Debtfree DIGI Magazine - May 2016

South Africa’s debt counselling magazine 

May 2016 

www.debtfreedigi.co.za

What you can expect from Hyphen PDA: 

• Increased Debt Counsellor Profitability 

• Flawless Systems 

• Meaningful Reporting 

• Contented Consumers! 

Chris van der Straaten, 

Head: PDA 

082 557 0437 

Malcom Povey, 

Head: Operations PDA 

082 445 5604 

www.hyp

henpda.co.za 

Don’t expect to hear an endless amount 

of “spin” around why things failed!.

PROFESSIONAL DEBT 

COUNSELLING ATTORNEYS 

TEL: 021 872 1968 

11 MARKET STREET, PAARL 

www.steyncoetzee.co.za

CONTENTS 

NEWS 

YOUR INSURANCE 

MIGHT NOT PAY 

NEW LAWS 

TO PROTECT 

CONSUMERS 

DEBT REVIEW 

AWARDS 

NEW INTEREST 

RATES 

SERVICE 

DIRECTORY

EDITOR’S NOTE 

When travelling down life’s highway, they 

say it is good to stop and take a moment to 

appreciate all the good around you. This is 

because one can quickly become lost in the 

rush of daily life that you don’t enjoy the good 

things around you. There is another saying 

about wood and trees. Basically sometimes 

because of the day to day things we deal with 

we lose sight of the big picture. This can be 

true of those under debt review. Once the 

initial honeymoon period wears off the daily 

drudgery of making ends meet can make us 

lose focus. It is important that if we want to 

make a success of debt review we need to 

celebrate the small victories daily. Food on the 

table, less stress over who is calling, paying off 

a smaller account. A positive attitude helps 

make a success of debt review. 

We have a jam packed issue this month all 

about debt review. We catch up with the 

progress on the annual Debt Review Awards 

which has been underway for a while now. 

Some important questions are answered that 

you may have been wondering about. We also 

look at all the local industry news and consider 

how this will impact on you. 

Did you know that, though you are paying your 

insurance premiums each month, you might 

be in for a nasty surprise when you try claim? 

Be sure to read about a shocking development 

that has unfairly hurt some consumers under 

debt review. 

We catch up with the various Debt Counsellor 

associations and see what everyone has 

been up to and has planned for the next 

few weeks toward the back of the magazine. 

Also in this section is a comprehensive list of 

service providers such as attorneys and Debt 

Counsellors. So, if you need help, be sure to 

check out the service directory section. 

We look at the new maximum rates credit 

providers should now be charging on your 

accounts and how one credit provider 

association tried to stop these from coming into 

effect and why. Another hot topic we touch 

on is something called:” Fee Sharing”. You 

may never have heard of it but it has become 

a pet project of the NCR that is making many 

operations change the way they do business. 

We discuss the recent ruckus over the topic 

and what it means for you. 

Be sure to measure your progress in terms of 

where you would be today if not under debt 

review. Take a moment to enjoy a phone which 

is not always ringing with demands. Breath 

deep and contemplate how your family is able 

to cover your monthly running costs while still 

paying off your debt. Be sure to enjoy the good 

things every day has to offer as you under go 

the debt review process and before you know 

it you will be debt free.

ank on 

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Watch our app videos on capitecbank.co.za 

Visit capitecbank.co.za or one of our 719 branches. 24hr Client Care Centre on 0860 10 20 43. 

All information correct when published, 17/05/2016, and subject to change. 

A registered credit provider. NCR Reg. No.: NCRCP13 Capitec Bank Limited Reg. No.: 1980/003695/06

“ It always seems 

impossible until 

it is done” - Nelson Mandela 

Specialist Attorneys dealing 

with Debt Review matters 

Magistrates Court 

and High Court Matters 

TEL 021 913 2514 FAX 0866070940 EMAIL info@liddles.co.za 

PHYSICAL ADDRESS 7 Chenin Blanc Street, Oude Westhof POSTAL ADDRESS PO Box 3407, tygervalley, 7536

INDUSTRY 

CONSUMER 

NEWS FLASH 

For daily debt counselling news in 3 minutes or less visit www.debtfreedigi.co.za 

PDA REGISTRATIONS 

Over the last few years since the concept 

of Payment Distribution Agencies was first 

introduced with the backing of the National 

Credit Regulator 5 entities operated as PDAs. 

Two of these closed their doors (African Bank 

and CPE). The other 3 (DC Partner, NPDA and 

Hyphen PDA) operated under service level 

agreements with the NCR. This meant they 

had to stick to the requirements of the NCR 

and were regularly audited to make sure they 

met these standards. Some Debt Counsellors 

and consumers however pointed out that 

these firms found no place in the National 

Credit Act, only having been conceptualised 

after the launching of the debt review process. 

The NCR were strong in their advocating of 

PDAs and included requirements for most 

Debt Counsellors to make use of PDAs in 

accepting funds from consumers. Recently the 

NCA was amended and after many years PDAs 

got mentioned. They also had registration 

conditions laid out. Over the last year the 3 

PDAs have been going through the registration 

process and as of May 2016 all 3 are now 

registered with the NCR. For those who had 

issues with PDAs before this will now set their 

mind at rest. They are now firmly part of the 

law and registered with the industry regulator. 

Consumers of course, have the option of 

handling their own distributions but should 

be aware that for most Debt Counsellors they 

are not allowed to accept funds directly from 

consumers and so even if not distributing the 

consumers funds, should be collecting the 

Debt Counsellors monthly after care fees and 

restructuring fee (as per the DCs T&Cs with the 

NCR) from consumers. 

DEBT AMNESTY BANDIED 

AROUND AT PARLIAMENT 

Recently the National Credit Regulator (NCR) 

appeared before the Parliamentary Committee 

for Trade and Industry to discuss the NCR’s role 

and a proposal in regard to how to get the 

poorest most vulnerable South African credit 

users out of debt.. The NCR has been under 

increasing pressure to be seen performing 

their function as their role in the Twin Peaks 

model is coming into focus. Recently Ms Nomsa 

Motshegare (NCR CEO) briefed parliament 

about possible remedies for the huge amount 

of debt consumers have taken on which they 

actually can’t afford to repay. After a look at 

some interesting projects that have been run 

in other parts of the world there was a review 

of the current remedies in South Africa for 

those struggling with debt. At this point the 

NCR called for additional responsibilities and 

powers saying this would help them be more 

effective. A Debt Forgiveness Programme was 

discussed (often around election time there 

has been the carrot dangling of some sort of 

amnesty held out to voters). In particular, this 

discussion looked at debts owed to African

NEWS CONTINUED 

Bank (the new African Bank wants and needs 

consumers to pay back their old debts to help 

keep them afloat), people coming into the 

job market after spending a lot on education 

(student loans) and not being able to get work 

(50% unemployment in this age bracket) , 

Mine workers over committing to debt and 

facing garnishee issues, as well as, those many 

South Africans with no jobs and no income 

who somehow got credit and are now in 

debt. The NCR pointed to current provisions 

such as prescription of debt, the move against 

EAOs (Garnishee Orders) and making it harder 

to get these at court, and Reckless Credit 

investigations by Debt Counsellors. They feel 

that these provisions (along with the Debt 

Review and Sequestration processes) offer 

consumers good options. It was pointed out 

however that the cost of sequestration kept 

it out of the hands of the poor. Debt Review 

applications while high do not represent a 

significant percentage of those consumers 

dealing with debt at present. The meeting 

ended with a decision to do more research into 

the topic which leaves things unresolved but 

manages to continue to dangle the carrot of 

another so called “amnesty” up in the air. 

REPO RATE 

REMAINS THE SAME 

The Reserve Bank have announced that the 

Repo Rate (off which all your other credit 

rates are normally calculated) will remain 

unchanged at 7%. The Repo Rate is the rate 

that the SA Reserve Bank lends money to other 

banks. They in turn add interest to that figure to 

make profit before repaying the SARB. Reserve 

Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago announced 

this month that the rate , which we have been 

warned will be going up at some point over the 

next few months, will remain the same for now. 

