Payment Protect Terms and Conditions — Effective from April 2016 to September 2016
Effective from 13 April 2016 to 19 September 2016
About Payment Protect
Welcome to Payment Protect
Payment Protect can help protect you against unexpected events that may affect your ability to repay your loan - such as job loss, sickness, disability, or death. If an event like that happens, the monthly repayments for which you have cover will not be enforced (will be "waived").
What Payment Protect covers
Payment Protect is offered for two different levels of cover, as follows:
| Level | Events covered |
| Partial | Death and terminal illness |
| Complete | Death, terminal illness, disability, and involuntary redundancy |
You are able to choose which level of cover you require.
The cover at a glance
Below is an overview of the benefits that are offered.This is only a brief summary of the full Payment Project terms and conditions (which are set out later in this document):
| Level | Event | Employment Restrictions | Waived repayments | Maximum amount waived | Exclusion and stand-down periods |
| Partial & Complete | Death You die | None | All your remaining monthly repayments | No maximum | None - immediate cover |
| Partial & Complete | Terminal illness You suffer an illness or accidental injury that is likely to cause your death within twelve months | None | All your remaining monthly repayments | No maximum | None - immediate cover |
| Complete | Disability You suffer an illness or accidental injury that makes you unable to work | You must be:
| Your monthly repayments until you are able to work again | 24 months' repayments |
|
| Level | Event | Employment Restrictions | Waived repayments | Maximum amount waived | Exclusion and stand-down periods |
| Complete | Redundancy You become unemployed due to involuntary redundancy | You must be in permanent employment for at least 20 hours per week for at least three months immediately before becoming unemployed due to redundancy | Your monthly repayments while you are out of work due to redundancy | 5 months' repayments | No cover if you become unemployed due to redundancy within the first 30 days that you have Payment Protect |
There are certain exclusions and conditions. For example, there is no cover for pre-existing medical conditions. See the Payment Protect terms and conditions (below).
Please read the Payment Protect terms and conditions carefully to decide whether the cover will meet your requirements.
Who can apply for Payment Protect
To be able to apply for Payment ProtectPartial, you have to be 18 or older, younger than 65, and resident in New Zealand.
To apply for Payment Protect Complete, you have to be 18 or older, younger than 65, resident in New Zealand, and either:
- permanently employed for at least 20 hours a week and have held that position for at least three months; or
- self-employed for at least 20 hours per week and have been in business for at least 3 months.
If your spouse or partner is a co-borrower of the loan for which you want cover, you cannot take out Payment Protect unless he or she also takes it out.
How to take out Payment Protect
The way in which you can take out Payment Protect is as follows:
- When you apply to list a loan on Harmoney's website, you can also add Payment Protect. You do not have to add Payment Protect if you do not want it.
- If you want to add Payment Protect, you need to select the relevant option for it in the loan application that you complete on Harmoney's website.
- If Harmoney approves your loan application for listing on Harmoney's website, your loan listing will specify the type of Payment Protect cover you have selected.
- If your loan application is successful (ie if your loan is fully funded before the listing period closes), the loan disclosure statement Harmoney sends you will confirm the details of your Payment Protect cover.
- The Payment Protect Fee will be capitalised into your loan. This means that it will be added to your loan and will be owing as part of the principal amount of the loan. Accordingly, you will pay the Payment Protect Fee as part of your monthly loan repayments.
You cannot add Payment Protect to an existing loan. However, it may be possible for you to refinance the existing loan through Harmoney's website. You could then apply for Payment Protect when you apply for the new loan.
Co-borrowers
If your spouse or partner is a co-borrower,each of you needs to apply for and take out your own Payment Protect plan in order to be covered. It is not possible for only one of you to take out Payment Protect. However, you do not both have to take out the same type of cover (for example, if only you are in paid employment, you can take out Payment Protect Complete and your spouse or partner can take out Payment Protect Partial). You and your spouse or partner will be charged a combined Payment Protect Fee (at the rate specified on Harmoney's website).
Your legal rights
The rest of this document sets out the terms and conditions that will be part of your Loan Contract, and that will apply to your cover, if you decide to take out Payment Protect.It tells you what your rights are and which repayments will be waived.
You may also have rights under New Zealand's consumer protection laws. We will operate Payment Protect in a way that complies with those laws.
