The first papers on the old loan
If a car loan is being refinanced, two sets of paper meet: the papers from the existing loan and the papers from whoever is offering the new one. Before anything new arrives, it helps to gather the original contract, the latest statement and any letters about the loan, and to note the date each one carries on a sheet kept with them.
At a first conversation about a new loan, write down the name of the person spoken to, the business name they give, and the date. If the person says they work for another business, write that name too, exactly as it was said, so it can be set beside the name printed on paper later.
A car adds details of its own. The registration, the make and model, and the vehicle identification number from the old contract belong on the same sheet, so every document can be matched to the same car.
A credit provider must, at the written request of a debtor or guarantor, provide a written statement of the amount required to pay out a credit contract (other than a continuing credit contract) as at such date as the debtor or guarantor specifies. If so requested, the credit provider must also provide details of the items which make up that amount. (2) The statement must also contain a statement to the effect that the amount required to pay out the credit contract may change according to the date on which it is paid. (3) A credit provider must give a statement, complying with this section, within 7 days after the day the request is given to the credit provider.
Asking for the pay out figure
The pay out figure is the paper that sits at the end of the old loan, so it is one to ask for in writing. A short email or letter to the existing lender, naming the loan account and the car, makes a clear record of what was asked. Keep a copy of the request with the date it was sent.
Once a statement is in hand, keep it beside the request it answers and note the day it came. Read the paper's own heading and date before the figure itself. Check that the lender's name on it matches the name on the original contract and on earlier statements, and if a different business name appears, write it down with where it appeared.
If a breakdown of the figure was asked for, keep that with the statement too. If a second statement is requested later, keep both, each with its own date, the newer one first.
Keeping the set in order
If a new loan begins, the folder holds papers from two lenders for the same car. Keeping them in date order, the old loan's papers on one side and the new loan's on the other, makes it easy to see where one ends and the next begins. A closing letter from the old lender, if one comes, finishes that side.
When something on paper differs from what was said in a call or a meeting, write a short note that day: what was said, who said it, and what the paper shows. Then ask about it in writing, and keep the question and the reply with the paper they concern.
If a new business name turns up partway through, on a letter, an email footer or a statement, add it to the sheet of names with the date and the paper it came from. Any name on that sheet can be searched on ASIC's professional registers, and a search shows what the register records, no more.
Where the words come from
- National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth)Compilation No. 52, 1 July 2026. Based on content from the Federal Register of Legislation at 15 October 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government legislation please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.
- National Consumer Credit Protection Regulations 2010 (Cth)Compilation No. 57, 5 September 2026. Based on content from the Federal Register of Legislation at 15 October 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government legislation please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.