This policy applies to all residential customers living in Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia who find it hard to pay their energy bills due to hardship. You might experience hardship because of factors like:

1. death in the family
2. household illness
3. family violence
4. unemployment
5. reduced income.

This policy explains:

1. what we will do to help you manage your energy bills
2. how we consider your circumstances and needs
3. your rights as a customer in our hardship program.

You can ask a support person to contact us, such as:

1. a financial counsellor
2. someone who helps you manage your energy bills.

We need your permission to talk to your support person.

At ReAmped Energy Pty Ltd (ReAmped), we are a customer focused business, so we believe in keeping things fair and simple. As electricity is an essential service, it is important we do as much as we can to help you maintain access to your supply of electricity.

We have developed this hardship policy in accordance with the AER sustainable payment plans framework and AER Customer Hardship Policy Guideline to provide consistent and compliant support to all our customers. We believe early intervention is the best way to help customers who face financial difficulty pay their bills and prevent an accumulation of energy debt which could ultimately threaten a customer’s energy supply.

To support this effort, our customer experience team (including ReAmped staff and contractors) have received and are required to attend refresher training courses in:

1. answering customer queries about the customer hardship policy and hardship program, and
2. identifying customers experiencing payment difficulties due to hardship, and
3. assisting customers experiencing payment difficulties due to hardship.

This training is regularly reviewed and updated to ensure it is still fit-for-purpose. This enables the team to engage in compassionate and non-judgmental conversations. We are committed to ensuring you have equitable access to all resources outlined in this policy.

We have systems in place to ensure that we meet our obligations with respect to customer hardship defined within:

1. The National Energy Retail Law
2. The National Energy Retail Rules
3. The AER Customer Hardship Policy Guideline
4. This Customer Hardship policy.

In our dealings with you, the customer, we will:

1. Be respectful, compassionate and treat your circumstances with sensitivity and respect for your privacy;
2. Take into account all of your circumstances we are aware of, and, on that basis, act fairly and reasonably;
3. Inform you of your entitlements;
4. Maintain customer assistance programs, such as affordable payment plans in accordance with the AER Sustainable payment plans framework;
5. Provide information about assistance available, including when contacted by you. This information will be provided in a timely manner;
6. Be transparent and accessible and communicate to you, financial counsellors and community assistance agencies, when necessary;
7. Provide a customer who is entitled to receive assistance under this policy with that assistance as promptly as possible;
8. Not disconnect your energy supply while you are actively participating in the hardship program;
9. Not charge late payment fees, irrespective of jurisdiction, nor require security deposits;
10. Not hassle you with reminder notices or threats of disconnection. We will monitor customers during their participation in our Hardship Program, with quarterly reviews of their payment plan to ensure they remain affordable;
11. Provide a free copy of the hardship policy to you on request via your preferred method of communication (if you have not indicated a preferred method of communication, we will send the hardship policy to you via post);
12. Make this policy available to be downloaded from our website here. There is a clearly marked link on the homepage of our website to a printable form of this policy;
13. For customers experiencing payment difficulties who are unable to access our website, post them a hard copy of the policy.

To remain in the hardship program, you need to commit to:

1. Staying in contact with ReAmped via email, online chat or phone and advise us of any relevant change in financial circumstances as this may impact the ability to remain on the agreed payment plan;
2. Meet all agreed scheduled payments as outlined in the payment plan.

A customer experiencing hardship is a residential customer who would like to pay their energy bill but does not have the financial capacity to do so at that point in time. This situation can arise as a result of a variety of factors, both long and short term, and some of them are set out in the introduction to this policy.

The key point is that if you are experiencing an inability to pay your ReAmped power bill for whatever reason, please email us at support@reampedenergy.com.au or reach out to us via our online chat as soon as possible, so we can assess your suitability for participation in our Hardship Program or arrange a suitable payment plan.

We will tell you about our hardship program if:

1. you tell us you are having trouble paying your bill;
2. you are referred to our program by a financial counsellor or other community worker;
3. we are concerned that you may be experiencing financial hardship.

We will recommend you speak to a staff member to help you join our hardship program if you have:

1. a history of late payments;
2. broken payment plans;
3. requested payment extensions;
4. received a disconnection warning notice;
5. been disconnected for non-payment.

We can also support you to join our hardship program if you tell us:

1. you are eligible for a relief grant or other emergency assistance;
2. you have personal circumstances where hardship support may help. For example, death in the family or job loss.

You may have trouble paying your bills for different reasons. Please contact us so we can discuss your individual situation.