Additional Loan Contract Terms for Payment Protect
Contents
| Section: | |
| 1 | Important information |
| 2 | Death cover |
| 3 | Terminal Illness cover |
| 4 | Disability cover |
| 5 | Redundancy cover |
| 6 | Adjustments to your cover if you are a co-borrower |
| 7 | Exclusions |
| 8 | Position if an amount that qualifies for a waiver is paid |
| 9 | Additional information |
| 10 | Definitions |
1. Important information
What these Terms are
These Terms are the terms and conditions that apply to your Plan if you add Payment Protect for a Loan.
They will apply as part of the Loan Contract for that Loan.
How to read these Terms
Certain words in these Terms have special meanings. They are written with their first letters in capitals. Their meanings are in section 10.
The headings are only there to make this document easier to read. They are not provisions of these Terms, and do not affect the meaning of the provisions.
The examples are only there to illustrate the provisions to which they relate. They do not limit what those provisions mean. A provision overrides an example if they are inconsistent in any way.
What your Plan covers
Your Plan consists of these Terms(as applying when your Loan was listed on the Website) and your Plan Schedule.
Your Plan Schedule will specify whether you have Payment Protect Partial or Payment Protect Complete. If you have Payment Protect Partial, your Plan covers Death and Terminal Illness. If you have Payment Protect Complete, your Plan covers Death, Terminal Illness, Disability, and Redundancy.
When your cover starts
Your Plan comes into effect immediately after Harmoney has provided the Loan Disclosure for your Loan to you. You have immediate cover for death and Terminal Illness on and from the day on which your Plan comes into effect ("Plan Start Date"). However, certain exclusions and stand-down periods apply to the cover for Disability and Redundancy, as follows:
- The Disability Waiver is subject to the following restrictions:
- The Disability Waiver does not apply to any Disability that is due to an illness or other medical condition that starts on or within 30 days after the Plan Start Date (see section 7). To be clear, this 30-day exclusion does not apply to a Disability that is due to Accidental Injury.
- Where a Disability is covered – in other words, where the Disability is due to Accidental Injury, or is due to an illness or other medical condition that starts more than 30 days after the Plan Start Date – the Disability Waiver is usually subject to a 14-day stand-down period (see section 4).
- The Redundancy Waiver does not apply if the first day on which you are unemployed due to Redundancy occurs on or within 30 days after the Plan Start Date (see section 7).
How to claim a Payment Waiver
If an Event occurs for which you want Repayments to be waived, you must within 60days of the Event occurring give Harmoney (acting as agent for the Trustee that makes the Loan):
- written notice of the Event; and
- all the supporting documents for it, as specified in section 2 (Death), section 3 (Terminal Illness), section 4 (Disability), or section 5 (Redundancy) (as applicable).
The notice that the Event has occurred can be given by email or via your borrower dashboard on the Website (which count as "written notice"). (If your death is being notified, your next-of-kin or the executor or administrator of your estate can notify your death via the borrower dashboard only if Harmoney has authorised this.)
The supporting documents must be provided as hard-copy originals or certified copies of the originals (not as electronic attachments), and must be mailed to Harmoney at Harmoney's address as stated on the Website.
If Harmoney notifies you that it needs further information or documents to assess your application, you must give it that information or documents within that 60-day period. If Harmoney does not receive your notice of the Event and all the documents and information required within 60 days after the Event occurs, you will not be entitled to have any Repayments waived in respect of the Event.
Contact Harmoney if you need any guidance about whether you qualify for a Payment Waiver in particular circumstances, how to apply for the Payment Waiver, or how the process works. Its contact details are in section under "Communications and disputes".
The fee for Payment Protect
You pay the Payment Protect Fee for the cover your Plan gives you. Your Payment Protect Fee is calculated at the rate that is notified on the Website under the "Interest Rates & Fees" section on the Plan Start Date.
The Payment Protect Fee is capitalised into your loan. This means it will be added to your loan and will be owing as part of the principal amount of the loan. Accordingly, it is paid as part of your monthly Repayments.
2. Death cover
How the Death Waiver works
If you die, all your remaining Repayments that fall due on or after the day of your death will be waived.
