Real Stories: What a single mum of 3 did when she couldn’t pay the bills
Better Place Australia free financial counselling client story.
A single mum, separated from her ex-partner due to family violence, now has 100% care of their three children. She is facing various difficulties. One of her children has a disability. Mum is also experiencing medical issues and has an upcoming operation. As a result, she is experiencing high out of pocket medical costs. To add to that, her operation means she will not be able to work in her casual job for 6 weeks.
Mum's ex-husband is not working, and Mum is only receiving $34 per month in Child Support. Mum reached out to the Better Place Australia free financial counselling service, because she resides in one of the many funded areas across Melbourne and Geelong.
She presented with utility debts (gas and electricity) from her previous place of residence which she shared with her ex-husband. All the bills from the household were in her name only, and she was not working at the time, as she was parenting young children. Her ex-husband allegedly did not contribute to household expenses.
Better Place Australia financial counsellor, Tammy, went into mediation with the energy provider and requested a waiver of debts on her behalf, under family violence and financial hardship grounds. The energy provider agreed on a total debt waiver, which amounted to $2,086, under family violence and financial hardship grounds. This is not all the counsellor did. Learn more by listening to the podcast.
Podcast: How Better Place Australia free financial counselling assisted the woman and prepared her for managing her finances in the future.
Better Place Australia free financial counselling can help support those with money troubles, including mediation with creditors, and financial strategies to, get out of and stay out of debt.
Better Place Australia free financial counselling
Better Place Australia free financial counselling and mediation services are available to people who have money troubles and live in one of the many government funded areas across Victoria. First step is to enquire online or request an appointment.
For more real stories about people with financial troubles and how Better Place Australia financial counsellors mediated for them, go to the Financial First Aid home page and scroll down to Real Stories.
