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Debt Counsellors Confused & Worried

The law requires Debt Counsellors to upload certain information to the credit bureas (via the NCR’s database) but for days now they have not been able to do so.

Debt Counsellors are worried and stressed.

NCR Debt Help is Down

The National Credit Regulator demands that Debt Counsellors capture information about consumers who apply for debt review on their NCR Debt Help portal.

They also require that the portal be used to update the progress of consumers through the debt restructuring journey.

The National Credit Act requires that when a consumer applies for debt counselling and debt restructuring that Debt Counsellors notify all credit bureaus. For many years now the NCR has insisted this be done via their Debt Help portal.

Recently, however, the NCR was a victim of some hacks and a ransomware attack. This knocked their website and data portal out of action.

Read More: Details About the NCR Hack

The website has since been put back up again as the NCR continue to make improvements to security, but at present, the NCR Debt Help portal is just not showing for everyone who is trying to access it.

What has been frustrating for Debt Counsellors has been the silence coming from the NCR about the situation. 

Though the 2 major Debt Counsellor associations and some large debt counselling practices have been in contact with the NCR as yet there has been no “official” email or circular about how to handle the situation, or even an actual acknowldgement that the portal is out of action or unreachable for some.

‘there has been no “official” email or circular about how to handle the situation’

Since uploading consumer information within certain timeframes is a legal requirement we are getting into dangerous territory as deadlines go by and confused and worried Debt Counsellors are left with no guidance on what to do next.

The industry waits on tenterhooks hoping the situation will be resolved soon.