What conditions must be met before the Death Waiver will apply
A Repayment will be waived due to your death only if all of the following conditions are met:
| No arrears: | You must not have any Repayments that are in arrears when you die. If you are in arrears when you die, neither the overdue Repayments nor any new Repayments will be waived. |
| Apply for waiver and provide documents within 60 days: | Harmoney (acting as agent for the Trustee) must receive:
|
| Post mortem examination if required: | If Harmoney (acting as agent for the Trustee) reasonably requires a post mortem examination (for example, because Harmoney reasonably needs to confirm that your death is not due to a medical condition that is excluded by section 7), that examination must be completed within the period reasonably required by Harmoney, otherwise your estate will not be entitled to the Payment Waiver (irrespective of what a later post mortem examination might show). The examination must be conducted by an appropriately qualified registered medical practitioner as specified by Harmoney. If the post mortem examination confirms that your death qualifies for the Payment Waiver, the Payment Waiver will apply as if Harmoney had received the results of the post mortem examination when it received your death certificate (so that your estate will not be prejudiced by any delay caused by the post mortem examination). |
When you will not have cover
The Death Waiver will not apply in certain circumstances. These exclusions are set out in section 7.
3. Terminal Illness cover
How the Terminal Illness Waiver works
"Terminal Illness" means that you suffer an illness, other medical condition, or Accidental Injury that:
- stops you from being able to perform your Usual Occupation (and is the only cause of this); and
- is likely to result in your death within twelve Months.
All Repayments that fall due on or after the day you become Terminally Ill will be waived. Unless the medical certificate that you give Harmoney when you apply for the Terminal Illness Waiver specifies otherwise, you will be treated as becoming Terminally Ill on the date of that medical certificate.
What conditions you must meet before the Terminal Illness Waiver will apply
A Repayment will be waived due to Terminal Illness only if all of the following conditions are met:
| No arrears: | You must not have any Repayments that are in arrears when you become Terminally Ill. (This means that if you are in arrears when you become Terminally Ill, neither the overdue Repayments nor any new Repayments will be waived.) | |||||||||
| Apply for waiver and provide documents within 60 days : | You must give Harmoney (acting as agent for the Trustee) the documents listed below within 60 days after you become Terminally Ill. (The day on which you become Terminally Ill is not counted as part of this 60-day period.) The documents you must give Harmoney, and the ways in which you must provide them, are as follows:
| |||||||||
| Further medical examinations if required : | You must undergo all medical examinations (including psychiatric or psychological examinations and, upon your death, post mortem examinations) that Harmoney (acting as agent for the Trustee) may reasonably require. This must occur within the period reasonably required by Harmoney, otherwise you will not be entitled to the Terminal Illness Waiver (irrespective of what a later medical examination might show). Each such examination must be conducted by an appropriately qualified registered medical practitioner as specified by Harmoney. If such a medical examination confirms that you qualify for the Terminal Illness Waiver, the Terminal Illness Waiver will apply as if Harmoney had received the results of that medical examination when it received your notice that you had become Terminally Ill (so that you will not be prejudiced by any delay caused by that medical examination). |
When you will not have cover
The Terminal Illness Waiver will not apply in certain circumstances. These exclusions are set out in section 7.
4. Disability cover
How the Disability Waiver works
If you have Payment Protect Complete, your Plan covers Disability.
"Disability" means that you suffer an illness, other medical condition, or Accidental Injury that stops you from being able to perform your Usual Occupation (and is the only cause of this).
There is an initial 14-day stand-down period in respect of each Disability. Only Repayments that fall due more than 14 days after you become Disabled are covered by Payment Protect.(The first day on which you are unable to work due to the Disability is counted as the first day of this 14-day period.)
If you have Payment Protect Complete and become Disabled, the Repayments that fall due after that stand-down period has ended, while you remain Disabled, will be waived. To be clear, the Disability Waiver will stop applying as soon as you are able to resume your Usual Occupation, even if your old position – or any other suitable position with your old employer – is no longer available to you.
Example one
Your repayments are due on the 20th of each month. You become disabled on 12March 20xx. Harmoney approves your waiver application on 16 March 20xx. The first repayment that will be waived is the one due on 20 April 20xx. The 20 March 20xx repayment will not be waived, because it falls due during the 14-day stand‑down period.
Example two
Your repayments are due on the 20th of each month. You are a receptionist.You are badly injured in an accident on 3 April 20xx. Harmoney approves your waiver application on 7 April 20xx. You are off work for several months. By 10 August20xx you are again able to work as a receptionist (or to do similar office work). Your previous employer has not kept your old position open for you. You are only able to find a new position, with another employer, in mid-September20xx. The repayments that fall due inApril, May, June, and July20xx will be waived. The 20August20xx repayment is not waived, because by then you are able to work (even though you have not in fact returned to work).
