09 Jul How to Decide Between Debt Management Companies?
If you Google debt management, debt counselling, debt help system, or debt review, a plethora of results will pop up. As it stands, there are 933,000,000; 80,900,000; 724,000,000 and 844,000,000 for those search terms respectively.
So, how does one decide between debt management companies and debt counsellors? You should take into account what you’re looking for in a debt counsellor in terms of pricing, expertise, location, and fees.
Accreditation
You should always check that your debt counsellor has the relevant accreditation. As per Section 44 and Regulation 10 of the National Credit Amendment Act, 19 of 2014, debt counsellors must have the following qualifications:
A level 4 qualification issued by the South African Qualifications Authority in terms of regulation 10 (a) (i).
Must have completed a debt counsellor course approved by the National Credit Regulator
The courses currently approved by the NCR are those of:
- The University of Pretoria
- Damelin
- Compuscan Academy
- UDO
- Summit Financial Partners
Your debt counsellor of choice should also have at least two years of experience in one of these fields:
- Consumer Protection
- Complaints Resolution
- Consumer Advisory Services
- Legal or Paralegal Services
- Accounting or financial services
- Education or training of individuals
- Counselling of individuals
- General Business Environment.
You should always check that a debt counsellor is registered on the NCR’s website.
Fees
There are laws in place in the National Credit Act that say a debt counsellor can’t charge more than the prescribed amount.
The current fee guidelines are:
No more than R50 for completion and submission of the Form 16.
R300 for explaining the process, Form 17.1 completion, loading you on the Debt Help System, and carrying out the rejection process.
Both of these should be paid upfront as per the National Credit Regulators 2018 fee structuring guidelines.
When restructuring your debt, a counsellor cannot charge you more than R8 000 for a single consumer or R3 000 for a couple married in community of property. This fee covers negotiation and proposals to creditors and supplying relevant documentation to the attorney.
If you would a counsellor to assess whether you were recklessly lent money, they cannot ask more than R1 500 of you. With the debt counsellor’s partner attorney, you’ll have to discuss or agree to attorney fees, which cover court appearances and drafting your application.
If your debt counsellor charges higher fees than the above, it is an offence.
Location
With a good debt counselling company, location shouldn’t be an issue. Very few debt counselling companies can assist you wherever you are in the country, and we’re one of them! Debtco Group helps thousands of South Africans all over the country to reclaim control of their finances each year.
In summary, when choosing a debt counselling company, you should assess the debt counsellors’ accreditation, and location, and double-check their fee structure against the NCR’s fee structure. If you’re looking for qualified and experienced debt counsellors, contact DebtCo Group. We would love to help you become debt-free!