Narre Warren South family struggling to find stable accommodation after eviction
A Narre Warren South family say they have been thrown out of their home after their bank reneged on a verbal agreement allowing them to make catch-up mortgage repayments. And it’s not the first time it has happened.
South East
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A Narre Warren South family who have been evicted from their home say they don’t understand why they’ve had their lives turned upside down.
Peter Rice, his wife Treena and family including son Luke, 25, Rochelle, 22 and her 11-month-old baby Indiana Rose, were evicted by Suncorp on February 25.
Mr Rice said he had defaulted in his mortgage payments three years ago but had come to an arrangement with Suncorp to make larger weekly payments to catch-up and he’d stuck religiously to that for the past three years.
Mr Rice, who recently lost his construction job due to the coronavirus pandemic, said the verbal agreement with the bank was to pay $600 per week instead of the $400 he had been paying before defaulting after facing financial hardship due to battling cancer and other unfortunate circumstances.
“I was on time with payments, but then we faced several hardships as I had cancer and my wife Treena also lost her job at the same time,” he said.
“I was paying $400 per week, but when I defaulted I had to pay an additional $200 a week.
Mr Rice said he was angered the bank was now claiming they had no record of this agreement.
“I had $120,000 left on my mortgage of about $240,000. I never missed a repayment of $600.
“I paid $13,000 of the $23,000 I had defaulted on – I was trying my hardest for my family and granddaughter.”
He said his family was now living in “absolute distress” since being evicted.
“My family, including my baby granddaughter, have been sleeping a few nights in the car, Airbnb's and motels – it’s been a really stressful time.”
“The contractors who are clearing out our house to resell it have thrown out personal belongings including photos of deceased relatives.
“They’ve also smashed and dumped several of our personal items in skip bins.”
Mr Rice said the bank had also booted out his family in mid-2017, due to similar circumstances.
“We fought on this same issue then and after a week of being kicked out, we were allowed back in.”
Derek Balogh from the not-for-profit advocate group National Federation of Independent Business, which has been helping the family, said he was outraged by the Rices’ circumstances.
“This is happening in Australia every day, families are being kicked out after verbal agreements are being made with banks, it’s unconscionable conduct,” Mr Balogh said.
“It is a complete injustice that this family has been kicked out onto the streets – there is a young baby involved in this, so the bank need to urgently reconsider their decision.”
Homeless families service Wayss chief executive Elizabeth Thomas said homeowners and renters often faced these extreme unforeseen circumstances.
“They don’t have three or six months of rent payment in reserve, when people suffer ill health they are really vulnerable to the immediate and sudden change in circumstances,” Ms Thomas said.
“No family should be living in their cars at this point in time, this is just so concerning and I encourage them to get in touch with us.”
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A Suncorp spokeswoman said the company worked compassionately with its customers in these circumstances, usually over a number of years, to resolve their financial situation. “Taking possession of a property is always the last option after all other avenues have been exhausted,” the spokeswoman said.
She said she could not address the specifics of the Rice family situation due to privacy concerns.