The stand-down period will apply with adjustments if you suffer a Disability ("first Disability") from which you recover, and you later become Disabled again ("second Disability") because of the same underlying condition as the one that had caused the first Disability (and not due to any additional cause). If that happens, the 14‑day stand-down period will apply to the first Disability but not to the second Disability.
Example
You are diagnosed with cancer and receive treatment. You recover sufficiently to return to work. The cancer returns, and you become unable to work again. The 14-day stand-down period applies to the time you first became unable to work due to the cancer, but not to the second time.
Not more than 24 Repayments in total will be waived due to Disability.(Special rules apply to this maximum if your spouse or partner is a co-borrower and also has Payment Protect Complete; see section 6.
Example
You take out a five-year loan. A year later, you contract a serious illness and are off work for 12months. You then return to work. Six months later, you are injured in a car accident and become permanently disabled, at which point you still have 30repayments left on your loan. The 12repayments that fell due when you were ill are waived(assuming no repayment is due during the stand-down period). In addition, the first 12repayments falling due when you become permanently disabled will be waived, giving a total of 24repayments waived. However, the remaining 18repayments falling due while you are permanently disabled will not be waived (because they exceed the 24 repayments maximum).
Section 8 sets out how the 24 Repayments maximum will be calculated if a Repayment that qualifies for the Disability Waiver is in fact paid.
What conditions you must meet before the Disability Waiver will apply
A Repayment will be waived due to Disability only if all of the following conditions are met:
| No arrears: | You must not have any Repayments that are in arrears when you become Disabled. (This means that if you are in arrears when you become Disabled, neither the overdue Repayments nor any new Repayments will be waived.) | |||||||||
| Apply for waiver and provide documents within 60 days: | You must give Harmoney (acting as agent for the Trustee) the following documents listed below within 60 days after you become Disabled. (The day on which you become Disabled is not counted as part of this 60-day period.) The documents you must give Harmoney, and the ways in which you must provide them, are as follows:
| |||||||||
| Further medical examinations if required: | You must undergo all medical examinations (including psychiatric or psychological examinations) that Harmoney (acting as agent for the Trustee) may reasonably require. You must do so within the period reasonably required by Harmoney, otherwise you will not be entitled to the Disability Waiver(irrespective of what a later medical examination might show). Each such examination must be conducted by an appropriately qualified registered medical practitioner as specified by Harmoney. If that medical examination confirms that you qualify for the Disability Waiver, the Disability Waiver will apply as if Harmoney had received the results of that medical examination when it received your notice that you had become Disabled (so that you will not be prejudiced by any delay caused by the medical examination). To be clear, Harmoney can require you to undergo a medical examination at any time (not only when assessing your application for the Disability Waiver). | |||||||||
| Three-monthly medical certificates: | To keep receiving the Disability Waiver, you must provide Harmoney with a fresh medical certificate every three Months (again, this must be mailed to Harmoney as a hard copy, not sent as an email attachment). Each such medical certificate must be issued and signed by a registered medical doctor currently practising in New Zealand. In it, the doctor must confirm that you are still suffering from the illness, other medical condition, or injury (as the case may be), that it is continuing to make you unable to perform your Usual Occupation (and is the only cause of this), and when you are likely to be able to work again. You are responsible for the costs in getting each such medical certificate and providing it to Harmoney. Each such medical certificate is due within three Months after the date of the previous medical certificate you provided to Harmoney. If you do not provide Harmoney with such a medical certificate, your Disability Waiver will cease to apply to any Repayments falling due after the date when you were required to provide it. However, you do not need to provide a medical certificate every three Months if Harmoney has notified you in writing (including by email) that this is not required (for example, because Harmoney is satisfied based on a previous medical certificate that you are permanently Disabled). To be clear, the fact that you must provide Harmoney with a medical certificate every three Months does not limit Harmoney's right to require you to undergo a medical examination at any other time. |
When you will not have cover
The Disability Waiver will not apply in certain circumstances. These exclusions are set out in section 7.
5. Redundancy cover
How the Redundancy Waiver works
If you have Payment Protect Complete, your Plan covers Redundancy.
"Redundancy" means that you are made redundant from any position in which you were Permanently Employed and that your employment is terminated as a consequence of that redundancy. It does not include:
- becoming unemployed because, when you were made redundant, you rejected an offer of another position that was:
- with the same employer (or with a person to whom the employer was selling or transferring its business);
- for your Usual Occupation; and
- on substantially similar terms to those that applied to the position from which you were made redundant;
- becoming unemployed because you took voluntary redundancy, resigned, retired, or were dismissed, or because you do seasonal work (for example,fruit picking or shearing) and the season ended, or because were employed for a fixed term and the fixed term ended; or
- where you are made redundant from any position in a business owned by you (whether alone or with others) or by a company of which you are a shareholder or director.
