Here we explain 5 steps on how to apply for Debt Review/Debt Counselling as well as 10 steps of the Debt Counselling Process

Debt Review Application Methods & Debt Review Process Explained.

In this section, we are going to explain the debt review or debt counselling application process as well as the methods you can use to save time, money and effort when applying for debt counselling.

The easiest way to apply for debt review or a debt review assessment in our days is to apply online.

This can be done by visiting our Online Application Platform thereafter you will be required to provide your details as well as of your spouse if you are married in community of property.

Once you have submitted the online application for assessment form, you will be immediately assigned to a Qualified and Registered Debt Counsellor who will deal with your case.

This Debt Counsellor will contact you to assess your financial situation and make certain recommendations. (Please note that the application process is free of charge and have no obligations whatsoever. See our Frequently Asked Questions with regards to debt counselling fees)  

The second easiest way to apply for debt counselling or debt review is to complete the FORM 16 manually and send it back to admin@ndrc.org.za

The Form 16 completed by hand is similar to the online application for assessment form listed above but the only difference is that there is a lot of paperwork that you will need to print and scan (Remember to keep the environment green).

Download FORM 16 Here.

• By Calling 0878221249 or send a request to be contacted via WhatsApp on 0727703674
• By booking for consultation on our Facebook Page
• Visiting one of our branches nationally.

Now that you know how to apply for debt counselling or debt review, let us explain what will happen thereafter:

• The first thing that your debt counsellor will do is to assess whether you are over-indebted or debt stressed, and whether or not your creditors were reckless in granting you credit.

• Within five business days of accepting your application for debt counselling, your Debt Counsellor will inform all of your credit providers and the credit bureaus of your application.

•  The debt counsellor does this by sending your creditors a prescribed form called a Form 17.1 to call them to issue a certificate of balance. This 17.1 document is a certified notice of the balance of a customer’s account, and accrued interest and charges.

• Within five business days of receiving a Form 17.1, your creditors are required to provide your Debt Counsellor with certificates of your account balances. This information helps the debt counsellor to determine whether or not you are over-indebted and to conduct an affordability assessment. The affordability assessment is aimed at working out how much you can realistically afford to spend on debt repayments.

•  If your debt counsellor determines that you are over-indebted and legally eligible for debt counselling, he or she must notify all your creditors and the credit bureaus of this by sending them a prescribed form, Form 17.2, marking the appropriate paragraph that confirms you are over-indebted.

•  If your debt counsellor determines that you are not over-indebted or eligible for debt counselling, he or she must reject your application and send a Form 17.2 to all your creditors and the credit bureaus, marking the paragraph that confirms that you are not over-indebted.

•  If your debt counsellor determines that you are over-indebted, he or she will draw up a repayment plan to rearrange your debt obligations in line with what you can realistically afford. Your debt counsellor must submit the plan to your creditors for their consent within 60 business days of receiving your application for a debt review.

•  If all your creditors accept your debt counsellor’s repayment proposal, your debt counsellor must obtain a consent order from the National Consumer Tribunal or a magistrate’s court, again within 60 days.

•  If you or any of your creditors reject the repayment proposal, your debt counsellor must refer the matter to a magistrate’s court with a recommendation, which he or she will seek to have made an order of the court. A magistrate can reject the debt counsellor’s recommendation if he or she considers the proposal unreasonable. Unless the magistrate gives the counsellor another chance to improve on the proposal, this has the effect of a termination of the debt review process.

•  If your creditors accept the repayment plan, or if a magistrate’s court agrees to the repayment plan, the NPDA will channel your revised payments to your creditors. You make these payments directly to the NPDA.

The National Payment Distribution Agency is responsible for providing monthly statements to you and payment schedules to your debt counsellor and creditors, as well as attending to queries from the respective parties.

• Once all of your debts have been paid, your debt counsellor will issue you with a clearance certificate and will notify the credit bureaus that you are no longer in debt counselling. The fact that you were in debt counselling will be expunged from your credit record, but if you had judgments against you, these will remain on your record for the remainder of the five-year data retention period.