NCR Silent – AllProDC Extend Date
The NCR Silent on AllProDC CIF Boycott
Recently the Alliance of Professional Debt Counsellors (AllProDC) found their proposals and suggestions to the Credit Industry Forum snubbed and ignored and thus decided that the CIF is not the place for discussion surrounding the gaps left by the National Credit Act and way debt review is done.
AllProDC then sent a letter to the NCR asking for comment and for various other things including the withdrawal of published guidelines based on CIF meetings (where they contradict the NCA). AllProDC in their letter of mid July asked the NCR to respond by month end (which has now passed). As yet the NCR has not responded in any form or way.
Today the Alliance sent further correspondence to the NCR extending that date to Friday the 22nd of August (so about 5/6 weeks to allow for a response).
Ironically, in the past some some members of the CIF have said that AllProDC never made constructive proposals and rather just always offered concerns and obstruction (when they felt the NCA was being overlooked). It seems that, in this case, when AllProDC did make a proposal (in regard to end balance differences) that they were shut out.
The furor comes at a time when the NCR are desperately trying to get all Debt Counsellors to pay annual renewal fees which have increased from R100 to R750 (including a premises fee which was poorly named a branch fee). The NCR now have to issue hundreds, probably thousands of renewal certificates to Debt Counsellors many of whom ave not received a notification to pay or renew. Many Debt Counsellors say they have just paid their annual renewal (at the old rate) ad are unsure if they need to pay again and if so how much.
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The DC community has been out raged at the ‘sneaky‘ extra R250 fee per DC which has been added. Some Debt Counselling firms employ many Debt Counsellors and query having all their staff pay this extra branch fee on top of the massively increased renewal fee. During the research period into the possible increase the DTI called for comment on the proposed fee increase and all associations including the BDCF, DCASA and AllProDC all said the increase was too high. In that case too it seems that the suggestions were not heard. Increasingly then it seems to some that Debt Counsellors (and other registrants) are just getting bulldozed out the way when they take a stance different from the Regulator. The NCR now face the mammoth task of delivering on the annual renewal certificates that they have decided to issue in a timely fashion or they may face a huge loss of faith from the community. This at a time when pressure is mounting on the Twin Peaks regulatory issue as well.
AllProDC have indicated that if the NCR fail to come back to them they may then be forced to take legal action or refer the matter to the Public Protector in an effort to get engagement from the Regulator.