What Repayments will be waived
If you have Payment Protect Complete and you are made Redundant, the Repayments that fall due during the period that you are unemployed due to Redundancy will be waived. The Redundancy Waiver will stop applying when you are Permanently Employed again.
However, not more than five Repayments in total will be waived due to Redundancy. (Special rules apply to this maximum if your spouse or partner is a co-borrower and also has Payment Protect Complete; see section 6).
Example
Your repayments fall due on the 25th of each month. You are unemployed due to redundancy during 3March 20xx to 9 October 20xx. The repayments that fall due on or after 3 March 20xx will be waived, but to a maximum of five repayments. So the 25March, 25April, 25May, 25June, and 25Julyrepaymentswill be waived – but not the 25 August and 25 September repayments.
Section 8 sets out how the fiveRepayments maximum will be calculated if a Repayment that qualifies for the Redundancy Waiver is in fact paid.
What conditions you must meet before the Redundancy Waiver will apply
A Repayment will be waived due to Redundancy only if all of the following conditions are met:
| No arrears: | You must not have any Repayments that are in arrears when you become unemployed due to Redundancy. (This means that if you are in arrears when you become unemployed due to Redundancy, neither the overdue Repayments nor any new Repayments will be waived.) | ||||||||||||
| Apply for waiver and provide documents within 60 days : | You must give Harmoney (acting as agent for the Trustee) the documents listed below within 60days after you become unemployed due to Redundancy. (The first day on which you are unemployed due to Redundancy is counted as the first day of this 60-day period.) The documents you must give Harmoney, and the ways in which you must provide them, are as follows:
You authorise Harmoney (acting as agent for the Trustee) to contact your employer to verify that your employment will be or has been terminated due to Redundancy, to verify when your employment started and will end or ended, and to verify your employment hours per week. | ||||||||||||
| Monthly confirmations: | You must each Month confirm to Harmoney that, as at the due date for that Month's Repayment, you are:
|
When you will not have cover
The Redundancy Waiver will not apply in certain circumstances. These exclusions are set out in section 7.
6. Adjustments to your cover if you are a co-borrower
If:
- both you and your spouse or partner have Payment Protect in respect of the same Loan; and
- an event happens to your spouse or partner for which he or she is entitled to a payment waiver under his or her Payment Protect plan,
any Repayments by you falling due during the period when your spouse's or partner's payment waiver applies will also be waived. This waiver applies even if you and your spouse or partner have different levels of Payment Protect cover.
Example one
You and your spouse both have Payment Protect Partial. The loan balance is $30,000. Your spouse becomes terminally ill. The Trustee cannot recover any remaining repayments from your spouse (as his or her Plan provides for a waiver of all his or her remaining repayments if he or she becomes terminally ill). Because you are still in good health, you are not personally entitled to a terminal illness waiver under your Payment Protect plan. However, the Trustee cannot enforce the remaining repayments against you either.
Example two
You have Payment Protect Partial and your partner has Payment Protect Complete. The loan balance is $30,000. Your spouse is made redundant. No repayments can be recovered from your partner while he or she is unemployed due to redundancy (subject to the cover limits). Even though you do not have cover for redundancy, those repayments cannot be enforced against you either. This applies irrespective of whether you are employed during this period.
However, if you both have Payment Protect Complete and you are both unemployed due to disability or redundancy, each of you will separately receive the payment waiver for disability or redundancy during that time. The repayments waived during that time will be taken into account against each of you in calculating the maximum number of repayments for which you each have cover.
Example
You and your spouse both have Payment Protect Complete. You are unemployed due to redundancy from 1March 20xx to 30 June 20xx, and your spouse is unemployed due to redundancy from 1 June 20xx to 31 July 20xx. The repayment falling due in June 20xx will be waived in favour of each of you, under your respective Payment Protect plans. You yourself will be treated as having received the redundancy waiver for four months (March, April, May, and June), so that you will have cover for one further repayment if you suffer a further redundancy. Your spouse will be treated as having received the redundancy waiver for two months (June and July), so that he or she will have cover for a further three repayment if he or she is made redundant again.
