Debtfree DIGI July 2016

Alan Manshon (The Money Clinic)
Discussed a day in the life of a Debt Counsellor and was able to highlight
several common every day issues and frustrations DCs face which
many credit providers were unaware of. In particular he discussed the
low entry requirements to be come a DC and the challenges this can
present when issues arise.
Quintin Zimmermann (Liddle & Associates)
Quintin discussed the legal side of Debt Review. Sect 129 letters no
longer constitute the commencement of legal action meaning that
an account would be excluded from debt review. CPs need to watch
this in their CoBs. During the discussion ABSA in particular were able
to identify some wording on their correspondence to DCs they plan
to change. A brief pointer or two in regard to Sect 103(5) based on a
recent court case was discussed.
Kobus Burger (Bitech)
Kobus discussed the debt review “cake” and showed the audience how
some payment amounts can be calculated in various ways (regarding
PDA fees) and how this can then influence the repayment term (in
small but compounding ways). It was scary to see how quickly things
can escalate. He pointed out that each CP and PDA calculates things
slightly differently and how CPS and DCs need to take this into account.
Reinhard Pettenberger (Debt Therapy & DCASA W Cape.)
Reinhard discussed how the industry can ensure quality service to
consumers and uphold it’s integrity. Good DCs make for a good
debt review. DCs who are not delivering on their promises and take
advantage of consumers create a negative impact on the industry. He
posed several simple questions and asked how CPs help report to the
DC associations and NCR when they see things they don’t think are
appropriate. He also put the issue of debt mediation (unregistered and
unregulated debt counselling) to the audience and this was discussed
in some detail.