Siyaya Bellville in trouble?
Siyaya Franchise Branch in Trouble?
It is not easy to run a profitable Debt Counselling business. There are many challenges and making ends meet is becoming increasingly difficult. A recent study showed that due to new requirements it is now taking twice as long in man hours for Debt Counsellors to assist consumers through the debt review process compared to just a few years ago. While this is also saving consumers more funds than ever before (and they are not effected by the increase in workload) it is still a challenge for Debt Counselling firms. It is thus not surprising that many Debt Counselling firms are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet.
Hard Times
Struggling businesses in this economy are nothing new. It is true of many businesses at the moment but it seems to have suddenly hit home at Siyaya Debt Solutions -Bellville, a Debt Counselling business. (Siyaya operate as a franchise ).
Business Woes Leave Staff Unpaid
It seems that Siyaya Debt Solutions Bellville has not paid members of staff for work done for a while now and have even been kicked out of their offices for not paying rent. The matter has now got the media’s attention.
Staff who are trying to get paid are not being allowed back into the former premises. Trouble may have been brewing for a while though. It has been reported that they have recently also been having ‘difficulties’ with their phone lines. It is unclear if this was due to a payment issue or technical difficulties. Either this was an indicator of trouble or one of the factors that pushed matters over the edge.
Debt Counsellors Helping More People but Earning Less
Recently at the DCASA (a Debt Counsellors Association) conference in JHB it was revealed just how tough the majority of Debt Counsellors find it to run their practices in a profitable way. They have found that salaries drawn by Debt Counsellors are at an all time low (1/3rd less than before) and that support staff are getting as little as R3000 a month (less than half what they used to). All this while the workload is increasing. Of course different businesses have slightly different processes and systems and types of clients but overall the presentation pointed to Debt Counsellors finding it hard to make ends meet.
DCASA are pushing for an update in the fee structure. They would like the National Credit Regulator to get behind increased fees. At present the NCr publish guidelines in regard to what Debt Counsellors should charge though the National Credit Act is silent on the subject. Most Debt Counsellors stick to the NCR guidelines.
We tried contacting Siyaya for comment but the phone just rang and rang (on the bright side at least it was working, right?).
MORE: You can visit the website here: http://siyayadebthelp.co.za/
No Need to Panic
Consumers who are being helped by a Debt Counsellor who can no longer perform his duties (for a variety of reasons) do not leave the process. The NCR simply helps move the consumers to the care of another Debt Counsellor thus protecting the interests of the consumers. Normally in a franchise situation the consumers would simply stay within the brand.