Mr Kganyago said that the Monetary Policy 

Committee feel that due to some positive signs 

in the economy that they could halt the climb 

in the rate, for now. They specifically warned 

that this was not the final resting point of the 

rate and that if necessary they will not hesitate 

to increase the rate. In fact, one member of the 

MPC had come out very strong in favour of a 

25 base point increase but the other members 

of the committee had disagreed. There have 

already been two increases in the Repo Rate 

thus far this year. 

MFSA UNABLE TO PREVENT 

NEW MAXIMUM RATES FROM 

COMING INTO EFFECT 

In a bid to protect the interests of their members, 

credit provider association Micro Finance South 

Africa (MFSA) made an urgent application to 

the Courts to prevent the amended maximum 

interest rates which the DTI had published (in 

the Government Gazette) from taking effect 

this month. MFSA have warned that the drastic 

reduction in the maximum allowed rates for 

unsecured credit (which their members offer) 

will have disastrous effect on their members 

profitability and cause many to close shop. this 

they warn will lead to many low income earners 

being unable to access such credit or forcing 

such consumers into the arms of unscrupulous, 

unregistered loan sharks. Though the DTI had 

allowed a period of comments and suggestions 

based on their proposed rate changes MFSA 

felt that their had not been enough research 

and consideration of the financial ramification 

done prior to the new rates coming into effect 

this month. This was why MFSA took the matter

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to the courts, since neither the DTI or NCR were 

prepared to change the new rates or hold off 

on their implementation. The matter was 

heard in May and the ruling given (also after 

just one day – which is speedy). Both MFSA 

(with their 3 expert witnesses) and the DTI 

made their case and the courts found in favour 

of the DTI and allowing the new rate changes 

to go ahead without any delay. The Court, in it’s 

ruling, stated that they were not convinced the 

matter was actually that urgent or exceptional. 

They also mentioned that the DTI had engaged 

in consultation with the industry (and public) 

in regard to the proposed changes. A strong 

point which came to the fore was that after 

consultation the DTI had in fact made some 

changes to their original proposal. Originally 

the DTI wanted to reduce the maximum 

interest rate for unsecured credit by 7.9%. After 

consultation however they reduced that cut to 

5. 65%. Also mentioned was the requirement 

for all people and businesses offering credit to 

be registered with the NCR (which it is hoped 

will allow the NCR to offer further protection to 

consumers). With the court ruling in favour of 

the rates going ahead, MFSA members (and all 

creditors) now have to comply and consumers 

will only be charged according to the new rate 

structure. 

SUMMIT V CAPITEC BANK 

Summit Financial Partners are taking there 

former client Capitec Bank to court over reckless 

lending allegations involving the bank’s 

former multiloan credit products. In court 

papers filed at the Stellenbosch Magistrates 

Court and the Cape Town High Court Summit 

have effectively claimed that Capitec Bank 

were disguising its multiloan credit products, 

which were presented as a series of short term 

payday loans, but they feel were reckless credit 

granting. These loans given over a short term 

attract a (normal) initiation fee. The initiation 

fee is allowed for under the National Credit 

Act and in fact, all banks (and other credit 

providers) charge these fees. Such an initiation 

fee is there, in part, to help creditors cover 

the costs of doing an affordability assessment 

to check the consumer can actually afford to 

repay the loan. Summit CEO Clark Gardner 

claims that the proper checks are only done 

on the first application and that up to 11 

more advances can be granted by simply 

answering 3 simple questions via an ATM with 

no human oversight. They feel this is not up 

to standard and may result in reckless credit 

granting. Reckless Credit is credit granted (1) 

without doing proper checks, (2) not abiding 

by a negative outcome to such affordability 

checks, (3) not providing the consumer with 

enough documentation explaining the T&Cs 

and costs or (4) giving a person credit they 

can’t actually afford. Summit are also of the 

opinion that many consumers are essentially 

getting trapped in a cycle of taking more 

of these Capitec loans to pay Capitec loans, 

though Capitec Bank point to the uptake in 

this product as indicative of where consumers 

in general stand economically and financially 

recently and not as being specific to their 

product. They feel confident in regard to their 

product. 

Summit say they have been aware of this matter 

for some time and have asked the Regulator 

(NCR) to get involved but have been forced to 

take the legal route as they have not had any 

joy from the Regulator. The NCR are indeed 

aware of the claims and say they are speaking 

to the Reserve Bank as the matter involves


a bank though they have not yet indicated 

if they are acting on any investigation into 

the product. For them to do so they require 

a specific complaint. They recently got shot 

down at the NCT for trying to take action 

against a credit provider without a specific 

complaint even though their investigation 

did reveal some irregularities. Since their had 

been no specific complaint the results of the 

investigation were seen as non admissible. The 

NCR have however indicated that the Summit 

application now represents such a complaint, 

which will allow them to take further action. 

Capitec Bank are set to vigorously defend the 

matter. Carl Fischer (Capitec Bank) says: “The 

loan in question is a one-month loan similar to 

what other banks provide and is structured to 

enable easier access for clients. The dispute is 

of a technical nature and the process of credit 

assessment and pricing are in accordance with 

the requirements of the National Credit Act. We 

strongly disagree with the allegations made 

regarding its legality… We believe statements 

and allegations have been made that are not 

correct, due to a technical misunderstanding 

of the product.“ 

GOVERNMENT PLANS TO STOP 

INSURERS PREYING ON POOR 

It is often times amazing to Debt Counsellors 

just how many insurance funeral plans a 

consumer might be paying for each month. In 

many cases insurers are actively targeting those 

of little means in their search for new clients. 

Now government is planning to crack down on 

this practice and offer a different alternative. 

Plans are afoot to prevent insurers from selling 

funeral cover to people on welfare. This will 

mean that no payments towards funeral plans 

could happen from a consumers welfare grant 

or social grant. The government is talking of 

replacing private schemes with a state-run 

funeral plan. This is according to Ms. Bathabile 

Dlamini the Minister for Social Development. 

She recently told parliament that “The absence 

of a funeral benefit has opened our social 

grant beneficiaries to exploitation by privateinsurance 

companies,” and that “The lack of 

government action to protect them has led 

to a very loud outcry by our beneficiaries and 

various civil-society organisations.” 

Big insurance firms have been fighting such 

changes at court since at present there are 

more people on welfare in SA than in the 

employment sector. Recently insurer, Lion of 

Africa won an interdict against a moratorium 

stopping all new deductions from child grants 

though other insurers put it into effect. Around 

17 million people are currently on welfare. 

About 70% of grants are for children. At present, 

the law allows for a single deduction from a 

social grant for a funeral policy ( to a maximum 

of 10 % of the grant) but many report multiple 

deductions being made. This is now set to 

change. Of course, while government would 

be able to monitor these deductions before 

the money is paid over to the beneficiaries 

bank account they would not be able to do so 

afterwards. 

For daily debt counselling news in 3 minutes 

or less visit www.debtfreedigi.co.za

South Africa’s 

leading Debt Counsellors

YOUR INSURANCE 

MIGHT NOT PAY 

BECAUSE OF YOUR 

DEBT REVIEW 

Did you know that you might not get paid out on your 

insurance claim simply because you are under debt review? 

It sounds shocking and discriminatory but it might be true in 

your case. Here is why and what to do about that. 

When a consumer takes out credit (for a vehicle for instance) the creditor requires that they 

carry a type of insurance called credit life insurance. This is insurance which will settle the debt 

should you die before being able to pay off the debt. Obviously you wouldn’t care any more but 

the creditor doesn’t want to be out of pocket just because you ruined everything and went and 

died. The creditor and consumer may also take insurance to cover the loss, damage or theft of 

the vehicle. This is all very logical and sounds like a good idea. 

Most times, when you apply for the credit and are accepted, the creditor will offer you insurance 

right then and there. You do have the right to provide alternative cover yourself through another 

insurer but few people, if any, ever do so. It is much easier to simply sign and accept what they 

offer (even if not at a great rate or anything) so as not to upset them and maybe then somehow 

get turned away. 