7. Exclusions
Excluded causes
A Payment Waiver does not apply if the Event to which it relates is directly or indirectly caused or contributed to by any condition, event or circumstance("cause") as specified below:
| Excluded cause | Description | Payment Waivers to which exclusion applies |
| pre-existing condition: | an illness, injury, congenital or degenerative condition, or other medical condition (whether existing, diagnosed, or in remission) for which you sought, or received, or could reasonably have been expected to seek medical advice, treatment, or hospitalisation before the Plan Start Date |
|
| pre-existing risk: | a circumstance or state of affairs that existed before the Plan Start Date and that you knew (or should reasonably have foreseen) would lead to the Event Example You are not entitled to have any repayments waived due to redundancy if your employer announced your redundancy before the Plan Start Date, or if your employer issued a notice to its employees before the Plan Start Date that it intended to make some or all of its employees redundant. |
|
| pregnancy and related conditions: | pregnancy, childbirth, miscarriage, or the termination of pregnancy |
|
| self-harm: | suicide, attempted suicide, or intentional self-injury (whether sane or insane); |
|
| mental condition: | any psychiatric, mental, or nervous disorder or psychological condition (including clinical depression, anxiety disorder, stress, and stress-related conditions) |
|
| alcohol or non-prescription drugs: |
|
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| STD or HIV: | a sexually transmitted disease or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) |
|
| failure to get, or to comply with, medical treatment: | your failure to:
|
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| non-therapeutic medical procedure: | a medical treatment or surgical procedure that is not necessary or advisable for medical reasons but that you undergo for cosmetic, psychological, or personal reasons |
|
| illegal conduct: | engaging in any illegal or criminal act (for example, driving a motor vehicle over the legal speed limit or with a blood alcohol level that is over the legal limit) |
|
| sporting activities: | engaging in:
|
|
| war or terrorism: | war (whether declared or not, and including invasion, civil war, and rebellion) or terrorism |
|
No-cover periods for Disability and Redundancy
A Disability Waiver or Redundancy Waiver does not apply if the Event to which it relates occurs during the period specified below:
| Payment Waiver | Excluded Event and no-cover period |
| Disability Waiver: | The Disability Waiver does not apply if the Disability is due to an illness or other medical condition that you begin to suffer on, or within 30days after, the Plan Start Date.* To be clear, this exclusion period does not apply to a Disability that is due to Accidental Injury. |
| Redundancy Waiver: | The Redundancy Waiver does not apply if the first day on which you are unemployed due to Redundancy occurs on, or within 30days after, the Plan Start Date.* |
| *In each case, the Plan Start Date will be counted as the first day of the 30-day no-cover period. |
Work-related exclusions for Disability and Redundancy
A Disability Waiver or Redundancy Waiver applies only if you meet the following work-related requirements:
| Payment Waiver | Work-related requirement |
| Disability Waiver: | The Disability Waiver applies only if you are in Permanent Employment or Self-employed when you become Disabled. |
| Redundancy Waiver: | The Redundancy Waiver applies only if you:
|
Overseas Events or non-residents
A Payment Waiver does not apply in respect of an Event if the Event occurs outside New Zealand or if you are not living in New Zealand when the Event occurs.
Example
You are made redundant while working overseas. You will not receive the redundancy waiver at all (even if you return to New Zealand and continue to be unemployed here while looking for a new position).
Falsehood or fraud
You are not entitled to have any Repayment waived if you (or any person on your behalf) provided or provide any false or fraudulent information or document in your application for the Loan or the Plan or in connection with any Event.
8. Position if an amount that qualifies for a waiver is paid
What happens if a Repayment that qualifies for a Payment Waiver is paid
Payment Protect is a repayment waiver product. This means that a Repayment that qualifies for a Payment Waiver cannot be actively enforced (for example, its payment cannot be actively demanded, and no enforcement action can be taken to recover that Repayment). However, the Repayment is still technically owed. So if you (or somebody authorised by you) makestheRepayment,the Repayment will be retained and credited to your Loan account. For example, if the Repayment is paid because an automatic payment or direct debit instruction is not cancelled or adjusted in time, the Repayment will not be reunded to you.
Example
Your repayments are due on the 20th of each month.You authorise Harmoney to initiate direct debits to cover your repayments. You are made redundant, and are out of work from 1March 20xx to 30June 20xx. Harmoney receives your redundancy notice and documents on 19 March 20xx, and approves your waiver application on 23 March 20xx. In the meanwhile, your 20 March 20xx repayment has been paid by direct debit. Your 20 March 20xx repayment will be retained and credited to your loan account. Your 20 April 20xx, 20 May 20xx, and 20 June 20xx repayments are waived.
