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The DCI have released the following pro debt counselling message to the press:

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Embattled consumers face growing pressure as petrol and electricity prices continue to rise, but at least one development is positive for those in financial distress – the emergence of debt counsellors as effective champions of those fighting to achieve freedom from debt.

 Five years after the National Credit Act (NCA) put debt counselling on a professional footing, these specialists have emerged as “true consumer champions of debt-ensnared South Africans”, says Deborah Solomon, founder of the debt industry portal, theDCI and a registered debt counsellor.

 Though they frequently face well-resourced credit providers, banks and their attorneys, Solomon says debt counsellors – DCs – have proved highly effective in nursing clients back to financial health under NCA-sanctioned debt review processes.

Day by day, a DC may have to …

 Challenge a major bank that insists debtors use its own DCRS or debt counselling rules system, knowing in-house systems do not apply the ‘in duplum’ rule – an NCA protection capping the amount of interest that can be piled on top of the original capital sum owed to a lender.

 Soothe distressed clients who have been wrongly informed by a credit provider’s staff they will lose their homes if they stay in debt review – a procedure designed for their own protection.

 Insist a credit provider abide by the NCA and act in good faith – failure is a ploy that might cost a consumer thousands of rands in extra legal charges.

Having the NCA on your side is not enough, Solomon cautions. Consumers also need a well-informed DC to battle through procedural delays and legal processes that might baffle and intimidate ordinary members of the public. Consumers need to have a DC that will fight for them and their rights as complacency will do more harm than good.  Many consumers assume the law favours the banks, but this is not always so. However, says Solomon, consumers can be frightened into complying with a credit provider’s demands when processes are delayed, costs pile up and legal action is instituted – with or without merit.