The good news is this then means you have cover and in most cases the insurance offered even 

covers you if you lose your income. So that’s also a bonus. You don’t always have to die or have 

your car stolen or damaged to benefit from that type of insurance. The insurance can be claimed 

against and will cover your monthly debt instalments for several months. Of course, most people 

are way too scared to ever tell the creditor they have lost their job and rather keep quiet than 

make use of this provision. Also should you get into an accident or have the car stolen you know 

that your debt will be settled so that you are not paying for a car you can’t drive any more.

Shockingly what many consumers don’t know is that they might be paying toward insurance 

religiously every month only to have their claim later denied because of having entered debt 

review. How can this be? 

Well, some policies require (in one of the clauses in the document you signed with the insurer) 

that if a consumer’s ‘financial situation’ changes they have to inform the insurer. This is because 

when a consumer’s risk profile changes then the insurer likes to change the rates they charge to 

cover those risks. 

Though you may not think of entering debt review as a bad thing (it isn’t. It’s a great way to 

responsibly deal with your debt) some insurers say that this is a significant change in your 

financial situation and they must be informed. Then if you need to claim and have not told them 

of the change they then refuse to pay out. Sadly some consumers have experienced this when 

they have a vehicle accident and the insurer refuses to pay out. This leaves them with no vehicle, 

no additional funds available to sort out the problem and in many cases leaves them unable to 

do work using their vehicle. Unable to work they are unable to service their debt and this creates 

a mountain of problems which their Debt Counsellor is not able to assist them with. 

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO? 

The experts in debt review related insurance Meliorleaf say that not all policies have such a 

clause. You may need to go through (yawn) your policies to try spot this type of clause. If your 

policy has such a clause then you should in writing officially inform the insurer. Be prepared for 

some insurers who don’t understand debt review to then proceed to load your premiums and 

demand more each month. If they do, you may then need to shop around for a better insurer 

and product to replace your current insurer. 

Companies like Meliorleaf (who offer insurance on motor vehicles) offer a service to look over 

your policies to spot such clauses. They can also offer you comparative quotes. Interestingly their 

product not only settles the debt with the credit provider if your car is written off but gets you a 

modest new set of wheels, meaning you don’t end up walking from client to client. Other debt 

review insurance specialists like ONE|SURE can replace your many credit life insurance policies 

which may be costing you a pretty penny with ones that offer better benefits to people under 

debt review, normally at much better rates (they know that consumers under debt review are 

lower risk consumers not higher risk). 

So, rather than face the situation that you need to claim and get turned down for being under 

debt review you have two main choices (1) inform your insurers of your review or (2) replace 

your insurance with cover designed specifically for consumers under debt review which won’t 

repudiate your claim. Debt Counsellors should also discuss this with their clients.

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NEW LAWS TO 

PROTECT CONSUMERS 

There is currently a net of tighter regulation and legislation 

closing around those who are taking advantage of vulnerable 

consumers. Now, while more regulation and more laws are 

not always the best way to attack a situation (as you can get 

swamped in laws that prevent a healthy economy) it definitely 

does assist where gross abuses have been become the industry 

norm. 

The credit industry is one of those industries where consumers can get badly burnt if the 

companies they are dealing with are unscrupulous. thus it is one of the most legislated industries. 

Speak to anyone in the banking sector and they will tell you about the plethora of Acts and 

legislation which impact on them every day. Sometimes credit providers struggle to keep up 

with all the new laws or struggle to adjust their computer systems fast enough (like the recent 

issue with getting their computers to do affordability assessments correctly which lead to the 

DTI delaying the implementation of new requirements). 

Recently government has been making a lot of moves to try protect consumers (who often have 

a low level of financial literacy) from abuse in a variety of areas. They have found that where there 

are already existing laws, these need to be bolstered by further regulation to provide iron clad 

clarity on what the law means. This we are in for a swath of new regulations and amendments to 

various Acts which will . Here are a few of the areas where parliament are focusing and recently 

received feedback at a Trade & Industry Portfolio Committee meeting: 

PRESCRIBED DEBT 

When a credit provider does not make an effort to collect a debt for 3 years (they don’t go to 

court and get a judgment or make a payment plan with the consumer) this debt will most times 

‘die’ or prescribe. This means that the credit provider cannot latter wake up and decide they 

want the money. They also cannot sell that debt to someone else for them to go and collect. 

The sale of debt to attorneys is an age old practice and these attorneys or collections firms will 

often try their luck and try to get consumers to pay for really old debts. This was despite the law

(the Prescription Act) which says this cannot happen. Well in the old wording of the Act it said 

consumers did not have to pay. This has now changed for the better. In the old wording of the 

Act it was possible to get people to pay money toward an old debt. Doing so didn’t make the 

debt alive again or make it so the person had to pay but if you were persuasive you could get 

people to give you some funds. Often this was done with threats (which couldn’t actually be 

acted on). This lead to a big change when the National Credit Act (NCA) came into effect and was 

amended. It is now illegal to try collect a prescribed debt. It is also illegal to sell a prescribed debt 

to someone else for them to try collect on. At present the Justice Department (working with the 

DTI) is preparing an amendment to the Prescription Act wording so that it will be clear in that 

Act that the collection and sale of prescribed debt is banned. In the past 3 years the number of 

matters being referred to the National Consumer Tribunal in regard to reckless credit (and other 

matters) has quadrupled. This also relates to their taking on more responsibilities (particularly in 

regard to reckless credit) when the NCA was amended. Recently the NCT have been making a 

huge effort to catch up with it’s workload while dealing with being drastically understaffed for 

the workload they are empowered to do. In fact, Parliament has been giving the NCR a hard time 

about matters they referred to the NCT since no big rulings and fines have been forthcoming 

recently. When pressured about it the NCR sort of threw the NCT under the bus and blamed their 

backlog. The NCT have set up special motion courts across the country to assist Debt Counsellors 

get their cases up to date and have had great success doing so. 

EAO’S (“GARNISHEE ORDERS”) 

Garnishee orders became a swear word after Marikana and the violence that erupted there 

between cops and unhappy mine workers. Many of the workers on the mines had committed 

all their income and in some cases more than they earned to debt. When they didn’t repay that 

debt, credit providers went to court and got EAO’s or Garnishee orders against their salaries. This 

left many working all month and taking no funds home or able to send to their family elsewhere 

in the country. In the media coverage that followed it soon became obvious that little or no 

consideration was been given to how much was deducted from peoples salaries when EAOs 

were granted. In fact it became clear that most courts were just rubber stamping whatever 

Garnishee order came their way. It also became evident that some courts granted a lot of orders 

for people working on the other side of the country [ see below]. Now a draft Courts of Laws 

Amendment bill had been approved by cabinet, which will ask that magistrates (not clerks of 

the court) check to see if a proper affordability assessment was done before credit was granted 

(in any case where a credit provider wants an EAO). The court will also check to see how much 

the consumer can actually afford and not just grant whatever amount is asked for. This does 

seem to indicate that governments idea is to make EAOs harder to get but not to throw them 

out entirely as some had feared/hoped. At present courts across the country have placed a real 

stranglehold on EAO granting in the wave of negative public opinion about so called “Garnishee 

Orders“. Statistics show that judgments regarding debt have recently fallen by about 11.2% in 

recent months and there has been a 13% decrease in the number of summonses being issued.

JURISDICTION 

The other issue of courts across the country hearing matters where consumers are unable to 

go and defend themselves or later go have the order amended is also being tackled. Acting 

deputy director-general for Trade and Industry MacDonald Netshitenzhe. says that this abuse 

where creditors have been getting consumers to unwittingly give consent for their credit 

agreements to fall under a jurisdiction far from where they lived is going to be changed and 

there is once again draft legislation in this regard. 

