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The National Credit Regulator recently issued a new guideline on how they feel transfers should occur when a consumer is moved from one Debt Counsellor to another.

There are many reasons why a consumer may need to be moved from one Debt Counsellor to another. This process is called transferring.

For example, there may be multiple Debt Counsellors within the same practice helping the consumer; the Debt Counsellor originally helping the consumer may grow ill, or leave the industry. There may be staff changes within a larger practice. In some cases, the Debt Counsellor is deceased. 

In other cases, the consumer may simply wish to change from one Debt Counsellor to another. In South Africa, this is possible but requires a little paperwork involving the NCR. Thus, they have opinions about the best way that this should occur. 

Because the NCR keeps a record of which consumer signs up with which Debt Counsellor, when such a change happens, it is also necessary to move the consumer’s record about debt review to the new Debt Counsellor on the NCR database.

This helps the NCR keep track of who is helping the consumer and is done on the NCR’s Debt Help System.

The NCR has an obligation to have stats about debt review and consumers who are using the process, and Debt Counsellors have an obligation to report on such stats to the NCR each quarter. Currently, this is done via the NCR’s Debt Help System.

Also, the NCR’s Debt Help System is involved with reporting to the credit bureaus when someone begins debt review (so that credit providers can see a temporary listing on the consumer credit report to that effect). 

 

Concerns Over Abuses

Some Debt Counsellors are slower to execute transfers on the NCR system over concerns to do with PoPI and potential fraud.

These Debt Counsellors may ask for additional information to confirm the consumer actually does want the transfer and that the person making the request is actually the Debt Counsellor (transfers are a core Debt Counsellor function as set out in the NCR Act and Regulations and cannot be performed by admin staff).

The new guideline helps ease such Debt Counsellors concerns about fraud and confirmation, simply saying to go ahead (basically with the NCR’s blessing) without being overly concerned about such matters as long as the request is made.

Note: We will cover this topic in more detail in the upcoming issue of Debtfree Magazine.

Download NCR Guideline

You can download the NCR Guideline for your records, below.

NCR Guideline DEBT REVIEW TRANSFER (JUNE 2026) pdf