What You Need To Know

  1. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU GET A NOTICE OR ARE SUMMONED BY A CREDITOR. It is then often too late to seek help from a Debt Counsellor. Get help as soon as you realize that you will not be able to pay all your accounts at the end of the month.
  2. If a creditor has already issued a summons, you will need a letter from us that confirms that you have applied for debt review. You should take this letter with you for your court appearance and ask the magistrate to include the account in your debt review. Do not just stay away from court!
  3. If your home or vehicle has already been repossessed by the creditor, they will only return it or agree to have the account included in the debt review, if you pay the full outstanding amount within a certain time frame.
  4. If your home or vehicle has already been sold by the creditor, and there is still an amount outstanding (the item was sold at a loss), you will still be liable for the outstanding amount. This amount can be included in your debt review.
  5. If you are married IN COMMUNITY OF PROPERTY (COP), BOTH you and your spouse must apply. You are both responsible for each other’s debt. If one party does not pay, the other will be held responsible for the payment and can also lose their assets.
  6. If you are married OUT OF COMMUNITY OF PROPERTY (ANC) with or without accrual, one or both parties can apply. If you are sharing expenses, then you can apply jointly.
  7. You must declare ALL your income, this is to make sure that your new, reduced installment is calculated correctly.
  8. If you are being paid regular overtime, only a percentage thereof will be taken into consideration as part of your income, to make provision for possible monthly fluctuations.
  9. Look at the amount that you pay for policies & insurance and make sure that you really need all the cover. This might be a good time to get advice from a financial advisor
  10. Your monthly expenses must be reasonable. No provision can be made for luxuries. Remember that your payment plan must be ratified by a court and that your creditors will have preference over luxuries.
  11. After your monthly living expenses have been deducted from your net income, a realistic and acceptable amount must be left to be divided between your creditors. The process of debt review has the goal to help you pay your debt in full within a reasonable time.
  12. You will be required to sign a debit order in favor of a NCR registered Payment Distribution Agency (PDA) as you will never make a payment directly to us. Your monthly payments are then processed by the PDA to pay your creditors according to your new payment plan. We use the iPDA, which has an excellent record.
  13. You may not apply for any credit while you are in debt review but you will probably not qualify for any further credit in any case, since you are already struggling to pay back your existing debt. You may apply for a loan to consolidate your debt, but the interest charged is normally very high.
  14. You may not make use of a credit card, shop card, or overdraft facility while in debt review. Preferably open a savings account & ask for a debit card at a bank where you don’t have any accounts. If you have a cheque account that is in overdraft or a credit card, the account will be frozen as soon as we request statements from your bank.
  15. There is no limit to the amount of debt that can be included in debt review. Your house and car payments can therefore also be included.
  16. You can’t select just a few of your accounts to include in debt review. All your credit agreements must be included.
  17. Once one of your accounts has been settled, that installment will be divided between the remainder of your accounts. This helps to pay your debt off quicker. You may also decide to pay a larger monthly installment if you can afford it, this will shorten your payment period. (You might perhaps get an increase or bonus).
  18. NEVER SIGN ANY DOCUMENT AT THE REQUEST OF A CREDITOR OR REPRESENTATIVE OF A CREDITOR WITHOUT CONSULTING US. Also do not make any promises, but refer all creditors to us.
  19. YOU CAN NEVER SKIP A PAYMENT. If this happens your creditors may immediately terminate their accounts from debt review. We can also NOT permit you to miss an installment.
  20. Once you complete and submit a debt review application form (not an assessment form), you will not be able to withdraw from the process and will have to complete the debt review by paying off all your accounts (excluding home loans). You will only be able to exit debt review once all your accounts have been settled and a clearance certificate has been issued.
  21. Never, especially after hours, hand over your vehicle to anyone. Only the Sheriff can repossess your vehicle and only if he has a court order. If a person threatens you or takes your vehicle without your permission, you can contact the police. Ask the person to leave your premises immediately and DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING NO MATTER WHAT THE PERSON SAYS!!!
  22. Our fees are in accordance with the NCR guidelines.
  23. Include everyone in your household in the process. Be honest with them and ask them for help and cooperation so that your financial circumstances can normalize as soon as possible. Children must know that their pocket money may possibly be drastically reduced or that they may even get no pocket money at all for a while if it will mean that you can keep your home.
  24. You don’t have to be ashamed if you need to get help from a Debt Counsellor. It actually shows that you are a responsible person who, due to circumstances, needs help to get control of your finances.

YOU CAN BE ASSURED THAT WE WILL WALK EVERY STEP OF THE DEBT REVIEW ROAD WITH YOU UNTIL YOU ARE DECLARED DEBT FREE!!!