CREDIT LIFE INSURANCE 

Another area which has received a lot of media attention and subsequent regulator attention 

has been the area of credit life insurance. This is insurance that consumers are required to take 

in case of their death. in such a case while they can no longer pay for their credit the insurance 

will cover the outstanding debt. Such credit life policies are offered mostly in-house by credit 

providers who quickly realised this was a cash cow they could milk with high premiums. In some 

cases research has shown that a credit provider might make 1/3rd of all their income through 

insurance offerings on credit products they offer. These policies often have many benefits such 

as paying your installment for a number of months if you lose your job etc. It has been shown 

though that consumers seldom know about or use the benefits offered by these policies despite 

the incredibly high premiums. According to Department of Trade and Industry director for credit 

law and policy Siphamandla Kumkani some credit providers have even charged as much as 50 

for every R1000 of credit. This is way too high when companies such as ONE|SURE are able to 

charge 1/10th of the price and offer similar or better benefits (to consumers under debt review). 

Now new regulations are to be submitted to Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan which will limit 

how much people can charge for this type of insurance. This could now be somewhere between 

R2 and R4.50 per R1 000 of credit. This may seem like a very unfair reduction (and there is push 

back on this issue , of course) however it is a direct result of overcharging and abuses in this field 

that have lead to the lash back by government. It looks like creditors are going to have to look 

elsewhere for their profits. 

POSITIVE CHANGES 

These new laws and regulations will come into effect over the next while and will once again 

change the playing field for credit providers who continue to struggle to keep up and still 

remain profitable. That said, these institutions have the means to try keep up as opposed to 

many troubled consumers. It is hoped that these new laws will reduce the rampant abuses by 

unscrupulous creditors some against consumers with limited financial savvy.

MAXIMUM 

INTEREST RATES 

AS OF MAY 2016 

Credit Providers lend money to consumers and charge them 

interest on that money over time. This allows them to make a 

profit and in turn to lend money to other consumers. 

MAXIMUM - THE NORM 

Though creditors do not have to push clients to pay the maximum allowable, they mostly all do 

so in an effort to maximize their profits. Seldom are everyday South African consumers able to 

effectively ‘shop around’ with creditors cutting their rates to draw in new clients. This phase of 

marketing may come in the future, when credit provider competition for clientele increases due 

to a reduced number of new consumers able to afford credit (due to more stringent affordability 

assessment requirements and less younger consumers able to enter the credit market due not 

being employed). For the present however it is almost an industry norm to max out the interest 

rates regardless of the consumers debt repayment history. 

A while ago Micro Finance South Africa took the NCR to court (twice) in order to get them 

and the DTI to review the monthly service fees that creditors can charge (it was R50 Plus VAT / 

month). This prompted the NCR and DTI into researching and releasing draft regulations about 

new maximum allowable interest rates.

Though the proposal allowed for creditors to now charge and extra R10 a month for their 

service fees it did propose slashing the maximum allowable rates for unsecured credit (which is 

what MFSA’s clients all use). After consultation the new maximum rates were published in the 

government gazette and were due to come into effect in May 2016. As a result of the big cut 

to the maximum rates allowed on unsecured credit MFSA tried to go to court to stop the rates 

from becoming a reality. They fought and lost. With the failure of MFSA to get the courts to hold 

off on the implementation of the new changes to the maximum amount of interest that credit 

providers can charge, the industry needs to be aware of the changes and use them in their 

calculations. Consumers can also check their monthly statements from creditors to make sure 

they are not being over charged. 

NEW RATES IN EFFECT 

Not only the end figures changed but the entire way the maximums are calculated has been 

altered in an effort, in part, to make things simpler for consumers to work out and understand. 

Though many of the figures may initially seem similar (not the unsecured credit though, that 

has taken quite a knock) the new maximum interest rates which credit providers can charge 

are now being calculated slightly differently from before. In the calculations below RR stands 

for Repo Rate. The Repo Rate is currently sitting at 7% (no change in May 2016) and it looks set 

to climb in the future as economic pressures continue to mount. 

Type of Credit Agreement 

Mortgage agreements 

Credit facilities 

Unsecured Credit transactions 

Developmental Credit agreements (i.e. small 

business, low income housing) 

Short-term Loans (6 months or less) 

All Other credit agreements 

Incidental credit agreements 

(where it was not originally planned that the 

client wouldn’t pay for everything in one go 

but ends up paying back over time and having 

some interest charged) 

Maximum Allowed Interest Rates 

RR + 12% per year 




5% per month on the first loan and 3% per 

month on subsequent loans within a calendar 

year. 

Since these loans must not go longer than 

6 months it has a effective rate (1st loan) of 

30% 


2% per month 

(basically this has an effective maximum interest 

rate of 24%)

Though the credit industry and regulators for a long time denied any type of unsecured credit 

‘bubble’ there has been a big move in these new calculations to reduce the profitability of this 

section of the market. This may follow after seeing the crisis experienced by such organisations 

as the former African Bank (not to be confused with the current African Bank) where consumers 

defaulted in mass on short term credit. Combined with stricter affordability assessment 

requirements the unsecured credit market is undergoing large changes and is no longer the 

cash cow it was once seen as. Another significant change is also with regard to short term loans 

(such as pay day loans) which see a reduction in maximum rates for follow up loans with in a 

short time period. The first loan may be at 5% but follow up loans (which are very common) will 

be at 3%/month. It is hoped this will protect consumers from becoming trapped in a cycle of 

loans to pay loans. 

R10s WORTH OF TROUBLE BREWING 

The new rates are in effect and Debt Counsellors, Credit Providers and consumers need to 

take these into account. One area of concern which has come up in, in regard to end balance 

differences which may arise from accounts already loaded onto debt restructuring software 

systems through the PDAs (at R50/month) vs credit provider systems that will now be using R60/ 

month going forward. Since Debt Counsellors are probably not able to ask their clients to find 

an additional R10 per month, per account to add to their debt repayments, this means that the 

PDA statement and calculation systems will slowly be opening a gap by R10 plus interest every 

month on every account when compared to the creditors systems... which in the long term will 

lead to a large end balance difference problems.

ACCOUNTING | TAX | AUDIT | CONSULTING 

telephone 079 888 7200 

email info@bkfaccountants.co.za 

www.bkfaccountants.co.za

CONSTITUTIONAL 

COURT RULING ON 

SECT 129(3) STILL TO 

BE FULLY ADOPTED 

The Constitutional Court very recently ruled on the matter of 

whether a Judgment and warrant against a consumer’s asset 

meant that the consumer was not able to revive the credit 

agreement by paying up arrears before the asset was sold. 

The particular case involved Ms Nkata who missed a bunch of 

payments on her bond and First Rand Bank. Ms Nkata was slow 

about responding to the banks Section 129 letter demanding 

that she catch up payments on the account. She only did so 

once the bank had already got a judgment against her and 

were planning to sell of the house on auction.

With the help of SERI (Social-Economic Rights Institute) Ms Nkata was able to argue the matter 

at Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court ruling showed that consumers can’t realistically 

be expected to know the legal costs before being informed of them by creditors and thus can’t 

be expected to pay these before the account is revived. This makes sense as the credit provider 

normally will only inform consumers of these costs much later. Credit providers have access to 

the account balance daily and can see when a catch up payments on arrears is made. These were 

some of the reasons why the ruling went in the favour of Ms Nkata. This case shows that a judgment 

is not executed when a ‘warrant of execution’ is issued but only once an asset is actually sold. 

It also makes clear that this process of reviving the account cannot be denied or opposed by a 

credit provider simply because they do not want it to and that it happens automatically as long 

as the actual sale has not occurred. 

For credit providers who are making insurance claims in regard to assets they have judgments 

against (but have not yet sold) this may prove to be a real spanner in the works should they claim 

too early and the account be reinstated. In such a case they would have to recompense the 

consumer or get them their vehicle back (which would prove very tricky and costly) never mind 

the whole backend insurance story which they would have to sort out. 

