When Matt, who only wanted to use his first name, initially turned to a payday lender, his one-and-a-half-year-old son was sick in hospital.
Three years on, and his son is healthy again, but the debts haven't gone away.
"I reached my breaking point, I was being pursued by 12 payday lenders at once," Matt told SBS News.
The debts continued to spiral out of control and at one point he owed around $26,000.
He is still in debt now, but is working with the Consumer Action Law Centre to close and cancel some of the debts due to the amount he has paid back already and where the law wasn't properly followed in making the loan.
CEO Gerard Brody said he was deeply concerned that during the coronavirus economic downturn, more people may end up in situations like Matt's.
Australians queue at Centrelink during COVID-19 pandemic. Source: Sipa
"We are getting more and more contacts from people who are losing hours and losing jobs and don't know where to turn to," Mr Brody told SBS News.
The group is one of over 30 organisations which has called on the Federal Government to ban predatory lending for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This includes major charities such as the Salvation Army, Uniting and the Australian Council of Social Service.
"Many people will be struggling with financial hardship for the first time, they are sort of lost and not knowing where to turn to," Mr Brody said.
"These businesses make it seem very simple and easy to get some cash, and that's where the problem is."
Out of control
Mr Brody said predatory lenders can charge up to 400 per cent interest per annum on loans and at times don't do proper checks to see if people can repay them.
Other organisations like Good Shepard Microfinance have recently been awarded $20 million from the Federal Government to give out no interest loans to people on low incomes.
"It's vital at this time that people know where to go to get access to good, responsible support and information," Good Shepard's CEO Stella Avramopoulos told SBS News.
"We urge people not to turn to predatory lenders that could see them facing massive loan costs and high interest rates that quickly spiral out of control and make their situation so much worse," she said.
For Matt, he said he is concerned that during this difficult financial time others may end up in a situation like his.
"I was desperate, I needed the money, I didn't really care about the consequences at the time, but turning to these payday lenders is very dangerous," he said.
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