South African consumers are being lured into misleading advertising. Debt Center experienced a high inquiry from consumers complaining they paid for services that delivered no results and these companies no longer answer their calls, with no website information.

In this week’s blog Debt Centre, want to shed more light on the debt review removal consumers are inquiring about. Debt Review Exit the New BUZZ that has our phones ringing off the hook. In the light of fraudsters that daily take advantage of desperate consumer’s situation, let us share with you what it exactly entails to get out of Debt Review. Visit our founder page and see read more about our company and the founder. https://www.debtcenter.co.za/the-founders/   

Don’t be scammed and de-graded by fraudsters and debt money scams!

It is alarming to see how many unregistered companies have popped up taking advantage of unaware desperate consumers, offering their services to get out of debt review. These business owners and their agents have no success to remove these consumers from debt review. They only enrich themselves by taking money from their unaware victims under their false pretenses.

We are all facing difficult times in an unstable economy in South Africa, and like many other scams going around, the big demand for consumers that want to exit debt review could be a quick money, opportunity, and a very lucrative business for any dishonest person that is not registered with the NCR (National Credit Regulator).

With so many scams and fraud happening, Debt Centre think it is very important to warn and educate our readers, and the community of our country, for those who want to exit their Debt review status, of the legal steps they need to follow.

Consumers that have come to the rude awakening that they were victims of those unregistered companies, and just another statistic of the seriousness of the problem. They take advantage with their empty promises that they can get the desperate consumers out of Debt Review, which they could not see through, but still manage to cheat the consumers to pay them.

The countless cases the consumer’s complaint calls we receive at our offices for help, telling us about the money they have paid for these Debt Review Exit services, are enough to make any registered debt counselling practitioner sick to the stomach. Consumers are charged from R8000.00 to R12000 and a further R1000.00 on every inquiry they make to follow up on the process. Consumer are desperate and pay these costs, only to find out after they are fed up that the companies are not even genuine but frauds.

Verify your debt counsellor, the NCR made it easy to visit their website and fill in the details of the person you are talking to. https://www.ncr.org.za/register_of_registrants/  

The National Credit Regulator Media release March 2022 is a campaign in good faith to inform and share information to consumers on the exit processes and what the consumer should know about the their status and understanding whether they can exit debt review or not. Pay off debt is not easy, especially when you want to buy a car or make a new loan and want to exit. Debt Review is a debt consolidation program without entering into a new loan agreement. The program is designed for consumers to pay debts off and exit with a clearance certificate when the debt is paid up.

As to “debt review removals”, three judges in the High Court ruled that there are very specific circumstances where consumers may be removed from debt review. This is contained in an official guideline issued by the National Credit Regulator. Read the guideline and see under which status you are and call us to work this through with you and help you with the correct outcome. It can be found here: https://www.ncr.org.za/documents/27%20May%202021-Debt%20Withdrawal%20%20review.pdf

The legal process, and what you should know

No debt counsellor, Magistrates Court or High Court can declare a consumer to be no longer over-indebted. When the consumer has a debt restructuring order the debt must be paid up. Always a good idea to talk to us for advice and guidance.

The good news is that consumers leaves the debt review program every month with a clearance certificate, debt counsellor’s statement verifying the paid up letters, backed up with the verification emails from the creditors these paid up letters were issued by them. The NCR statuses are removed and the information send to the credit bureaus to ensure all parties fulfil their duties in removing the consumers debt review flag.

Want to know more about this process do not hesitate to connect with us.

What you would need to do an indepth debt review exit assessment if you do not have a debt restructuring consent order: 

1. Latest proof of income.
2. Latest bank statement.
3. Copy of your ID document
4. Copy of your budget listing all household expenditure and account payments.
5. Latest proof of address not older than three months.
6. Proof that your account no longer is in arrears.
7. Proof that the contractual payments of the original agreements is up to date.
8. Creditors confirmation that accounts are not in arrears.
9. Proof that your accounts are paid up, with the golden paid up letter as proof.
10. We will Confirm what documents were received by the creditors.

Your credit report:

We access consumer credit reports free of charge when we do the assessments, with a SMS’s verification notification we have accessed your personal information.