“OUR HANDS ARE TIED” 

Though this is a huge victory for consumers and gives clarity on the NCA Section 129 process, 

consumers who are in a similar position to Ms Nkata and who have now been pointing credit 

providers to this new judgment have been finding that some credit providers (and their 

attorneys) are not happy to abide by the new ruling. This is probably as it effects who gets paid 

what. It may also simply be that the ruling is so new that many have not heard about it or had 

their mandates from their clients adjusted to allow for this new clarification of the law. Some 

credit providers (collection agents) have predictably been telling consumers that their hands 

are tied as the judgment has been granted despite the clear ruling in this case. It seems that for 

a while consumers might have to follow Ms Nkata’s example and fight in court for their rights in 

this regard. In such cases they can rely on this important legal precedent in their court papers.

3 

DEBT 

REVIEW 

AWARDS

UPDATE 

The Annual Debt Review Awards process is underway. This 

year a peer review process is being used. This means that Debt 

Counsellors across the country are getting to help share their 

experiences with various credit providers and indicate their 

strengths and weaknesses (of their debt review process). At the 

same time Credit Providers are getting to do the same about Debt 

Counsellors. 

The peer review is being done online making it easy for all 

to participate no matter where they are in the country. Once 

registrants sign up and have their email address and NCR register 

numbers confirmed they begin to get links to the various 

categories of the peer review. Registrants have been signing up 

at www.debtreviewawards.co.za the official Debt Review Awards 

website or via invitation from their associations. 

COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS: 

Who can Participate? 

All NCR registrants can participate. So, if you don’t have your NCRDC or CP number yet…sorry. 

You will have to wait for next year. At this time the public (customers) will not get to vote for their 

favourite service providers. That process (The People’s Choice) is a separate event that will occur 

at a different time of the year. 

Can more than one Debt Counsellor within a firm participate? 

Yes, all NCR register Debt Counsellors can participate no matter where they work. Each Debt 

Counsellors personal experience is valuable and will help contribute to the overall results. 

While Credit Providers are registered as an company and thus each credit providers debt 

review department will only get a single chance to participate, Debt Counsellors are registered 

individually and thus all get a chance to participate.

Will that mean that individual Debt Counsellors at a firm might be considered (by the credit 

providers) rather than the firm or brand? 

No, Credit Providers will be looking at debt counselling firms as a whole rather than specific team 

members. That is just easier for them to track and comment on. Often times debt Counsellors 

move from firm to firm during the year as they take on employment with new companies. So, 

larger DC firms who have multiple DCs do not have to worry about that. In many cases where 

a Debt Counsellor runs a boutique smaller operation this will effectively mean that the credit 

providers are rating them as the only DC and their firm at the same time. 

Some DCs ask: Will my smaller, personalised operation be compared to the biggest debt 

counselling firms taking on hundreds of clients each month? 

No, Debt Counsellors are considered in 3 size categories: Boutique, Large and National. This 

allows those of similar size and capacity to be compared to one another and results in a more 

fair evaluation of each part of the industry. 

If you have not yet signed up and have not yet be part of the peer review we urge you to do so. 

Help reward those firms who are performing well with good ratings. The Debt Review Awards 

is all about recognising the hard work of role players in the industry in making debt review a 

success. Have your say. 

The results of the Peer Review Process will be announced at the Debt Review Awards Gala in Cape 

Town on the 25th of June 2016. You can also check online on social media for live updates from 

the event. Debtfree Magazine will also run a round up special edition in regard to the awards and 

what happened there. 

WWW.DEBTREVIEWAWARDS.CO.ZA

DEBT COUNSELLING 

COMMUNITY SUPPORT 

DCCS are currently busy with the Winter Warmer project and are currently in need of the 

following: 

1. Warm Cloths -Money contribution or Voucher 

2. Blankets - Money contribution or Voucher 

3. Food - Money contribution or Voucher 

4. Toiletries - Money contribution or Voucher 

DEBT COUNSELLING 

COMMUNITY SUPPORT 

The reason why money or a voucher is better/easier is that the families that DCCS are helping, 

are all over South Africa. 

How a deserving family is chosen: 

· Any debt counsellor (or credit provider) who wants to get involved in this project will 

nominate a vulnerable debt review family that really needs a hamper and let DCCS know 

about the consumers situation. DCCS will then do everything they can to make sure the family 

receives the Winter Warmer Hamper. 

Why? 

· For many DCs times are tough and budgets are tight as we all know but some of these 

families really need our help and without it could fall out of the process back into dire financial 

ruin. Our small donations can make a world of a difference to an entire family. 

It only takes ONE default to derail the client from the process and it can take ONE 

hamper to make all the difference 

If you want to help or get involved in this project, you can contact: admin@dccsupport.co.za

IN A NUTSHELL 

COLLECTION METHODS 

CAN MAKE OR BREAK 

YOUR BUSINESS

According to the recent amendments by the Department of 

Trade and Industry (DTI) and the National Credit Regulator 

(NCR), debt counselling payments now need to be distributed 

within a 5-day limit. 

This ruling directly impacts the collection success rates in the industry, particularly for debt 

counselling firms and Payment Distribution Agencies (PDAs) who have a large number of 

consumers paying via debit order. Authenticated Early Debit Orders (AEDO) have proven to 

have the highest success rate of all debit order types. Not only are AEDO payments prioritised 

but the payment instruction is authenticated using the Payers Bank card and PIN. The cost of 

AEDO transactions is normally in the region of R25 to R30. Given that PDA fees are now capped 

between R5-R15 depending on the repayment amounts, this is not a viable collection method. 

Ordinary debit orders and Non-Authenticated Early Debit Orders (NAEDO) are comparatively 

cheaper however their biggest weakness as a collection method is that consumers have the 

option to dispute them. 

Given the 5-day limit for PDAs to distribute debt review payments, the impact of fraud and 

the ability for consumers to dispute debit orders places the debt review industry at risk from 

potential reversals. 

According to an article in Fin24, 20, Nov 2015 on Debit Order Fraud, Walter Volker CEO of the 

Payments Association of South Africa (PASA), confirmed that South African banks collectively 

process about 56 million debit orders a month. However, about 800 000 debits are disputed 

every month at an inter-bank level. 

Volker elaborates that total disputes at an inter-bank level are currently around 0.5% for debit 

orders, close to 200 000 per month; and around 4% to 6% for early debit orders at 600 000 per 

month. 

The National Payments Distribution Agency (NPDA) has found that debit orders reversals are at 

their highest within the first 5 to 7 days, with a 2.95% and 1.9% reversal rate respectively. After 

14 days the reversal percentage drops to 0.94%. 

It is critical for debt counsellors and PDAs to use the most reliable collection methods to sustain 

the long-term viability and growth of their business. Salary deductions and stop orders are by far 

the best collection methods for debt repayments.

It is possible to move existing consumers on debit orders to stop orders successfully. An NPDA 

medium sized debt counselling client recently converted over 80% of their consumers on debit 

orders to stop orders. According to the NPDA stop orders have a 92% collection rate. 

It is key that debt counsellors pay attention to sustainable collection mechanisms. For example, 

a debt counsellor that signs up five new clients per month, will at the end of 12 months, provided 

there has been no churn, increase his or her business revenue by 50% with no additional work. 

The DCM Partnership Programmes introduced in conjunction with the NPDA supports Debt 

Counsellors by providing the right mix of tools that address key business drivers, such as the 

conversion rate of new clients, and the access to proven collection methods. The NPDA through 

its association with Debt Control Management (DCM) can offer salary deductions to close to 500 

000 employees. 

By using proven collection methods, like salary deductions and stop orders, debt counsellors 

can lower their risk of payment repudiation while maximising their revenue potential with no 

additional cost or effort. 

IN A NUTSHELL is brought you by the DCM Business Partnership Programme, designed to 

support debt counsellors and consumers during the debt review process, in collaboration with 

the National Payment Distribution Agency (NPDA). For help, contact the NPDA on 0861 628 628. 

