Formal paperwork
As well as obtaining information about our client, there is also formal paperwork that you need to complete and get signed by the client. Copies of these are below that you can download and also available on Te Papa Hou.
FinCap provides three commonly used forms – these are:
- Client Intake Form – collects basic demographic information and contact details about the client. Also used for statistical purposes.
- Budgeting Agreement – a contract of the terms of agreement between the client and the service. This must be signed by a client before any assistance can be provided to them.
- Privacy Waiver – this authorises the service to contact Creditors on behalf of the client. This must be signed by the client before creditors are contacted about a specific client debt.
These forms are not shared with external agencies without prior authorisation.
Different budgeting services may have different forms and procedures for completion. You should check with your supervisor what forms your budgeting service uses.
We need to be aware that some clients may have difficulties reading and understanding these forms and it may be appropriate to read through the forms together.
Client Intake Form
The Client Intake Form collects basic information about the client such as:
- name, age, ethnicity, sex (gender diverse) etc
- contact details – always ask the client how they want/prefer to be contacted
- household details including living arrangements and family structure.
This form can also be completed using Client Voices (CV).
The information collected on this form is also used for statistical purposes.
Budgeting Agreement
FinCap have a standard form that lays out the terms of an agreement between the client and the financial mentor’s budgeting service.
This is an important form as it provides protection for both the client and the financial mentor.
It is good practice to summarise the main parts of the budgeting agreement:
- all your information is always kept confidential and managed securely. The only other person to have access to your information is the budgeting service manager
- we are here to mentor and help you, but we will not make any decisions for you
- either one of us can end this agreement at any time
- we can only help you if you are honest and tell us everything about your financial position – and that you will try to keep within the budget and not incur any other debt while we are working together to help you
- be respectful of our time (many financial mentors are volunteers) and let us know when you cannot attend an appointment.
Clients should be given the opportunity to read through the form before signing.
Privacy Waiver
A financial mentor cannot obtain information from other parties (e.g., creditors, bank representatives, lawyers), nor can they give information to other parties on behalf of the client, until the Privacy Waiver is signed.
Other parties should not deal with financial mentors unless they know that the financial mentor has a signed authority from the client allowing the financial mentor to discuss the client’s financial details.
Depending on what is required you may get the client to sign this immediately, or when needed.
Make sure, if possible, you sight identification, and if the client agrees, get a photocopy of their identification (some creditors require to sight this).
FinCap is always updating the privacy waivers to meet the needs of different creditors. Currently (as of 2020) there is the general privacy waiver as shown, and a different privacy waiver for banks.
It is a good idea to check the resources on Te Papa Hou to ensure that you are using the correct privacy waiver.
Client-intake-form-and-completion-form