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BDCF Meeting review

On Friday last week the Black Debt Counsellors Forum held their second meeting in the Cape Town area.

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The meeting at the Debt Resolution offices in Hout Bay was attended by a smaller group who were not deterred by the rain . Nearby on Table Mountain some crazy hikers had earlier tweeted pictures of themselves in snow, so you know it was cold. Some coffee and Tea held off the chill as the meeting got underway.

Graham (local chairperson – ex Pick n Pay) spoke about how DCs in Cape Town are seeing the industry develop. He discussed his personal experience coming into the industry. He has seen slow growth and the need for managing consumer expectations and education. His preconceived ideas about how the industry actually works have been dashed. Has even been approached by a credit provider looking to “link” businesses or even employ him ( which he points out is contrary to the NCA). The response to marketing has been low in his case. He stated that the need to get clients is the biggest need for most DCs now.

Randall Adams discussed BDCF’s agenda including their goal of consumer education. He discussed the name and pointed to the fact that they are not a political body.  In the past it has been said that BDCF came out guns blazing , in fact some have actually said “AKs blazing.” Randall said that BDCF does not show any favour or hold back where they see a need to speak up. The BDCF are, according to him, not even afraid to challenge the NCR if needs be. He spoke about how there is a need to level the playing field between large and smaller DCs. The BDCF say they want to reduce conflict and increase cooperation between industry players.

Keystone next discussed the proposed amendments to the NCA. The BDCF have recently met with DTI on this topic as well as submitted documentation.

BDCF Proposed changes include:

  • Inclusion of Sect 58A which would allow for notification to consumers and creditor and bureaus  of de registration.
  • Sect 83A reckless lending able to be ruled on by NCT.
  • Sect 130 in place of 129 (in Sect 86) as being excluded under debt review
  • Disallowing of terminations when matter is at court.
  • Removal of word “Magistrates” in sect 86(11).
  • Section 92 to have section added saying a spouse married in COP must agree to any application for credit.
  • Sect 129 – to have subsection 3 removed as unnecessary.
  • Section 163 – to include DCs having to train agents.
  • Inclusion of PDA in the Policy document.

BDCF also stated that they want to create panel of attorneys who deal specifically in debt review. This is a great goal and members expressed a lot of interest.

Kim Armfeld ( Attorney and qualified DC) discussed the court process. 95% success rate for 1st time court orders. She also discussed the various requirements at courts , including the documentation needed. She then spoke about motivations behind oppositions to court applications.
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Ashley of the Consumer Protection Office stated that there have been some interesting rulings on the CPA and it too is undergoing changes and testing much like the NCA. He asked: How do we work together? The BDCF and their office are looking for ways to do so. At present, the CPO are doing interventions in regard to financial literacy in marginalised communities and even have a dedicated unit that does consumer education. Over the next few weeks they will be focussing on farm workers on the west coast. The BDCF offered to assist.

DC Partner provided a Payment Distribution Agency perspective and helped support the event. DC Partner spoke about how they are trying to keep up to date with industry as it changes. The DC Partner Reps visit 4 / 5 DCs daily. Their assistance in this regard was much appreciated.
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Justin Van Der Linde of Consumer Friend discussed their local offices in the Cape ( as well as KZN) .

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Consumer Friend have set up dedicated email address and unit to handle Reckless Credit Matters. They ask that DCs please chat to them to get assistance in this regard before going to court. They say they can get info for DCs very quickly. Their creditor clients have set up special teams to help. The dedicated email address is: recklesscredit@consumerfriend.co.za . After their recent meeting with BDCF they are determined not to “harass” DCs for 17.4s if not supplied. They state that at present they are seeing more applications each month, almost same as back in 2007. Justin pointed out that Consumer Friend are not handling Wonga issues any longer.

With some closing remarks about the upcoming BDCF conference in October the meeting came to a close. A few got to spend time afterwards catching up and enjoying some refreshments.
For more info head over to: www.bdcf.co.za