If you have suggestions for topics that you would like covered in future, please email info@dcmgroup.co.za 

The NPDA was recognised as the industry winner for PAYMENT DISTRIBUTION and Care Premier as the industry 

winner for DEBT COUNSELLING SOFTWARE at the Debt Review Awards 2015.

CAPE LAW SOCIETY 

LEAD CHARGE 

AGAINST FEE SHARING 

The debt counselling process is a professional service which is 

offered to consumers for modest professional fees. In addition 

to the fees that Debt Counsellors are entitled to, the process 

also goes to court and so consumers now cover legal fees for 

their applications. These legal fees are meant to cover the cost 

of having attorneys fight for consumers, in regard to their debt 

review.

LEGAL FEES 

The industry ‘norm’ for fees and how fees are taken is built, in part, off old DCASA guidelines and 

more recently, the NCR’s approved task team guideline. The guideline says that in the second 

month of a person’s debt review, some unspecified amount of money is taken toward legal 

fees. The DTI and NCR have never said how much this fee can be, as this would fall outside the 

ambits of the NCA. The legal fraternity don’t like outsiders dictating what they can charge for 

their services. 

At present there is also no actual clarity on what exactly the “legal fee” covers. This is in part 

because they are not mentioned in the NCA. We simply know these fees exist and that the NCR 

approve of such a fee. Does the fee cover only the drafting of papers and debt restructuring 

application to court or the NCT? Does the fee cover any rescission of debt restructuring court order 

or a battle over possible reckless credit? Does this fee cover possible defence of legal action by 

creditors who try to circumvent the debt review process or take legal action after “terminating”? 

The answers are unclear. In many cases the Debt Counsellor themselves may not know what 

exactly the legal fee will be allocated towards, never mind the consumer. Thus the entire subject 

is one that often is glossed over with consumers to avoid stressing or confusing them. 

The matter is legitimately quite convoluted. As you can imagine, different attorneys charge 

different rates and some debt restructuring matters are easier to sort out than others. Some debt 

review matters are sorted out in a single appearance at court because all the creditors are happy, 

while others require 10 or more appearances, sometimes over years. Some matters are handled 

by a single firm of attorneys and others through correspondent attorneys across the country. 

These are just some of the reasons why it is very difficult to know, in advance, what the costs will 

be. Rather many Debt Counsellors tell the consumer that these will be the rough costs and that 

a fee will be taken from the second payment toward the estimated costs. 

A matter which has however come to the fore, of late, is that of sharing the legal fees or ‘fee 

sharing”. This has been discussed at NCR workshops and online in some detail. 

FEE SHARING - WHAT IS IT? 

Fee sharing is when two parties (eg. the Debt Counsellor and Attorney) share the legal fee that 

has been paid. Law Societies are very vigilant in making sure that people who are not admitted 

attorneys or Advocates don’t charge ‘legal fees’. This helps protect consumers, as well as their 

members. 

Are their concerns over fee sharing unwarranted? Hardly. It seems that some Debt Counsellors 

have been regularly taking a big amount for legal fees from the consumer (paid over to the 

attorneys) and then they are getting some funds back from the attorney on every single matter. 

They then keep all these funds for themselves. This is the case even if the matter is sorted out

with little court work or few appearances. The reasoning is that they ( the Debt Counsellor) are 

doing a lot of the legal work. Since the Debt Counsellor is the applicant in a debt restructuring 

court application it is perfectly legitimate for them to draft the papers. Charging for this service 

however is another story. In many cases the Debt Counselling firm also arrange (at their own 

expense) for the consumer to receive and sign the needed court papers. They feel the need to 

cover these costs in time and expense and thus ask for a portion of the legal fee. 

It has been said that some firms have come to see this fee some sort of “second payment” 

from the consumer and have been relying on this as additional income to run their business. 

Admittedly there is little profit in running a debt counselling business based on the current fee 

structure. There have been some cases where consumers are asked to pay much more than is 

actually required to get their court papers drawn up and their debt restructuring court order 

granted. Many firms take the maximum of whatever they can get in the second month or even 

charge consumers for more than a month. 

Where consumers matters are referred to the NCT (which cost a lot less and where the NCR has 

told Debt Counsellors what can be charged including a ‘legal fee’) consumers are not being 

‘refunded’ the excess amount paid in legal fees. 

OFFSET -WHAT IS IT? 

Many Debt Counselling firms pool the funds coming from all their clients into a big pile and use 

whatever portion of the funds are required for legal work at any particular time. They do not 

specifically allocate funds from one consumer for that same consumer only. This means that in 

some cases where a legal matter goes quickly and costs little the excess funds get used toward 

another consumers long hard fight for a court order or defence of additional legal action from a 

credit provider. Thus the surplus of one off sets the deficit of another. 

Recently the Cape Law Society has been alerted to this practice which they feel their members 

cannot be part of. They say that some of their members have not been given work by Debt 

Counsellors if they will not pay part of the legal fee back to the debt counselling firm. They 

are now leading the charge against this practice and have been warning members not to get 

involved in such matters. They sent out correspondence to members saying such. 

Reference is made to the disastrous presentation made at the NCR’s W Cape Workshop in regard 

to this topic. At the workshop, the Cape Law Society representatives were very passionate and 

even threatening in their presentation, warning all not to get involved in such a practice or face 

their wrath. 

Part of the problem is that attorneys do not offer consumers contracts, as required by the 

Consumer Protection Act. They seem to feel entirely above the CPA. Such contracts would

clearly indicate what the estimated costs will be and what services will and won’t be covered by 

the consumers payments. The lack of such contracts means that Attorneys can just add, remove 

or adjust services and fees as they go along with little accountability. Attorneys offer neither 

contracts to the consumer or the Debt Counsellor. This leaves a lot up in the air and perpetuates 

the problem. 

NCR FINALLY REVIEWING FEES 

For many years debt counselling associations have been calling on the NCR to review the old 

and outdated fee structure. The process now has many features never imagined before, costs 

have increased due to inflation and the process is a lot more complicated at the back end than 

was ever imagined. Finally, after a false start last year, the NCR have called for a tender for a 

service provider to review the entire debt review fee structure. This follows after some credit 

providers legal representatives recently argued in court that a Debt Counsellor had charged 

fees (not based on any law or regulation) which had caused the consumers accounts to go into 

default. The Debt Counsellor argued that the NCR had issued guidelines on the subject. This did 

not move the court which was only interested in the law and regulations. Seeing as there are no 

laws or regulations about fees in the NCA*, the court ruled for the credit providers and made 

the Debt Counsellor (not consumer or NCR) pay a crippling amount in legal fees for all parties. It 

was a huge blow against the NCR’s issued non-binding opinion guidelines. This case (and others) 

highlights the need for something official. 

Whether such a new fee structure will carry any legal weight and be released as regulation or 

whether these fees will mention the legal side of things remains to be seen. What is clear is that 

Attorneys don’t work for fee and this needs to be addressed. Will the fee review bring about the 

hoped for increase in the amount Debt Counsellors can charge for the various services they offer? 

You may think this would obviously happen. Research (for instance by DCASA) shows that the 

process is now almost twice as time consuming as when the previous fee guideline was worked 

out years ago. Other parts of the industry however have hoped for the same only to meet with 

disappointment. Some have seen rates they can charge slashed, caps placed on fees that were 

previously allowed come in and businesses driven into unprofitability by unrealistic timeline 

requirements. The industry now holds it breath waiting to see what will and won’t be included. 

It is likely however that since the Cape Law Society and NCR have been working together on this 

matter that fee sharing may somehow get a mention. 

* there were other factors involved in the decision to make the DC pay the legal costs but this was one of them.

DEBT COUNSELLORS ASSOCIATIONS 

ANNOUNCEMENT BOARD 

UPCOMING REGIONAL MEETING DATES: 

FREE STATE Friday 1 July 2016 

KZN Friday 26 August 2016 

WESTERN CAPE Tuesday 26th July 2016 

GAUTENG Wednesday 26th October 

DCASA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 

The Annual Conference will be held in Gauteng on 

the 17th of August 

Securitisation continues with the blessing 

of the courts 

http://www.acts.co.za/news/blog/2016/03/ 

securitisation-and-debt-markets-an-industry-of-liesand-deception 

www.dcasa.co.za 

www.newera.org.za 

At our recent AGM, in KZN, our new NEC was elected. We 

wish them all the best for the coming year. 