If you have authorised Harmoney to initiate direct debits in respect of your Loan, Harmoney will cancel or adjust its debit instructions to your bank as soon as practicable after your waiver application has been approved. In this way, Harmoney will endeavour to prevent aRepayment that qualifies for a Payment Waiver from being paid by direct debit.
A Repayment that qualifies for a Payment Waiver but that is in fact paid will be disregarded in assessing whether the maximum number of Repayments has been waived.
Example
Your repayments are due on the 20th of each month.You make your repayments by automatic payment. You are made redundant on 1March 20xx, and are unemployed due to redundancy from 1March 20xx to 30September 20xx. You only cancel your automatic payment instruction on 23 March 20xx. At that point, your 20 March 20xx repayment has already cleared. Your 20 March 20xx repayment will be retained and credited to your loan account. However, your 20 March 20xx will not be included in counting the five repayments which you are entitled to have waived due to redundancy. So your 20 April 20xx, 20 May 20xx, 20 June 20xx, 20 July 20xx, and 20August 20xx repayments are waived. Your 20 September 20xx repayment is not waived, as it exceeds the five repayments maximum.
9. Additional information
You can apply more than once for Repayments to be waived
If you suffer two or more Events (whether of the same kind, or of different kinds), you can apply for a Payment Waiver for every Event (provided that you meet the requirements for each, and subject to the maximum amounts or numbers of Repayments that can be waived and to any stand-down periods).
However, only one Payment Waiver can apply at any one time.
What costs you are responsible for
If Harmoney (acting as agent for the Trustee) incurs any medical, investigative, legal, or other costs, expenses,or liabilities ("costs") in verifying or assessing your entitlement or ongoing entitlement to a Payment Waiver, the following provisions apply:
- If as result of that verification or assessment Harmoney determines that you are not entitled to the Payment Waiver, then the costs will be for your account (and Harmoney may debit your Loan account with the amount of the costs).
- Otherwise, the costs will be borne by Harmoney.
False or fraudulent information or claims
If you (or any person on your behalf) provide any false or fraudulent information or document in your application for the Loan or the Plan or in connection with any Event, Harmoney (acting for the Trustee) may:
- use to waive any Repayments;
- cancel your Plan by notice to you, with effect from the date specified in the notice (and that date may be earlier than the date of the notice); or
- alter the terms of your Plan by:
- changing the level of cover it provides (eg by changing a Plan from Payment Protect Complete to Payment Protect Partial); or
- adding any conditions, limitations, or exclusions to it,
Harmoney will act reasonably in exercising this power. You will not be entitled to have the Payment Protect Fee or any part of it rebated if your Plan is cancelled or altered under this provision.
Ending Payment Protect
The Payment Protect Plan will expire if and when:
- you have made all Repayments due under the Loan;
- you cancel the Loan during the cooling-off period (as set out in the Loan Disclosure under "Right to Cancel"); or
- your Plan is cancelled because you (or any person on your behalf) provide any false or fraudulent information or document in your application for the Loan or the Plan or in connection with any Event.
You cannot cancel the Payment Protect Plan before then.
Rebate of Payment Protect Fee if Loan repaid early
If you repay all amounts due under the Loan before the term of the Loan expires (including by refinancing the Loan), a proportion of your Payment Protect Fee will be rebated. Your rebate will be calculated as follows:
rebate = (p × s × (s + 1)) ÷ (t × (t + 1))
where:
- "p" is the amount of your Payment Protect Fee
- "s" is the number of whole months in the unexpired portion of the period for which the Plan applied
- "t" is the number of whole months for which the Plan applied.
However, you are not entitled to a rebate if any Repayment has been waived under your Plan.
Communications and disputes
Harmoney may provide you with notices and other communications in relation to Payment Protect, these Terms, or your Plan by mail or in an electronic form, including by email.
If you are applying for a Payment Waiver, you must provide the notice that the Event has occurred and the supporting documents for it to Harmoney (acting as agent for the Trustee) as specified in section 1 under "How to claim a Payment Waiver".
You must provide all other notices and other communications to Harmoney (acting as agent for the Trustee) in writing (email counts as writing). You must send it to Harmoney by mail (posted to Harmoney's registered address) or by email (sent to the email address specified in the next paragraph).
