Debt Counsellors
Debt counsellors step in to assist people who have incurred too much debt and have trouble servicing it. They try to make alternative arrangements on behalf of the client to enable them to repay their debt. This often means protracted negotiations between the debt counsellor, creditors, banks and credit bureaus.
Client who sign up for debt counselling enter into a debt management programme under a debt counsellor. The National Credit Act of 2007 has made provision for this process. The client can either enter into the process voluntarily. However, a client may be referred to debt counsellors by a retailer or a bank if he or she has already defaulted on repayments.
Debt counsellors will charge a fee to review someone’s debt. The amount may be substantial if the process turns out to be very involved. They may also offer to review one’s debt on an ongoing basis at additional fees. There is no legislation that regulates these fees.
A debt counsellor will have to ascertain whether a client is over-indebted or not. This term refers to a client’s inability to meet their repayment obligations timeously. Debt counsellors also inform all the credit bureaus and all your creditors once you have applied for debt counselling. You will have no further access to credit until all your debts have been repaid under debt counselling.
Debt counsellors must inform the client of all the details regarding the debt management programme. It is important to stress that entering into the programme does not mean that the creditors will cease to pursue the debt. It is also not a repayment holiday. It is merely a restructuring of your debt to enable you to repay it and become debt-free within a fixed time.
Your debt counsellors will then still have to get the debt management plan approved by the National Consumer Tribunal, and get the creditors to agree to it, before it can commence.
Consumer Assist:
- provides consumers with simple, easy to understand information on the debt review process, and
- introduces consumers to experienced Debt Counsellors who have agreed to adhere to the Consumer Assist code of conduct:
- to act in the consumers' best interest
- to comply with NCR fee structure
- to offer service excellence
- to always act with integrity
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 For more information contact our call centre on 0861 21 22 23.
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