At one time he had to borrow food to eat – Steve’s story of perseverance

Hardship Reasons
Illness or disability, Unexpected expenses

This is my story

“We were in a no-win situation; we were going bankrupt. Now, everyone gets quite a good outcome out of this.”

When Steve was referred to Way Forward by NAB for financial assistance, he describes himself as being in “a really bad place.”

He was in a big accident a few years ago where he broke his neck. He was out of work for two years. This is when some of the financial problems began.

“I didn’t have money to go look for professional help, without you guys, we would have starring down bankruptcy. I had some pretty dark days and pretty bad thoughts.”

“We were at that stage where we were borrowing food off friends or eating at friends’ places to survive.”

Steve was the sole breadwinner of his family. His partner was injured. He felt a huge amount of pressure to provide when they were already in too much debt, which could not be paid off.

Way Forward negotiated with the banks on Steve’s behalf to have the debts and interest decreased. The debts were consolidated so that payments regularly were withdrawn from one account.

“We feel like we are doing the right thing rather than going bankrupt where everybody loses out. We feel like this is a good, honest way to get out the situation we were in.”

Steve was stressed from the constant phone calls from the banks. He was receiving up to 3 calls per hour from the banks, sometimes on the weekends.

After Way Forward started managing the relationship with the creditors and banks, the phone calls stopped almost immediately.

“It was huge relief.”

Way Forward’s Client Service’s Manager Melanie worked with Steve to organise a realistic budget.

“We were trying to cut ourselves to an absolute minimum and we would have gotten ourselves into trouble again.”

Steve’s initial reaction to Way Forward’s funding arrangement has changed over time.

“When I found out that the major banks were funding Way Forward, I was skeptical that you would be on our side. But you genuinely seemed to be on both sides. You want the best for the people who are providing for you guys, but you also want the best outcome for the people that you help.

We were in a no-win situation, the banks would have gotten very little out of it, we were going bankrupt. Everyone gets quite a good outcome out of this.”

If you’d like to know more about how Way Forward can help you: 

Enquire here or call us on 1300 451 343

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Struggling to pay for the essentials such as food and rent and want to know more about your options? Our emergency funding page lists some of the available free emergency services and funding if you live in Australia and find yourself in financial difficulty.