FREED – The last ray of hope!
In today’s digital world, thousands of services are pushed directly into our devices on a daily basis. While that is a huge advancement in how businesses market their services, it is also alarming given the mobile phone penetration in our society which is on the rise. It indirectly gives access of many services to consumers who probably don’t even know how to avail/consume them.
In a sensitive situation like that, it becomes extremely critical for us at FREED to assess and validate if Debt Resolution is the ONLY option left with a particular consumer. This also means we say NO to a lot of consumers reaching out to us and showing interest in our services.
A short personal story – I joined FREED soon after it was launched and immediately got involved in understanding the business and its operations. While I was doing that, what came to me as a shock was that on a daily basis, the Debt Counselling team DENIED more consumers than they ACCEPTED. I was confused and curious both, to which the senior leaders at FREED gave me an answer which changed my perspective towards Debt Relief Services forever.
I learnt that just because a consumer has reached out to us and shown interest in our services, it DOES NOT mean that this is the ONLY option left for him/her. And it is our job to first explore that and if they do have some other/better options, we counsel them to NOT opt for FREED’s services.
FREED lives by its motto of Empathy, Passion & Service!
Let’s understand why it is important for us to ensure/validate that Debt Resolution is the only option left for a consumer -
1. Debt Relief is not easy -
While a debt Resolution Program has its PROs, it also comes with few CONs. And we understand that a lot of consumers misinterpret that by only looking at the benefits. But our experienced Debt Counsellors set clear expectations right from the beginning which ensures that consumers understand that this is not a walk in the park even with FREED’s guidance, support and assistance, it will be a difficult journey to take. After all, our Debt Resolution Program is the last resort and not the first!
2. Different solutions to different problems -
FREED’s Debt Resolution Program is not a one product fits all kind of a service. It is designed keeping in mind a specific category of overleveraged borrowers, which means we DO NOT and CANNOT offer this service to any and everybody. Through our tech and manual efforts, we understand the hardship of each and every consumer, which in turn tells us how bad the situation is and if any other(better) solution can be recommended or not.
3. Lack of financial literacy -
Financial literacy in our country is not in line with the pace with which consumer credit is growing, new to credit consumers today have access to various products like App Loans/BNPLs just on their fingers. What is alarming is that most of these are Gen Zs and probably don’t even know if there is an actual need or if it’s an impulse spend that they want to make using this credit. We at FREED consider ourselves responsible to educate consumers in the right manner so they can make smart and right decisions with their respective debts.
4. Sticking to FREED’s vision & mission -
We launched FREED with a clear mission of making Indian consumers debt free. Today we are proud that every step/decision that we make as a business, is driven only and only by this goal. This means we keep our values and mission first, which is why we are extremely clear on WHO this service is FOR and WHO is it NOT for.
Every decision at FREED is made keeping the above points in mind. Since Day-1, we are very clear about WHO we want to help and that clarity helps us in narrowing down a lot of business problems which we face in daily operations.
While we are also a FOR-PROFIT organization, we have to keep our revenues in check but not at the cost of ruining someone’s financial health or creditworthiness.