Prescribed debt:

Confirming debt prescription with creditors by means of serving the proper documents and consumer mandate, we acquire as a registered debt counselor. Creditors have to provide us with the information and ensure prescribed debt is removed from the credit report. 

Paid up default judgements:

Only the attorneys that obtained the default judgement and listed it on your credit report can remove the judgement from your credit report. It means the judgement was rescinded at the court where it was granted and removed from your credit report.

Please do not pay anyone to do that for you, only talk to the party that loaded the default judgement. There is their cost they charge to remove that listing. You can report the firm to the Legal Council the body that represents attorneys and their law firms.

Debt Collections firms refusal to remove prescribed debt and enforce collection:

Debt Collection companies that are enforcing prescribed debt is illegal and unlawful. You can report them to the Council of Debt Collectors

The ACT of Prescription is clear that no party can collect the debt that has prescribed, it is a criminal offense to do so.

What to do if you did not apply for debt review and find out that you are listed?

Talk to us, we will assist you.

Scammers cannot clear your name, they are not registered with the National Credit Regulator. Always make sure the person you talk to is a Registered Debt Counselor with a valid NCRDC2452 number, a physical business address that you can visit and contact details that  someone actually answers the phone.

Only a registered debt counselor can fulfill the mandate given to us by the National Credit Regulator:

1. Assist the consumer that needs help to reduce debt repayments.
2. Finalize proposals with a new payment plan.
3. Refer the application to the Magistrates Court or the NCT.
4. Can consolidate the debt into a new affordable payment plan.
5. Can bring the dismissal court order when the change of consumer’s circumstances has changed.
6. Show the court the consumer is no longer in arrears with debt payments.
7. Show the consumer can afford the contractual installments.
8. Issue the clearance certificate once paid up letters are issued by creditors.
9. Assist with a debt review removal and deal with special circumstances.

If you believe you should no longer be in debt review, then please have the above documents available should you need them.

1. Are you married, in community of property and are now divorced?
2. Were you sequestrated and rehabilitated and still under debt review?
3. Did your spouse pass away during the COVID pandemic?
4. Are you listed with one debt counsellor and spouse with another debt counsellor?
5. Are you married, in community of property and you are the only party in debt review?
6. Did you apply for debt review, married in community of property and your debt counselor at that time did two separate applications? You each paid a debt counsellor’s fee?
7. Is your debt review application hanging in limbo and you unsure of your status and progress?

If Any of the above, is applicable to your matter, please make contact with us and leave your details on our website, we will connect with you. You may also email us at info@debtcentre.co.za, please use your ID number, name and surname in the subject header.

Visit the website www.debtcenter.co.za, leave us your details in our user friendly contact form, we will call you.

Debt review is a 5 year plan for unsecured debt. Once the unsecured debt is paid up the debt counsellor contact the debt review department to refer the home loan account back to the normal accounts department of the bank and exit the debt review flag from the consumer credit report. The updated NCR status should be F1 debt fully paid up excluding the home loan. Should all your unsecured debt and a vehicle financial be paid up you NCR status will then be F2 – all debts have been settled. You can then re-enter the credit market once your credit score has recovered that takes about 90 days.

Over 1 million consumers have benefited from the debt review program and still are today. Understanding when you can’t pay your creditors every month, then debt review is a saving grace. These consumers embraced the 5 to 7 year program (the date of vehicle finance inception can determine whether the asset can influence the debt review repayment term) to become debt free, realizing making a new loan was not helping their finances at all.

When you have the right team of debt counsellor’s versus education programs and support, consumers value the debt review program as the best thing they could have done in their financially difficult time. Becoming debt free through the debt review program is a true gift of a brilliant piece of legislation to protect the rights of consumers when their money is no longer servicing all their expenses.

In conclusion:

IF your debt counsellor explained to you in detail what debt review truly all entailed and how you would benefit, you would not be seeking help to exit debt review in the first place. Informed consumers are in the program from the start to finish. The NCR is aware of these problems and debt counselors are there to assist consumers and help those that can exit and those who should not be in debt review in the first place. You may request a transfer to another debt counsellor at any time, it is your legal right.

Share this blog with your family and friends, the more people read this article and become aware of their rights.