If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints, please contact Harmoney as follows:
- Phone: 0800 HARMONEY
- Email: payment.protect@harmoney.co.nz
- Mail: At the postal address stated on the Website.
The Trustee and Harmoney are both members of the Financial Services Complaints Limited dispute resolution scheme. You may er any dispute relating to these Terms or your Plan to that dispute resolution service.Its contact details are at www.fscl.org.nz.
How these Terms or your Plan can be changed
The Trustee (acting through Harmoney as its agent) can modify these Terms if it reasonably considers that the change is necessary or advisable (for example, because there has been a legal, regulatory, technological, or operational development and the Terms have to be updated to lect that development).
To be effective, the modification must be notified on the Website under the "Legal Agreements" section. The modification will apply from the date stated on the Website. You should check the "Legal Agreements" section of the Website regularly for any modifications.
However, any modification to these Terms after your Loan was listed on the Website will apply to your Plan only if Harmoney has sent you an individual notice, whether by email or otherwise, of the modification and of the date from which it applies to yourPlan.
10. Definitions
In these Terms:
- "you" in relation to any Payment Protect cover for a loan arranged through the Website, means the person who is the borrower of that loan (and "your" has a corresponding meaning);
- "waive" in relation to a Repayment means that your obligation to make the payment exists, but that that obligation will not be enforced; and
- the following words have the following meanings:
- Accidental Injury means bodily injury caused directly by violent, unexpected, external, visible means
- Death Waiver means the Payment Waiver provided for in section 2
- Disability has the meaning given to it in section 4
- Disability Waiver means the Payment Waiver provided for in section 4
- Event means an event for which you are covered under your Plan (or,in section 7's"Falsehood or fraud" exclusion, an event that would have been covered by your Plan if the information or documents had been accurate or genuine)
- Harmoney means Harmoney Limited
- Loan means the loan by the Trustee for which you applied on the Website when applying for your Plan
- Loan Disclosure means the disclosure statement relating to the Loan that Harmoney (acting as agent for the Trustee) sent to you before the Loan was made
- Month means a period starting on a particular date in a particular calendar month and ending immediately before the same date in the next calendar month (eg 15 March20xx-14 April 20xx)
- Payment Protect Complete means a Plan which the Plan Schedule specifies to be issued as such (being a Plan that covers death, Terminal Illness, Disability and Redundancy)
- Payment Protect Partial means a Plan which the Plan Schedule specifies to be issued as such (being a Plan that covers death and Terminal Illness)
- Payment Protect Fee means the fee payable to the Trustee for entering into the Plan and agreeing to the Payment Waiver
- Payment Waiver in relation to a Repayment means the waiver of that Repayment as provided for in section 2, 3, 4, or 5 (as applicable)
- Permanently Employed means that you work for a single employer or firm for wages, a salary, commission, or other employment income for not less than 20 hours per week and have held that position for at least three months (but does not include employment while on unpaid leave for a continuous period of threeMonths or longer)
- Plan means the additional terms of the Loan Contract between you and the Trustee under which the Trustee undertakes to waive certain Repayments under the Loan and in exchange you undertake to pay the Trustee thePayment Protect Fee (with the terms of those undertakings being contained in these Terms and the Plan Schedule)
- Plan Schedule means the section in the Loan Disclosure that confirms the details of the Payment Protect cover you have under your Plan; and includes any endorsements made under these Terms
- Plan Start Date means the day on which your Plan comes into effect (as specified in section 1)
- Redundancy has the meaning given to it in section 5
- Redundancy Waiver means the Payment Waiver provided for in section 5
- Repayments means all Monthly repayments of principal and/or interest that are, or will or may become, due under the Loan (but to be clear, does not include payments of costs and fees)
- Self-employed means that you:
- are employed for at least 20 hours per week by a company of which you are a director and shareholder (whether alone or with others); or
- work for yourself (whether alone or in partnership with others) in an occupation or business for remuneration for at least 20 hours per week and have been in business for at least 3 months
- Terminal Illness has the meaning given to it in section 3
- Terminal Illness Waiver means the Payment Waiver provided for in section 3
- Terms means sections 1 to 10
- Trustee means Harmoney Investor Trustee Limited (the lender and bare trustee under the Loan)
- Usual Occupation means:
- the work, occupation, or business you usually do to produce an income; or
- any other type of work, occupation, or business you can reasonably be expected to do because of your education, training, skills, or experience
- Website means the website at www.harmoney.co.nz (or such other website as Harmoney may from time to time operate to provide its peer-to-peer lending service).