Our staff are specially trained to help you with hardship. Staff will:

1. ask you a few questions about your circumstances;
2. work out if you can join the hardship program.

We will assess your application for hardship assistance by the end of the second business day after contacting us.

We will let you know if you are accepted into our hardship program within three business days from receipt of the application.

If you are accepted into our hardship program, we will:

1. tell you if you are on the right energy plan or if there is a better plan for you;
2. tell you about government concessions, relief schemes or energy rebates you may be able to receive;
3. give you ideas about how to reduce your energy use;
4. talk to you about a payment amount that suits your circumstances.

We will send you a free copy of our hardship policy.

You will be eligible to receive the assistance offered in the ReAmped hardship program if:

1. you have a current residential account with us; and
2. are experiencing financial hardship.

If a customer can meet both conditions, then they should contact us at support@reampedenergy.com.au or via online chat as soon as possible, sharing as much information about their payment difficulty circumstances as possible.

To assess your eligibility, we will check that you have a residential account with us. If you do and there is any indication that you may be experiencing hardship, then you will be accepted into the program. If you (or your representative) state that you are in hardship, we will accept you into our program provided that you have a current residential account with us.

If you are ineligible for participation in ReAmped’s hardship program, ReAmped will inform you of the reason(s) why you are not eligible.

As a hardship customer, you can access a range of programs and services to help you, including:

1. Flexible payment options;
2. Review of your tariff to determine if another one of our tariffs would be more appropriate;
3. Information about your energy use;
4. Energy audits. Where recommended in the outcome of an audit, we can support the replacement of an appliance at your premises;
5. Advice on concessions and other assistance that may be available to you.

More information on all these options is provided in this Hardship Policy in the sections below.

We will consider your individual situation to find the right programs (e.g. concession programs) or services that meet your needs.

When you join our hardship program, we will talk to you about your energy use and whether you are on the right plan.

If we think there is a better energy plan for you, we will:

1. explain why the plan is better
2. ask if you’d like to transfer to the new plan for free.

We will only talk to you about energy plans we can offer.

We will assess your application for hardship assistance within 2 business days.

There are different payment options available to hardship customers, including:

1. payment plans;
2. Centrepay.

In some cases, we may also consider partial debt waiver options or payment holidays.

When you are in our hardship program, we will offer you flexible payment options to suit your individual situation.

To make your payment plan, we will consider:

1. how much you can pay;
2. how much you owe;
3. how much energy we expect you will use in the next 12 months.

This will help us figure out a payment plan that is right for you.

We will offer a payment plan to suit your situation. This will include payments to cover:

1. what you owe;
2. an amount to cover your energy use.

Once we agree to a payment plan, we will send you information including:

1. who you can contact for more help;
2. how long the payment plan will go for;
3. the amount you will pay each time;
4. how many payments you need to make;
5. when you need to make your payments (this is also called the frequency of the payments);
6. how we worked out your payments.

You can choose to use Centrepay, if you are eligible.

Centrepay is a free service you can use to help pay your bills. Centrepay can automatically take an amount of money from your Centrelink payments to go toward energy bills and expenses.

Depending on the rules in our hardship policy, we may be able to remove some debt, fees or charges you owe.

If you miss a payment, we will contact you to see if you need help. We will contact you by firstly attempting to contact you via your preferred method of communication and at the same time writing to you to ask you to establish contact. If we can’t get a hold of you within a week, we will then send you a further letter via post and email and ask that you contact us.

Tell us if your situation changes and you can no longer make the payments in your plan. We can then review your payment arrangements.

Tell us if your contact details change.

We may stop helping you if you:

1. stop making payments under your plan;
2. do not tell us when your contact details change.

If you have had two payment plans cancelled in the last 12 months because you did not follow your plan:

1. we do not have to offer you another plan;
2. we might disconnect your energy.

ReAmped will work with you to ensure that our programs and services help you to complete the hardship program. If you have successfully completed a payment plan or have been able to meet all outstanding payment obligations to ReAmped, you can request to be removed from the hardship program at any time. Once confirmed, you will be contacted by ReAmped confirming successful completion of the payment plan. You will then be returned to ReAmped’s normal billing cycle.

Either at your request, or as a result of our quarterly reviews, payment plans can be modified. It is important for you to stay in contact with us, should your circumstances change so we can agree to any plan revisions.

