Just launches offerings to enhance detection and support of vulnerable customers during enforcement
04 October 2023
Just is pleased to announce that it has launched two revolutionary offerings, the Doorstep Vulnerability Toolkit and Just Breathe. They both aim to better support vulnerable customers, provide clear guidance for enforcement agents, and protect clients’ brands during an enforcement visit.
The Doorstep Vulnerability Toolkit comprises two protocols: SEVENS, which involves assessing the surroundings to determine if a vulnerability is present, and FRIEND, which seeks to understand if there is an element of illegal money lending occurring. An agent can use these protocols to determine whether they should continue with a visit or not.
Just Breathe is part of Just’s core service package and is comprised of three elements: enhanced signposting to specialist organisations where a customer needs additional support, an informal Breathing Space to give customers time to seek help, and advanced oversight standards and oversight for clients to ensure full transparency throughout the process.
Natalie Tate, Just’s Chief Operating Officer, commented, “This launch is the culmination of lots of hard work across Just, as well as input from industry experts, the third sector and our supply chain partners. We thought long and hard about how people should be treated when talking about their problem debts in their homes. We wanted to provide our clients and supply chain with a clear direction about how to address the forms of vulnerability that enforcement agents see so often by improving the ‘normal’ practice in our industry through applied learnings and best practice from elsewhere.
I’m proud of both offerings for many reasons; we’ve developed an industry-first conversational tool designed specifically for agents in a consumer’s home (SEVENS), perhaps the most extensive signposting in the industry, and a specific protocol to help victims of domestic violence (Ask for ANI). Our hope is that these new standards are used across the industry, and we will work tirelessly to keep improving them.”
Steven Coppard. Group Director Debt Policy and Strategy for Just, added, “The way enforcement is sometimes portrayed can be both inaccurate and counterproductive, and sensationalist headlines mean that people are less likely to deal with their debt so end up in debt for longer.
“At Just, we strive to resolve debt at the compliance stage. To deal with the rare cases where a previously unknown vulnerability is identified during a visit, we have created the Doorstep Vulnerability Toolkit to act as a safety net. Our market leading Just Breathe service then helps people overcome the hurdles that are causing debt and non-payment.
Our agents might be the only opportunity somebody has to get the support they need and, as an ethical business, we refuse to let that opportunity pass. There is no reason why an enforcement visit cannot be an excellent customer journey.”
To learn more about implementing this toolkit or Just Breathe into your business operations, please contact Natalie Tate