Loan Breaks Backfired for Natalie | Auckland News

Auckland News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Sep 17, 2026 · 2m

A woman named Natalie took out a $30,000 boat loan in 2024, planning to live on it — until she got injured and ended up on ACC. Her bank, ASB, offered hardship options like payment breaks, which seemed helpful but actually made her loan costlier over time. Each delay pushed her principal balance higher while keeping the loan term fixed, leading to sky-high payments later — nearly 95% of her take-home pay. When those payments were automatically deducted, she hit an $18,000 overdraft. Though she can afford to repay it, she feels the bank failed to properly warn her that extending the term…