1. You can return to normal billing and collection processes if you complete the payment plan or pay any previous bill arrears;
2. If you stop meeting your instalment payments ReAmped will attempt to contact you by your preferred method (email, online chat, customer portal or phone) to discuss whether there needs to be changes made to the original payment plan. We can reassess the original payment plan and make changes to help restore payments.
3. If this contact fails, ReAmped will try again within 2 business days. If you fail to respond on our second attempt, we will make a third attempt 2 business days later. If contact is made, we can look to adjust the plan as above.
4. It is important that you actively participate with our hardship program. If you refuse to engage with us after these repeated attempts to make contact, we will remove you from our hardship program.

If, as a participant in the hardship program, you fail to make payments as per the agreed payment plan and refuse to engage with us, or if you transfer to another retailer, you will default back to our usual debt collections process.

Disconnection and debt collection are ReAmped’s absolute last resort, and we will only consider these options after exhausting all other reasonable steps.

We will assess your individual circumstances and eligibility if you have been removed from or choose to leave the hardship program, but then want to reenter our hardship program. Where you have left the hardship program because of successful completion of a previous payment plan, then we can agree to a new plan using the process outlined within this policy. If you have left the hardship program for other reasons, then those circumstances will be reassessed. It may be the case the original payment plan needs to be modified to better fit your circumstances.

Depending on the state or territory you live in, there are other supports to help you pay your energy bills.

We will tell you about other ways you can get help to pay your energy bill, such as:

1. government relief schemes
2. energy rebates
3. concession programs
4. financial counselling services.

If you find out you are eligible for these programs, let us know as soon as possible so we can help you.

Using less energy can save you money.

When you join our hardship program, we can give you tips to use less energy. This can be different depending on the state or territory you live in.

Most customers are unaware of simple things they can do around their home which can reduce energy consumption, thus saving them money.

To help customers better understand how their household appliances and energy usage affects their bills, we encourage them to contact our customer experience team via email, online chat, or request a callback by phone. These websites also offer some good advice:

1. http://yourenergysavings.gov.au
2. http://www.energyrating.gov.au
3. https://www.choice.com.au
4. https://www.moneysmart.gov.au

A customer in the hardship program can request an energy audit either by calling or emailing ReAmped. Once a customer has given consent, ReAmped will perform a thorough initial investigation of the customers consumption profile to determine whether an energy audit is required. If recommended, we can consider full or partial cover of the cost of such audits, depending on the customer’s circumstances. Such an audit may be offered free of charge to the customer if there is high unexplained electricity consumption within the household and the customer debt level is high.

Where a field audit recommends replacement of an appliance to reduce electricity consumption, we can refer eligible customers experiencing payment difficulty to a panel of reputable electrical appliance retailers who are able to advise on an alternative suitable appliance.

If you have joined our hardship program, we will not:

1. charge late payment fees
2. require a security deposit
3. make changes to your plan without your agreement. For example, we will not put you on a shortened collection cycle unless you agree first.

There are a variety of Government concession and rebate schemes that can assist low income, vulnerable or medically dependent customers. For customers in hardship, we can help customers identify concessions or rebates they may be eligible for and help with applications to the appropriate authorities. In some circumstances we can check the CCES (Centrelink Confirmation e-services) to determine a customer’s eligibility for some concessions.

If ReAmped becomes aware that you may be entitled to a concession or rebate or any other form of assistance, we will notify you by email, online chat, or phone. Further information on relevant assistance programs can be found by visiting the following websites:

1. New South Wales, visit www.energy.nsw.gov.au/energy-consumers/financial-assistance
2. Queensland, visit www.communities.qld.gov.au or call 13 74 68
3. South Australia, visit www.dcsi.sa.gov.au or call 1800 307 758
4. ACT, visit www.acat.act.gov.au
5. Victoria, visit services.dhhs.vic.gov.au/energy or call 1300 650 172

ReAmped encourages its customers within the hardship program to speak to accredited financial counsellors. This is a free service whereby the financial counsellor works with the customer to help them take control of their finances. To find a financial counsellor in your area please phone 1800 007 007 or visit http://www.financialcounsellingaustralia.org.au.

Further, the National Debt Helpline is a not for profit service that helps people tackle their debt problems and offer free independent and confidential advice. Visit http://www.ndh.org.au/

Hardship customers who receive Centrelink benefits or allowances, are eligible to use Centrepay as a payment method. Centrepay is a free service allowing customers to setup and manage a regular deductions from their Centrelink payment to help pay their energy bills. If not stated in their existing market contract, hardship customers who are eligible to use Centrepay will be allowed to use Centrepay as a payment method.

Further information can be obtained from Centrelink by phoning 1800 050 004 or visiting http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/centrelink/centrepay.