President: Keystone Sono 

Deputy President: Nitesh Mohanlal 

Secretary General: Ettienne Human 

Deputy Secretary General: Musa Mlangeni 

Treasurer: Romie Govender 

Deputy Treasurer: Marilyn Williams 

Gauteng Chairperson: Portia Rangongo 

Western Cape Chairperson: Kim Armfiled 

KZN Chairperson: Edwin Dunn 

Head of Fundraising: Ron Ries 

Coordinator: Octavia Hlatshwayo 

Administrator: Thandiwe Dlamini 

www.bdcf.co.za 

We wish our members all the best in the Debt 

Review Awards process which is currently underway. 

The NCR is beginning a fee structure review. Join 

our discussion on this topic on our members only 

Facebook page. 

www.allprodc.org

APRIL 

NEWSLETTER 

DEBT REVIEW FEE REVIEW 

The National Credit Regulator has put out to tender for a service provider to review the current 

debt counselling fee structure. At present there is no mention in the NCA or Regulations what 

Debt Counsellors can charge other than R50. This is causing big problems in the industry and is 

negatively impacting on some of our members who have even had costs orders issued against 

them when following the NCR’s guidelines on this matter. We urge our members to discuss 

this matter on our members Facebook page. Please let us know what services you are offering 

consumers, how new aspects of the process are impacting on you, how many hours does it 

take to do the various debt review functions for each consumer and what you think should be 

charged for these services. We would like to be ready to share this information with the NCR’s 

service provider when they begin the process. The more information we can give them the 

better. We are of the opinion that there is a big misconception among some that the process 

is easy, fast and not costly for the Debt Counsellor. Somehow some people think that we are 

making big profits off financially troubled consumers. Obviously this is not the case and we 

need to provide information on this topic to clearly show this to the Regulator. Please log in and 

join the conversation. We need to urge the NCR and DTI to publish these adjusted fees in the 

government gazette so as to protect Debt Counsellors. 

DCRS AND PDA FEES 

Members should be aware that with the PDAs now being registered the allowed PDA fee structure 

has changed. At present it does not seem as if DCRS is allowing for this change and this effects 

proposals and repayment plans. For those members who use the system please take note. 

MONTHLY ACCOUNT SERVICE FEES 

Members should also be aware that the new increase in the maximum allowed monthly service 

fees (Credit Providers can charge less if they want or keep the fees the same as they have been) 

may now be applied to our clients “non debt review adjusted” statements. These fees might 

also be applied to those consumers under debt review where credit providers refuse to remove 

service fees. This will then mean that an additional R10 is working it’s way onto the consumers 

statement and interest calculations each month. This is going to start to snowball and will cause 

additional end balance difference issues. 

DEBT REVIEW AWARDS 

We wish all our members the best in the current Debt Review Awards Peer Review 

process. Members are reminded they can sign up to participate in the peer review at www. 

debtreviewawards.co.za 

www.allprodc.org 

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/AllProDC / TWITTER: www.twitter.com/AllProDC

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Tel: 021 007 1688 

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Credit Matters 

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Tel: 086 111 6197 

Fax: 021 425 6292 

info@creditmatters.co.za 

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to Financial Freedom 

Tania Dekker 

Tel: 011 849 3654 / 7659 

www.armanigroup.co.za 

Dynamix Debt Counselling TLC 

Alida Christie NCRDC2324 

Office 1, 34 Beefwoodstreet, 

Vanderbijlpark, 1911 

Tel: 079 520 4369 

Tel: 016 100 8020 

tlcdebt@mweb.co.za

Specialist Debt Management Centre 

Beverley Ludick, NCRDC948 

Pretoria 

Tel: 012 377-3557 

Email: obligco@gmail.com 

Email: dc@obligco.co.za 

www.obligco.co.za Tel: 0861 123 644 

Email: info@debtrescue.co.za 

Creators In Financial Wellbeing 

NCRDC677 

You Are Not Alone 

We’ll handle your creditors so you 

don’t have to! 

1 Dingler Street, Rynfield, Benoni 

0861 10 11 00 

info@debtmend.co.za 

www.debtmend.co.za 

NCRDC197 

Tel: 011 660 9970 

Fax: 086 540 5017 

KRUGERSDORP 

e-mail: nicky@nvdmdc.co.za 

www.nvdmdc.co.za 

All Debt Solutions 

Fast tracking your financial freedom 

Tel: 0861 255 3328 / 021-557 9981 

Email: info@allds.co.za 

www.alldebtsolutions.co.za 

https://www.facebook.com/ 

alldebtsolutions



Tel: 021 007 1688 







Cape Town 

Tel: 086 111 6197 

Fax: 021 425 6292 


KWAZULU- 

NATAL 

Tel: 0861 123 644 

Email: info@debtrescue.co.za



Tel: 021 007 1688 







Cape Town 

Tel: 086 111 6197 

Fax: 021 425 6292 


FREE STATE 

Tel: 0861 123 644 




Tel: 021 007 1688 







Cape Town 

Tel: 086 111 6197 

Fax: 021 425 6292 


LIMPOPO 

SMS Salary Management Services 

Annerien de Jager 

Registered Debt Counsellor 

NCRDC0075 

015 307 2772 

info@smslimpopo.co.za 

Tel: 0861 123 644 




Tel: 021 007 1688 


Tel: 0861 123 644 

Email: info@debtrescue.co.za 

MPUMALANGA 






Cape Town 

Tel: 086 111 6197 

Fax: 021 425 6292 

info@creditmatters.co.za



Tel: 021 007 1688 







Cape Town 

Tel: 086 111 6197 

Fax: 021 425 6292 


NORTH WEST 

Tel: 0861 123 644 




Tel: 021 007 1688 







Cape Town 

Tel: 086 111 6197 

Fax: 021 425 6292 


NORTHERN CAPE 

Tel: 0861 123 644 




Tel: 021 007 1688 







Cape Town 

Tel: 086 111 6197 

Fax: 021 425 6292 


EASTERN CAPE 

Debt Counselling Group SA 

Affordable Assistance with offices across 

the EASTERN CAPE. 

Casper Francois le Grange 

NCRDC 1560 / CALL: 086 100 1047 

Offices: 

East London: Shop 7, New Colonnade 

Building, Devereux Av, Vincent 

Port Elizabeth: Room 302, Pier 14, 444 

Goven Mbeki Av, North End 

Queenstown: Office 107, Nedbank 

Building, 89 Cathcart Road 

King Williams Town: Office 4, 49 Eales 

Street 

E-mail: help@dcgsa.co.za 

www.dcgsa.co.za 

www.facebook.com/dcg.southafrica 

Tel: 0861 123 644 


DON’T WORK WITH AN OUT 

DATED VERSION OF THE ACT 

UPDATED 

2015 

We are happy to announce that the Amended National Credit Act booklet 

is now available via our shop. 

