Debt Rescue is a financial services provider that is there to rescue individuals from debt. The company is one of the major players in South Africa when it comes to debt counselling. Debt Rescue has provided debt counselling services to thousands of South Africans since its formation.
The company is well-known for its debt management services, but it also provides other services such as sequestration and various insurance products. The company is not just a debt management company but also an insurer and a financial planner.
Debt Rescue Summary
Debt Rescue is a financial services provider that was established in 2008. The company is headquartered in Kempton Park, South Africa. Debt Rescue is one of the leading debt counselling companies in South Africa and has a huge social media presence with a Facebook following of over 63 000 followers.
Debt Rescue’s debt review solution is one of the most popular and has been there to help South Africans repay their debt with lower instalments. In addition to debt counselling, the company offers a broader range of services. Debt Rescue provides the following services:
- Debt Counselling,
- Sequestration,
- Credit Life Insurance,
- Short term insurance, and
- Employee debt solutions
Debt Rescue Services
Debt Rescue provides a number of services in insurance, debt management, and more. These services are discussed below.
Debt Counselling
Debt Rescue’s debt counselling is there to assist over-indebted South Africans to manage their debt on their route to becoming debt-free. The company has made links with credit providers in South Africa to help customers get reduced interest rates on loans and reduce monthly instalments.
Debt Rescue’s debt review ensures that customers are debt-free through a process. The process to become debt-free includes the following.
Step 1
The first step involves the completion of a debt assessment. Debt assessment is there to assess whether someone is over-indebted or not. The process takes a few minutes to complete and feedback on results comes back within minutes. The debt assessment process is free of charge.
Debt Rescue will ask for information about the financial institution to which you owe money. After completing this step, a customer has the option of continuing or discontinuing the Debt Rescue debt review. There are no financial or commitment obligations associated with debt assessment.
Step 2
After the debt assessment process proves that someone is over-indebted, the next step is for them to start an application. The application will require filling in an application form with your personal information and information pertaining to creditors.
A debt counselor will then determine whether or not an individual’s monthly expenses and debt exceed his or her monthly income. If this is the case, the individual can seek debt counseling.
Step 3
With the help of a debt counselor, a customer will be protected from creditor harassment should they opt to continue with the Debt review process. A debt counsellor will alert creditors that their client is under debt review. Credit Bureaus will also be notified that one is under debt review so that adjustments can be made to one’s credit profile.
Step 4
Debt Rescue will then begin to negotiate with creditors. Negotiation with creditors will help the whole debt review process in two ways,
- A new repayment plan will be negotiated that advocates for reduced instalments.
- Negotiation of lower interest rates.
The aim of this step is to align one’s debt with their income. That is to make their instalments affordable. This will also enable customers to have some money to cover their living expenses.
A payment plan will detail all the terms of the new contract. New required monthly instalments and new interest rates will be discussed in the new payment plan.
Step 5
With the help of Debt Rescue attorneys, the new repayment plan will become a court order. Debt Rescue’s expert attorneys will file an application with the court to make the restructured payment plan a court order. This will protect the customersโ assets from getting repossessed.
Payments can then be made to repay the new debt. The repayment plan may last between 3 to 5 years. A customer can choose to exit the agreement faster than normal if they make a lump sum payment to clear the debt or make accelerated payments.
A clearance certificate will be issued to a customer after settling their debt. The clearance certificate will also be sent to the credit bureaus to update the customerโs credit record.
Sequestrations
Debt Rescue helps over-indebted individuals that are under Sequestration. The company helps its customers to find the best solutions to their Sequestration or liquidation problems. Debt Rescue is there to ensure that customers can salvage their credit status when facing Sequestration.
Debt Rescue helps customers with applications for rehabilitation orders which bring an end to their sequestration. This will consequently discharge them of all their debt prior to sequestration.
Debt Consolidation
Debt Rescue has a debt consolidation solution that puts a number of debts into one loan. This solution is mainly for clients with a good credit score but are over-indebted. The debt consolidation loan will help in reducing monthly installments leaving customers with more money to spend on their families or to save.
When one has a good credit score they can get reduced interest rates on their loans. The reduction of interest rate means that repayment will have reduced installments. However, the overall debt may increase since Debt Rescue will have to renegotiate the payment period. This will lead to adding more months or years to loan repayment.
Competitive Advantages of Debt Rescue
- There is product differentiation.
- The company holds positive reviews on HelloPeter and Google reviews.
- Debt Rescue has a high online presence with accounts on Twitter, LinkedIn, Google my Business and Facebook.
- The company has over 12 years of experience in debt management service provision.
- Short term and long term insurance products are available including credit life insurance to protect those that are under debt counselling from missing payments due to retrenchment or job loss.
Competitive Disadvantages of Debt Rescue
- Long term insurance products from Debt Rescue are not popular in South Africa.
- Prioritises Debt management solutions more than the other services provided
Conclusion
Debt Rescue is a company that has been there for over a decade and has been seeking to perfect its solutions over time. With the use of the internet and technology, the company has managed to provide services that are up to standard and seamless.
Debt Rescue offers a broader service line to customers than many debt review companies in South Africa. It has grown from being only a debt review company to being a financial institution.
The company now has insurance products and offers financial advisory making Debt Rescue one of the leading financial services providers in South Africa.