This policy is available on our website (www.reampedenergy.com.au/hardship/) and a link to this policy is included in the Hardship information pack. Upon request and at no charge, we can make this policy available to customers through your preferred method of receiving written communication. We are committed to helping customers keep their electricity supply so we may update this policy in compliance with changes to legislation or industry best practice. If we do make changes, we will inform affected customers as soon as practicable by email.

ReAmped acknowledges that some of its customers may have particular challenges with aspects of its Hardship Policy or Hardship Program including:

1. English language challenges;
2. Lack of internet access;
3. Living in a remote area;
4. Disabilities.

Where a customer informs ReAmped of such a challenge, or any other particular challenge, ReAmped will ensure that customer has special support with respect to the Hardship Policy or Hardship Program including:

1. Referral to language services where available or appropriate, see “Contact Us” on the next page;
2. Communicating via phone or post where necessary;
3. Referral to services that support customers with disabilities.

If a customer wishes someone to represent them in their engagement with ReAmped, they may request this at any time and ReAmped Energy will send a consent form or phone the customer to ensure that this the customer consents.

Where a customer has elected a representative to act on their behalf, ReAmped will engage with that representative as it would with the customer.

Additional measures that ReAmped will take to ensure effective communication with our customers about the Hardship Policy and Hardship Program include:

1. We will publish the Easy English AER Resource on our website and provide it as an attachment to information brochures in mailings to customers as noted below;
2. We will include references about our Hardship Policy in our bills, including information on what a customer should do to obtain access to our Hardship Program;
3. From time to time we will include an information brochure on ReAmped Hardship Program in mailings to customers including as an annexure to bills;
4. All customers have access to live online chat Monday to Sunday between 7am - 10pm (AEST) and this platform is well suited to helping people with English language difficulties due to the wide availability of text translation tools;
5. For regional customers in our Hardship Program or looking to enter our Hardship Program we will post all relevant material in addition to communicating with that customer via their preferred method of communication and we will ensure that postage delays do not disadvantage customers in relation to any requested responses to our correspondence.
6. We will assist our customers in accessing interpreter services and services for the hearing impaired where those services would potentially assist our customer in accessing the Hardship Program or understanding the Hardship Policy. We will do this by arranging for interpreter or hearing-impaired assistance services on behalf of our customer, where our customer provides consent for us to do so;
7. If requested, we will provide a copy of our Hardship Policy in another language, in large font, and in Braille where that would assist our customer in accessing the Hardship Program or understanding the Hardship Policy.

If you are struggling to meet your payment obligations or wish to discuss forms of assistance that may be available to you, you may contact us at:

1. Email: support@reampedenergy.com.au
2. Our website www.reampedenergy.com.au/contact/ or via open live chat
3. Call back request: 1800 841 627

If you require an interpreter, please call the Translating and Interpreting (TIS national) on 131 450 and ask them to call 1800 841 627. Or if required, please call 1800 841 627 via the National Relay Service on 133 677.

The ReAmped customer experience team works with the customer to resolve complaints they may have. If a customer has a complaint, they can contact us by email (support@reampedenergy.com.au), online chat or by leaving a compliant using the online form available at www.reampedenergy.com.au/complaints/. Customers can also call 1800 841 627 to leave a complaint.

Further information about how we handle complaints can be found in ReAmped Energy’s Complaints and Dispute Resolution Policy which can be downloaded from www.reampedenergy.com.au/complaints/.

As per our complaints policy, if customers are not satisfied with our proposed resolution, the complaint can be escalated within the business. If the customer is unhappy with this outcome or at any time, they can submit their complaint to the Energy and Water Ombudsman in their state. The ombudsman schemes offer a free complaint resolution service to customers and can be contacted in the following ways:

Energy and Water Ombudsman Queensland (EWOQ)
Telephone: 1800 662 837
Website: www.ewoq.com.au

Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW (EWON)
Telephone: 1800 246 545
Website: www.ewon.com.au

ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT)
Telephone: 02 6207 1740
Website: www.acat.act.gov.au

Energy & Water Ombudsman SA (EWOSA)
Telephone: 1800 665 565
Website: www.ewosa.com.au

Energy & Water Ombudsman Victoria (EWOV)
Telephone: 1800 500 509
Website: www.ewov.com.au

ReAmped is committed to respecting the privacy and protecting the personal information of our customers in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). The ReAmped Energy Privacy Policy can be found on its website at here

This policy will be reviewed at least annually.

This is version 6 of this Hardship Policy. This document was last updated on 27.06.2019.