Will Debt Review Work For You?
You Are Unique
Debt review is a fantastic part of SA law and has helped hundreds of thousands of people to settle their debts in a realistic and manageable way since 2007.
But you may be wondering if it is right for you.
Will it work in your situation?
Your Debt Keeps Growing
Have you found that you are always in debt?
Each month you pay your credit card, you make the minimum repayment into your overdraft and pay towards all your instalments on your loans or assets. You pay, pay and pay some more. Month after month and yet, you still seem to be in debt.
Whenever you think you are making progress, something else comes along (your sister needs a loan desperately to cover school fees) and messes things up. And so all the progress you made is gone and you are back trapped paying off debt.
Even if no disasters come along it feels like the interest portion on your debts is eating up all your payments. It feels that way because it is often true.
Example: People who have a bond will over time probably pay around 3 times the purchase price of the house to the bank. So, if the house was R1mill you will pay the bank R3mill over the years because of interest.
Sadly, for most of us we are good at paying our debt each month but once we are in debt we can be trapped there.
A Legal Process
When the National Credit Act was introduced in 2007, it did something that many other countries were still only thinking about.
It had an amazing new process for consumers who were unable to meet all their debt obligations in a reasonable way. It offered protection from collections agents and harassment. It had a way for people to take back some of the power from the banks and avoid getting judgements against their names. This new process was called Debt Counselling
A trained professional who is registered with the National Credit Regulator (NCR) would now be able to do a review of a person’s debt (a “debt review”) and make proposals to a court on how the debt could rather be repaid. The debt repayments would be reasonable and manageable.
So, this was not just some random person trying to deal with their bank – begging for another few days to come up with the money. No, it was a professional and legal way to get protection and pay off debt.
Debt review is a law. One that consumers, who qualify, can use to help bring their finances under control.
It Has Worked For Hundreds of Thousands of Others
Since 2007 hundreds of thousands of consumers who were over indebted have entered debt review and it has worked for them.
Here are some quotes* from people who used the process to get their finances back under control:
*We have removed the names of the individual practices so you can focus on the messages. We also added some nice pictures of similar types of people but not the actual people quoted.
A Married Couple:
‘My wife and I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for us. I was mainly to be blamed for the debt we found ourselves in. I opened up a business, took loans for the capital and when things did not work out we were in deep trouble. We were depressed and emotionally drained. {The Debt Counselling Practice} brought peace into our lives and probably saved our marriage in the process. I will never forget what you have done for me and my family!’
A Young Professional
‘Since I started working and earned my salary, I was so excited that did not realise I was also taking out too many loans. It got to a stage where I needed more and more loans to pay my current ones. I came across {The Debt Counselling Practice}, who managed to lower my payments so that I can afford to pay back my debts every month. I have learned a valuable lesson now and I am better because of them. Thank you’
A Retiree
‘I was under debt review from 2016 until 2020. I had a wonderful team to assist me. {The Debt Counselling Practice} were always there to assist me, no matter the time of the day. Sometimes life happens and everything spirals out of control. I had creditors harassing and threatening me daily. It takes a lot of commitment and patience, but once you are declared debt free, it feels amazing. The whole team was always there to assist with whatever queries I had. Also, if you feel like you can’t cope with your financial obligations, give them a call. They will assist you to the best of their ability. Thank you very much for restoring my dignity. {The Debt Counselling Practice} strives for customer satisfaction and are very honest and thorough with you throughout the process. Up until today, I still have the debt clearance and I wear it with honor.’
The process has worked for people from all across South Africa. People with different financial situations. People of all ages, races and languages.
The process can work for you too.
The Costs Are Minimal
Some people worry about the cost of debt review.
Since it is a professional service that has the potential to turn your financial future around it makes sense there will be some costs but they remarkably are really not high.
One of the big factors in why the costs are minimal is because of concessions credit providers make when you enter debt review. In most people’s case, the credit providers drop 2 or even 3 fees.
The Monthly Account Fees
These fees can be between R60 – R69
For simplicity let’s use R60.
Most people who enter debt review have on average 7 accounts. That means you are probably paying around R60 x 7 = R420 a month in account fees. These could disappear under debt review.
Annual Fees
Some credit providers charge you hundreds of rands in annual fees to have a card or an extra card for family members. These they often cut out all together when you enter debt review.
Interest
We all know that when we take out credit, we will pay interest. These fees can be high. Very high. They can eat up much of the debt repayments we make each month. They cost us thousands or even hundreds of thousands of rand over time.
Example: If you had R50 000 debt then at just 10% a year (and no one charges that little) that would mean an extra R6000 or more you have to repay in a year just to keep your debt stable.
Of course, most people’s credit cards are at over double that %. Meaning you have to pay and pay just to cover the interest portion.
Amazingly, when people enter debt review the banks and other credit providers have specialised debt review departments who take over dealing with your debts and they are able to offer reduced interest rates.
How low can they go?
They can, and regularly do, go to 0% on many unsecured debts. That’s amazing!!!!
That can mean that instead of just paying and paying interest, you can finally put a serious dent into your actual debt each month and watch those balances start to come down.
What does this mean?
It means that, simply because of the amazing concessions and reductions that most people get while under debt review, the small cost of the monthly retainer that is paid to your Debt Counsellor is nothing. You save much more than that based only on other fees you no longer have to pay due to credit provider concessions.
And best of all, the small Debt Counsellors fees are only drawn when you make you debt repayments. This means no up front fees. No extra fees. You don’t need a bundle of cash to enter the process. It is built in to what you can realistically afford to repay each month.
So, chat to a Debt Counsellor to get an idea of what the costs would be in your specific case (incl. what the legal fees will be since it goes to court). They can check that it is the right process for you, that you qualify and let you know roughly what your reduced debt repayments would be.
You will be pleasantly surprised by how little it actually costs.
It Will Work For You
If you have been paying and paying your debts but feel like you are just treading water and not making any progress then it may be because of the fees and charges attached to credit.
You may actually be trapped in debt.
If you have tried to make arrangements in the past but you end up speaking to different people at the collections call centers and they make and then break deals then getting a court order will put an end to the uncertainty.
And if your debts are growing over time and you are having to try get new credit to cover your costs, then you need help.
And help is available due to the amazing National Credit Act and debt counselling.
The process works. Across the country, right now, there are hundreds of thousands of people in debt review who are not stressed about paying their debts this month because they know they can afford it.
Better yet, they are enjoying lower instalments, no fees and reduced interest on their debts so it is costing them virtually nothing. They have the benefit of a professional in their corner offering them advice and help whenever they are unsure about what to do.
It has worked for them and it will work for you if you are serious about getting out of debt.
