Barry Malhan

Sarthak Kaush

Certainly. I’ve changed the wording so the review is directed at Befree Finance as the company, while still identifying Barry where relevant. Extremely disappointing experience – poor advice, communication and customer service I had an extremely disappointing experience with Befree Finance, and based on our experience, I would not recommend this company to anyone considering a construction loan. The biggest issue was the lack of proper explanation and guidance throughout the construction finance process. When we initially arranged our finance, we relied on Befree Finance to explain how the land loan, construction loan and progress payments would work. Unfortunately, this was not explained to us properly. When we reached the base stage of construction, we were suddenly put in a position where we had to arrange a $40,000 personal loan to cover the funding shortfall. This was a significant and completely unexpected financial burden. I also specifically called Barry from Befree Finance to discuss why our land loan and construction loan could not be combined, particularly because this was something that had previously been represented to us differently. Rather than properly explaining the situation or working through the issue with us, he completely refused to assist with the matter. I also asked about the offset account, as we will need another offset facility for a future home loan. The response I received was extremely unprofessional and dismissive. Barry responded along the lines of asking whether we had “thousands of dollars” sitting there to offset against the loan. A customer’s financial circumstances should be discussed professionally, and questions about loan features should be answered clearly rather than dismissed in this manner. The communication from Befree Finance was also extremely poor. Emails would go unanswered for extended periods, and we often had to chase information repeatedly. When you are dealing with a construction loan involving hundreds of thousands of dollars, this level of communication is simply unacceptable. Even more concerning was the manner in which we were spoken to when raising questions. On occasions, staff raised their voices and became argumentative, rather than taking the time to explain matters clearly. We were asking legitimate questions about our own finances and construction loan, yet the experience often felt as though we were an inconvenience for asking them. What is particularly frustrating is that we engaged Befree Finance specifically because we expected professional financial guidance through what is already a complicated construction process. Instead, we were left trying to work out important aspects of the loan ourselves and ultimately had to take on a $40,000 personal loan at the base stage. For anyone considering using Befree Finance, I strongly recommend getting every aspect of the construction loan explained clearly and in writing before proceeding — including how the land loan and construction loan will operate, progress payment requirements, potential funding shortfalls, required contributions, offset arrangements and what happens at each stage of construction. Our experience with Befree Finance has left us extremely disappointed, both financially and professionally. A finance company should make the process clearer and easier for its customers, not leave them facing unexpected financial commitments and repeatedly chasing answers.