DEBT COUNSELLING IS PROTECTION DEFINED BY THE NATIONAL CREDIT ACT, 34 of 2005

YOU, THE CONSUMER HAVE THE RIGHT TO USE THIS AVAILABLE SOLUTION  

You can’t pay all your debts every month, you receive calls, SMS’s and E-Mails requesting payment of accounts, you are bothered, reminded or harassed by credit providers, debt collectors and/or collection agents frequently. There are way easier methods to address your problem/s. Various acts intent protecting consumers like you. One of these Acts is the National Credit Act, number 34 of 2005 – in short called the NCA. To put a structured process in place, you may apply for debt counselling relief if you are unable to meet your financial commitments under credit agreements on a monthly basis. After formal application for debt review, the Debt Counsellor must assess if you are over-indebted. The process is as follows:

How to start

Complete the forms that will be sent to you or provide your details to us online. It provides for details of your income, monthly budget and debt commitments. You will need copies of your pay slip, identity document and any account related documents (for example bank statements, monthly account statements and/or any correspondence received from your credit providers).

After receipt of your completed forms

An initial assessment is done to check if you are over-indebted and then a consultation will follow - either “face to face” or telephonically.

The consultation

During the consultation, the Debt Counsellor will verify your budget and your existing debt commitments. A new budget will be agreed upon to determine the amount available for debt repayment. At this stage the Debt Counsellor will also provide you with details of all the costs involved, as well as an interim debt repayment plan. TAKE NOTE - This is the point in time when you officially apply for Debt Counselling.

Following processes

All your Credit Providers as well as the Credit Bureaus will be contacted to verify your debts. The Act requires that your name will be listed at the Credit Bureaus to protect you from incurring any further debts whilst in debt review (note that as explained at the end of this document, a clearance certificate is issued by the debt counsellor when you have repaid your restructured debts). The Debt Counsellor may, where possible, negotiate the proposed debt repayment plan with your Credit Providers.

The order to be made

Where all Credit Providers accept the proposed debt repayment plan, it will be made an order of the court by a Magistrate's Court, referred to as a "Consent Order". However, if one or more of the Credit Providers do not accept the proposed debt repayment plan, the Debt Counsellor will have to submit an application to a Magistrate for a repayment plan order to be made as required by the National Credit Act.

Payment arrangements

You will be provided with a final debt repayment plan, which is also submitted to an approved central payment agency called a Payment Distribution Agent (PDA). The PDA collects a single payment from you and then distributes the correct amounts in accordance with the final debt repayment plan to your Credit Providers monthly.

Your payments to the PDA will continue until all your debts have been paid in full, including any interest and legal fees, where applicable.

At the end of the process a clearance certificate is issued by the debt counsellor after you have repaid all you restructured debts as per court order in full.