Increase in NCT Fees
Industry News
The National Consumer Tribunal has announced its latest price increase for the year.
This will apply to all applications including those relating to debt review matters.
The National Consumer Tribunal (NCT) are able to hear matters relating to restructuring debt and debt review where a consumer is in financial trouble and things would escalate to them needing debt review if a solution is not put in place in the meantime.
This is called a Section 86(7)(b) application.
The NCT have a fee that has to be paid when an application is made. Each year it goes up by around 7.5%.
In the past, these annual increases were even included in government documents publishing information about the NCT.
The NCT has now announced their new applicable fees as of April 1st 2024.
The former fee: R 577.81
The new fee: R 621.14
The mathematicians among us will see that the increase has stuck to the 7.5% pattern.
Download the Announcment
It is good to have a copy of the filing fee letter on record. You can download that below:
In their guideline of what they suggest is charged for debt review the National Credit Regulator makes comment on sending matters to the NCT and suggests R500 plus the NCT Application Fee.
They suggest this be charged in month 2 of the process but only if ‘the restructuring process’ is complete.
It is a little unclear what exactly that process does and doesn’t include but most Debt Counsellors think they have a pretty good idea now.
The fee guideline also excludes mention in the table to VAT.
NCT Applications & Attorneys
The NCT allows anyone to appear before them on behalf of another party if they have a proper mandate.
For example, a Debt Counsellor could apply on behalf of a consumer, an ADRA could appear on behalf of a consumer who is fighting with a bank over the balance owed on an account, or an Attorney could appear on behalf of a consumer.
In many cases over the years, consumers have made use of an attorney’s services to bring their debt review matters to the NCT (technically these are 86(7)(b) matters so not technically debt review rather debt restructuring to avoid debt review). In such cases, the consumer would agree to separate fees directly with an attorney. These would also include the filing fees (now at R621.14)
Many Debt Counsellors and credit providers would like to see the NCT’s mandate expanded so that they can handle all debt review related matters instead of having to flood magistrates courts country wide with applications.
Thus far this has not happened as it would depend on the removal of: (b) from one line of the Act in an amendment.