How Debt Review Works
With the goal being to clear you of debt, the steps of Debt Review are in place to guide you, protect you and simplify your finances. As long as you have a fixed monthly income and you qualify for Debt Review, this debt relief process will give you the opportunity to regain financial stability and put an end to your problems with debt.
Debt Review has been a lifeline for thousands of South African’s suffering from over-indebtedness, and is so successful because it considers the unique circumstances of each client. To begin the Debt Review process with us, you will be sent a formal application (form 16), where you will outline your finances and personal information in detail – this includes your monthly income, living expenses, accounts, loan agreements and all the debt you have accumulated. This insight into your finances helps us to restructure your debts in such a way that you can afford to repay what you owe.
Next, we issue your creditors with a notice that lets them know you have applied for Debt Review and also requests a Certificate of Balance (COB). These COB’s allow us to be 100% certain of your over-indebtedness and we will then issue your creditors with a Confirmation of Over-Indebtedness (form 17.2). A qualified Debt Counsellor from our True North Debt team will then contact your creditors in order to reach terms on lowering your monthly instalments and interest rates, so that we can restructure a new, more affordable monthly payment plan where you pay just one fee that encompasses everything that you owe. This reduced monthly payment is managed by a Payment Distribution Agency.
It is important to know that once you’ve applied for Debt Review, you will be listed on the National Credit Bureau’s NCR Debt Help Database – this means that you cannot apply for credit or loans while you are under Debt Review. This is a good thing, because you will be focused on overcoming your current debt. Our Debt Review service is approved by the National Credit Regulator (NCR), following all the regulations and guidelines of the National Credit Act (NCA) of South Africa. It normally takes between 3 – 5 years to successfully complete Debt Review, after which you are granted a Debt Clearance Certificate.
One of the major benefits of Debt Review is that you will no longer be dealing with your creditors, as our team will take over any communications with them. Because there are so many instances of reckless lending where debt is concerned, we also make a point of assessing your credit agreements for any signs that you were granted credit unfairly (where it was clearly not within your financial best interest) – this would be at the fault of that specific creditor. Your main focus is to repay what you owe based on the new plan we have put in place for you – we’ll be there every step of the way, to assist you in your Debt Review journey.