Get the latest version for only R250.00 

ORDER NOW 

http://debtfreedigi.co.za/product/pocket-sized-national-credit-act-booklet/

WEBSITE | www.debt-therapy.co.za 

debt therapy 

integrity guaranteed 

debt therapy is registered with NCR | NCRDC49 



Tel: 021 007 1688 


Drastically reduce your monthly 

debt repayments 

Let US help 0861111863 

Regain control of your finances 

www.debt-therapy.co.za 

WESTERN CAPE 

CONSOLIDEBT 

Heidie Knorr NCRDC209 

Paarl, Worcester, Wellington, Ceres, 

Piketberg, Clanwilliam, Vredendal 

Tel: 021 863 2754 / 082 380 4401 

consolidebt@vodamail.co.za 

Encouraging Freedom, Creating Wealth 

Etienne Pieterse (NCRDC 2210) 

Tel. (021) 826-2699 

etienne@financialfreedomsolutions.co.za 

www.financialfreedomsolutions.co.za

CONSUMER 

& Solution Centre 

NCRDC2452 

ISISEKO DEBT HELP 

Get Your Life back on track 

TEL: 087 230 0223 

FAX: 086 551 1649 

EMAIL: makanti@isiseko.co.za 

WEB: www.isiseko.co.za 

DEBT REVIEW AND 

SUPPORT CENTRE 

Annienne Nel NCRDC2452 

Kairo’s House, 22 Fairfield 

Southstreet, Parow, 7550 

Office: 021 930 5791 

Cell: 082 641 2328 

Fax: 086 563 3264 

e-mail: info@debtcentre.co.za 

www.debtcentre.co.za 

NCRDC1142 

No 2 Golden Isle Building 

281 Durban Road, Oakdale, 

Bellville, 7535 

Tel: 086 111 3749 

Email: help@zerodebt.co.za 

www.zerodebt.co.za 






Cape Town 

Tel: 086 111 6197 

Fax: 021 425 6292 


All Debt Solutions 

Fast tracking your financial freedom 

Tel: 0861 255 3328 / 021-557 9981 

Email: info@allds.co.za 

www.alldebtsolutions.co.za 

https://www.facebook.com/ 

alldebtsolutions 

Debt Budget 

One Monthly Payment For All Your Debt 

Bruce Leslie Borez 

NCRDC1643 

52 Church Street, 

“NBS Building”,Wynberg 

Tel: 021 824 8885 

www.debtbudget.co.za

WESTERN CAPE 

Tel: 0861 123 644 


don’t be a twit 

http://twitter.com/Debtfree_DIGI

SUPPORT SERVICES 

Akani Solutions 

Information Data Solutions 

lana Van Herwaarde, 

DC Operation Centre (PTY) 

Tel: 0867227405 Email: 

info@dcoperations.co.za 

www.dcoperations.co.za 

Credit Report App 

Access Your Credit Bureau Report 

Instantly on Your Phone 

DCs help your clients use it during 

application & to protect their ID 

ID Protector 

Detect ID Theft or possible ID Fraud 

Subscribers notified by SMS when number is activated 

DEBT 

086 126 6562 

debt@one.za.com 

www.one.za.com 

info@akanisolutions.co.za 

www.akanisolutions.co.za

COMING SOON 

TRAINING 

COMING SOON 

FINANCIAL PLANNING

LEGAL 

Liddles & Associates 

“It always seems impossible until it 

is done” N. Mandela 

(T) 021 930 5790 

(F) 0866070940 

(E) frontdesk@liddles.co.za 

www.liddles.co.za 

Steyn Coetzee Attorneys / 

Prokureurs 

Adri de Bruyn 

11 Market Street / Markstraat 11, 

Paarl, 7646 

Tel: 021 872 1968 

Fax: 021 872 2678 

adri@steyncoetzee.co.za 

RM Brown and Associates 



Cape Town 

Tel: 021 202 1111, f: 021 425 0875 

Email: roger@rmbrown.co.za

Your Debt Counselling Attorneys 

Johannesburg | Cape Town 

Kim Armfield 

Attorney & Family Law Mediator 

Address: Unit 1B, FinansHuis, 7 

Voortrekker Road, Bellville 

Tel: 021 949 1758 / 021 945 2526 

Office cell: 084 8588 284 

kim@legalwc.co.za 

Andre Van Zyl 

021 494 4862 

info@bassonvanzyl.com 

www.bassonvanzyl.com 

COMING SOON 

CREDIT BUREAUS

PAYMENT DISTRIBUTION AGENCIES 

DC Partner 

044 873 4530 

Hyphen PDA 

011 303 0060 

NPDA 

0861 628 628

Telephone: 031 251 4150 

Fax: 031 251 4252 

GENERAL CONTACT DETAILS (FIRST POINT OF CALL)* 

17.1‘s, 17 .2’s, 17.3’s, Rejections and 17 .W’s, Change or 

Transfer of Debt Counsellor 

Proposals / Revised Proposals / Consents / 

Related Queries 

Notice of Service / Court Applications 

Updated Balances / Settlements / General Queries 

Section 86(10) Letters and All Related Queries 

nca@consumerfriend.co.za 

proposal@consumerfriend.co.za 

court@consumerfriend.co.za 

queries@consumerfriend.co.za 

terminations@consumerfriend.co.za 

ESCELATION CONTACT DETAILS* 

Complaints / Service Delivery / Management 

17.1‘s, 17 .2’s, 17.3’s, Rejections and 17 .W’s, 

Change or Transfer of Debt Counsellor 

Proposals / Revised Proposals / Consents / 

Related Queries 

Notice of Service / Court Applications 

Updated Balances / Settlements / General Queries 

ryan@consumerfriend.co.za 

justin@consumerfriend.co.za 

charlene@consumerfriend.co.za 

charlene@consumerfriend.co.za 

roderick@consumerfriend.co.za 

diane@consumerfriend.co.za 

*Please do not CC multiple email addresses.

CAPITEC CONTACT DETAILS 

Form 17’s 

Proposals 

Court documents 

General Queries 

Refund Requests / 

Cancellation of Debit Orders 

Complaints 

Insurance Certificates 

ccsforms17@capitecbank.co.za 

ccsproposals@capitecbank.co.za 

ccsdebtrevieworders@capitecbank.co.za 

ccsdebtreviewqueries@capitecbank.co.za 

ccsrefundrequests@capitecbank.co.za 

ComplaintManagement@capitecbank.co.za 

coming soon 

Sharecall Contact Number 086 066 7783 - Select Option 2 

ESCALATION PROCESS 

COMING SOON

Debt Review DepartmentEmail Address 

Turnaround Time 

Contact Details Standard Bank Debt Review 

Debt Review Call Center: 0861 111 525 or 0861 111 402 

Debt Review Documents*: 

DRApplications@standardbank.co.za 

Debt Review Service requests: debtreviewservices@standardbank.co.za 5 days 

Debt Review payment queries: DRPayments@standardbank.co.za 7 days 

Debt Review administrative requests**: DebtReviewAdmin@standardbank.co.za 5 days 

Debt Review complaints and escalations: debtreviewcomplaints@standardbank.co.za 5 days 

Reckless Lending Allegations 

recklesslendingallegations@standardbank.co.za 

*Debt Review documents: Form 17.1; Form 17.2; Proposals; Court Applications; Court Orders 

**Debt Review Admin related requests: debit order cancellations; statement requests ; refunds; paid up 

letters; account closure instructions; settlement balances; or outstanding balances 

Other Standard Bank areas 

Credit Card 086120 1000 

Diners Club 0113588400 / 0860346377 

Vehicle Asset Finance Recoveries 0861102347 

Vehicle Asset Finance Collections 0861102347 

Home Loans Pre Legal 0860102270 

Home Loans Customer Service 0860123001 

Standard Bank Insurance 0860123911 

Deceased Estates 0861001868

ABSA TASK SPECIFIC DEBT 

ABSA TASK SPECIFIC DEBT REVIEW ENTRY POINTS 

REVIEW ENTRY POINTS 

Form 17.1 

DRCOB@absa.co.za 

Debit Order Cancellations 

Debitordercancellations@absa.co.za 

Proposals 

DRProposals@absa.co.za 

Exits from Debt Review 

17.4@absa.co.za 

All Court Documents 

Courtapp@absa.co.za 

DC Switches 

DCTransfere@absa.co.za 

Termination Queries 

DRTerminations@absa.co.za 

Queries 

debtreviewqueries@absa.co.za 

Escalated Queries 

debtreviewmanager@absa.co.za 

Call Centre 

0861 222 272

DC Query Process DC Query Process 

www.nedbank.co.za

AFRICAN BANK CONTACT DETAILS 

011 256 9323 

DebtCounselling@africanbank.co.za 

ESCALATION PROCESS 

COMING 

SOON

Debtfree DIGI Magazine - May 2016

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