and amounts are often not readily ascertainable, however if they are apparent as a result of assisting you with credit assistance, this will be disclosed to you.
Other people we deal with
Our aggregator
We have approval to utilise lenders and their loan products through the services of our aggregator ‘Connective Broker Services Pty Ltd ABN 77 161 731 111, Credit Representative 437202 is authorised under Australian Credit Licence 389328’. The aggregator charges us a fee depending on our contract arrangements, consisting of:
- a share of commission that is paid by the particular lender
- a membership fee for our business
- a monthly fee for each of our accredited loan writers.
We have access to a panel of lenders through Connective. Macquarie Bank Limited is a 25% shareholder of Connective. We have access to products including those from Macquarie Bank Limited
Commissions paid by Connective’s lender panel are transparent and do not influence the broker or consumer choice. Connective is committed to quality consumer outcomes in all circumstances.
Referrers and referral fees
We obtain referrals from a range of sources, including accountants, financial planners, real estate agents and other people. If you were introduced or referred to us, we may pay the referrer a commission or a fee.
Details of any commission or fees being paid to the referrer will be included in the Credit Proposal Disclosure document we provide to you.
Dispute resolution and complaints
We are committed to providing you with the best possible service, however we understand there may be times where you are not satisfied. If this occurs please inform us verbally or in writing with the exact details of your complaint, so we can work towards a prompt and fair resolution.
We are mindful of the need to ensure that consumers are treated fairly and with respect during the complaints handling process. Any dissatisfaction will be handled in an efficient, timely and effective manner in accordance with ASIC regulations of Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR).
We hope that you will be satisfied with how we deal with your complaint. However, if your concerns remain unresolved, or you have not heard from us within 45 days, then you can have your complaint heard by an independent party. The complaint can be lodged with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA):
Online: www.afca.org.au
Email: info@afca.org.au
Phone: 1800 931 678 (free call)
Mail: Australian Financial Complaints Authority, GPO Box 3, Melbourne VIC 3001
Time limits may apply to complain to AFCA and 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 provide legal or financial planning 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 planning advice before you enter any loan contract.
Privacy Statement
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Our lender panel
We are authorised to engage in credit activities and therefore provide assistance to obtain loans for you from a panel of lenders. The following are the lenders through which we have conducted the most business over the last 12 months.
- Resimac
- ANZ
- Bank of Queensland
- Firstmac
- La Trobe Financial
- Westpac
Lender data
This section provides information about the lenders we are accredited with and loans settled with these lenders in the last financial year.
The top six lenders and their respective share of loans settled in the last financial year:
| Lenders | % of total settlements |
| ANZ | 27.91% |
| Bank of Queensland | 8.63% |
| Connective Select | 10.64% |
| Resimac | 13.64% |
| St George Bank | 10.54% |
| Westpac | 6.38% |
The total number of lenders I have settled loans with in the last financial year: 18
Entertainment and hospitality register
We hold and maintain an entertainment and hospitality register. A copy can be provided on request.
Further information
For more information regarding this document or anything else about our services, just contact us at any time. We’re here to assist you.