Facing a situation where you can’t pay your loan is deeply stressful. Hardship assistance may be able to help you find a solution before your account falls into default. If you borrow a loan through Upstart and have difficulties paying back, loan assistance options from Upstart may be worth checking.
Hardship assistance offers temporary servicing options to help you through short-term disruptions. While these aren’t permanent changes to your loan and approval isn’t guaranteed, the goal is to help you stay on track.
What Happens If You Can’t Pay Your Loan Through Upstart
Hardship assistance is a supportive option for borrowers who reach out early. If you are currently repaying an installment loan through Upstart and anticipate a financial shock, we encourage you to look at your options. Please note hardship assistance is available for active installment loans and doesn’t apply to Cash LineTM.
If you borrowed a short term relief loan through Upstart, you may have access to payment flexibility specific to this loan product. If available, you’ll see a “Repayment Flexibility” section on your relief loan dashboard.
It can be hard to reach out, but checking your options before your due date can help you avoid accruing extra interest and protect your credit score. Even if you’ve already missed a payment, you can still contact Upstart customer service team—staying in touch helps us keep more doors open for you.
What Qualifies for Hardship Assistance?
Financial hardship is usually caused by life events beyond your control, whether that’s a sudden job loss, a medical crisis, a change in family status, or a natural disaster.
Eligibility for hardship assistance generally depends on:
- your loan being in good standing
- having an established payment history
- remaining active rather than being in its final payment period, settled, or charged off.
If your situation is related to an officially declared disaster or government shutdown, you may be eligible for specialized relief like waived fees or paused credit reporting.
It’s important to reach out before you miss a payment or as soon as you know your income is about to change. But don’t be afraid to reach out if you’ve missed a payment. Waiting until you’re several payments behind narrows what’s available and can lead to a missed personal loan payment that affects your credit.
How to Request Hardship Assistance
To get started, log in to your Upstart account and submit a request. Having a brief overview of your situation ready can help speed things up. We want to make this process as smooth as possible for you.
A few things worth knowing before you apply:
- Loan terms generally can’t be extended beyond what’s in your original loan agreement. If you’re not eligible for a full hardship plan, options like paying by your due date or making smaller partial payments ahead of time can help you avoid falling further behind.
- A one-time, non-refundable fee may apply if you change your repayment plan.
- If your hardship plan includes a loan modification, such as an adjusted repayment schedule, it may be reported to the credit bureaus rather than as a missed payment.
- If you have more than one loan, you’ll need to submit a separate request for each one.
Financial challenges are personal and stressful. If you’re struggling with a personal loan through Upstart, please take a moment to check your account for assistance options. Upstart’s support team is also here to listen and help you find the best path forward.
What Happens If a Hardship Plan Doesn’t Solve the Problem
While a hardship plan is a helpful tool for the short term, it might not solve every problem.
If you accept a hardship plan and stay current on it, your account is typically reported as current and modified rather than delinquent. But if a plan ends and payments still can’t be made, or if hardship assistance isn’t approved at all, the usual consequences of falling behind still apply: continued interest accrual, negative credit reporting once you’re 30 or more days past due, and in more serious cases, an eventual default that can lead to collections activity or, for secured loans, repossession.
Staying in communication with your servicing team tends to keep more options open than going silent does. Hardship assistance can reduce the risk of default, but it doesn’t eliminate it.
Other Options If Hardship Assistance Doesn’t Fit Your Situation
If a hardship plan isn’t the right fit, or isn’t available for your loan, a few other paths are worth looking into:
- Nonprofit credit counseling
- Employee assistance programs through your employer
- 211.org for local financial aid resources
- Government relief programs, where applicable
Some lending platforms, including Upstart, also make short-term loans available for emergency expenses, not a modification of your existing loan. That’s a different situation with its own application and approval process, not a substitute for hardship assistance on a loan you already have.
If the issue is ongoing cash flow rather than a single shock, a debt consolidation loan or refinancing may be worth exploring as a longer-term fix. In more serious cases, settlement or a debt management plan could come up as a later-stage option.
No matter which path you choose, remember that reaching out early is an act of self-care for your financial future. 
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a hardship program?
A hardship program is a temporary arrangement with your lender or servicer that adjusts your payments when you can’t afford them, such as a modified payment schedule or a short deferment. It doesn’t reduce what you owe, and approval isn’t guaranteed.
Will my credit score prevent me from getting help?
Eligibility for hardship assistance is generally based on your loan status and payment history rather than your credit score.
Can you get hardship assistance if you’re unemployed or your income just dropped?
Job loss and reduced income are among the most common reasons borrowers request hardship assistance. Approval still depends on your loan being in good standing and meeting other eligibility factors.
Does asking for hardship assistance hurt your credit score?
Submitting a request generally isn’t reported as a negative mark by itself. If you accept and stick to a hardship plan, the account is typically reported as current and modified rather than delinquent, though a fee may apply and any term extension gets reported as a loan modification.
What happens if you default on a loan after a hardship plan ends?
If a hardship plan ends and payments still can’t be made, the loan can move toward default the same way it would without a plan, which can mean collections activity and credit damage.
Will a lender lower my payment or interest rate if I can’t afford my loan?
It depends on the lender and your situation. Loan terms typically can’t be extended beyond the original agreement, but some hardship plans offer other forms of temporary payment relief. Terms aren’t guaranteed and vary case by case.
How long can you stay on a loan hardship plan?
Hardship plans are generally structured to be temporary rather than open-ended, though exact durations vary by lender and situation.
Do hardship payments get reported differently to the credit bureaus?
Yes, in some cases. A loan modification like a term extension is typically reported differently than a missed payment, though it still shows up on your credit history.
Can you request hardship assistance more than once?
Repeat eligibility depends on the circumstances of your request and the status of your loan. There’s no guarantee that hardship assistance will be approved more than once.
Won't affect your credit score¹