Debtfree DIGI June 2016

mediation scam. Thus if they want to get legitimate help from a NCR regulated and registered
person they probably need to look online or call a debt counselling firm far away from where
they live.
The NCR, of course, want people in rural areas to have access to Debt Counsellors and so cannot
get away from the reality of a phone or web based debt review service. In this modern age,
advances in electronic communication makes it possible to deal with consumers across the
world never mind in a nearby town. It has become the norm for many and does not prevent
consumers from getting great service if done right.
So, the use of a phone or computer to deal with people can’t be the problem.
Access to Debt Counsellors
Of the 2500 plus people who have registered as Debt Counsellors most have stopped
practicing due to the exponentially growing requirements to run a debt counselling service,
ongoing new regulations and the antiquated fee structure forcing DCs to take on more
and more clients (and thus having to constantly grow staff). Also these former DCs have
commonly said that the business is not a profitable one.
At the moment it is estimated that only about 700 DCs are active in SA.
+- 280 municipalities in SA. Combine that with the NCR’s quarterly report stats which show
that nearly half of all credit users are over- indebted and need debt relief and it highlights the
need to empower debt counsellors to deal with consumers...lots of consumers simultaneously.
NCR Announce they have Raided Debt Counselling Firms
Things hotted up when the NCR announced in a media press releases that they had “raided” 10
call centre operations in the Western Cape. This then seemed to be part of the recent campaign
by the NCR in regard to clamping down on large Debt Counselling firms. Interestingly, these
same firms are companies that the NCR has a right to visit in regular monitoring visits without
the need for any “raid”. They can visit and ask to se files etc on a regular basis. In fact, the NCR
have done so many times in the past and most of the firms visited have extended them great
cooperation.