Debt Counselling and The Debt Counselling Fee Structure November 21, 2024

Debt Counselling.

Debt Counselling or Debt Review is a legal process that is designed to help over-indebted South Africans regain control of their finances by restructuring their debt according to a legally approved plan.

This professional service is provided for over-indebted consumers. It is a process regulated by the new National Credit Act and provides you, the consumer, with greater protection against creditors threatening to take legal action.

Consumers who are struggling to meet their monthly debt obligations qualify to apply for debt counselling. These consumers should have a distributable income, which will be used to offer reduced payments to their credit providers. Consumers married in community of property must jointly apply for debt counselling.

Debt Counselling Benefits.

• All of your debt repayments will be consolidated into one reduced monthly repayment plan.
• Your assets, including your home and car, will be protected from repossession.
• You will no longer get calls from your creditors demanding payment.
• There is no permanent record of having undergone debt counselling.
• There is only one monthly repayment to be made.
• Your budget will meet your basic needs first before provision is made for debts.
• You will never pay more money than you can reasonably afford.
• A debt counsellor will suggest ways of cutting costs and saving money.
• Gives you Peace of Mind that your debt is being paid.
• Help You Live Comfortably with all living expenses covered.
• Help You Reach Your Goal of settling the debt.
• It helps you Change your financial spending behavior.
• You do not pay any money upfront.

Book your free debt counselling assessment below.

Debt Counselling Process.

Complete our Free Online Debt Assessment Form.

• It’s free of charge and only takes a few minutes.
• Complete our online debt assessment and provide us with the details of your financial situation.
• Submit all required documents for the initial assessment. (i.e your ID, Payslip, Bank Statements, Letter of Demands, etc).

We’ll assess and determine.

• A Registered Debt Counsellor will determine whether your monthly expenses and debt exceed your monthly income.
• A new monthly budget is made which covers all basic needs.

You’ll be placed under Debt Counselling or Debt Review.

• We’ll inform all your Credit Providers and the Credit Bureaus that you are under Debt Review.

You only pay a single, reduced payment, that you can afford!

• We’ll restructure your payment plan and negotiate with your Credit Providers.
• This new restructured payment is paid via a registered payment Distribution Agency.

The Application will be prepared for court and finalised.

• Our attorneys will apply at the court to make your restructured payment plan a court order.
• You will be required to sign and submit a confirmatory affidavit.

While undergoing Debt Counselling, you will be protected against legal action taken by your Credit Providers and only have to pay one monthly, affordable reduced payment, leaving you with enough money for your monthly expenses

Debt Counselling Fee Structure

One of the most frequently asked questions we get on a daily basis is what are the Debt Counselling Fees?

Debt Counselling is a formal legal process, which is governed by the National Credit Act. Your monthly debt repayment amount is specific to your situation and how much you owe on your debt in total. Debt Counsellors are permitted by the NCR to charge certain fees which include:

Application Fee

This is a flat fee to cover the costs of the debt counsellor to process the completed debt Review application.

Regulated Cost – R50

Payment Due Upfront and in full.

Administration Fee

The Debt Review administration fee is a regulated once-off flat fee which gets charged by the debt counsellor. This fee is for administering the following processes:

• Consultation with the consumer. The consultation is the explanation of the Debt Review process and an explanation of the regulated fees.
• Notifications to credit providers advising them that the consumer has applied for debt review. Also, known as the Form 17.1 Process
• Capturing the consumers’ details on the NCR Debt help system
• Attending to any debt Review rejections (17.2 rejection) which will include
• Notifying the consumer and credit providers and the rejection
• Updating the NCR Debt help system
• Compliance with regulation 25. Regulation 25 of the National Credit Act: If a debt counsellor finds that a consumer is not over-indebted and makes a finding in section 86(7)(a), the debt counsellor must provide the consumer with a letter of rejection

Regulated Cost – R300

Payment Due Upfront and in full.

Debt Counselling Restructuring Fee.

The Fees under debt counselling are aligned to the outcomes of a full assessment of the consumers’ financial information and the following processes include:

• Proposal preparation for credit providers’ perusal
• Restructure the consumers’ debt on the debt counsellors PDA profile
• Negotiations with creditor providers which includes
• Negotiate reduced instalments
• Negotiate reduced interest rates
• Reduce or change insurances
• Submit final proposals to credit providers and the consumer
• Drafting, submitting and supplying of debt counselling documents to attorneys to draft court applications.
• Updating the NCR Debt help system
• Attend to any transfer request from consumers
• Attorney instruction to draft court applications
• Filling of NCT applications in the cases of consent orders
• Attending to withdrawal request from consumers (17.W process)

Costs – The restructuring fee is equal to the distributable amount of not more than R8000 for a single applicant and R9000 for consumers married in community of property

In other words, the first restructured instalment will get paid to the debt counsellor. The above limits apply

Payment Due: This first payment will get paid over to the debt counsellor for services rendered.

Reckless lending fee.

A debt counsellor will attend to Reckless Lending Assessments and investigations and supplying reckless lending documents to attorneys to draft affidavits on the assessment outcome

Cost R1500

After Care Fee.

Debt counsellors will track your debt counselling progress and attend to the following while you under debt review.

• Form 17.2
• Review of the consumers’ financial situation
• Attend to any payment queries
• Attend to the clearance process which includes securing paid up letters
• Attend to the 17. W process. (withdrawal from debt counselling by the consumer)
• Attending to the update of the NCR debt help system

Costs: 5% of the distributable amount or an amount of not more than R450 per month.

Aftercare fees will never exceed R450. If the amount exceeds R450pm query the amount with the debt counsellor and the NCR.

Payment Due monthly will get deducted from the debt Review restructured amount.

National Consumer Tribunal Submission Fee.

A debt counsellor will submit your debt counselling application with the NCT to get a consent order.

Costs R 621.14 once-off and this is excluding the NCT filling fee. Currently, the NCT filing fee.

Attorney Fees

equivalent to your monthly debt rehabilitation amount for your legal application to the Magistrate Court.

A monthly Transactional Payment Distribution Fee (PDA) as per the NCR

Book your free debt counselling assessment below.

NCR Debt Counselling Fee Guidelines

The National Credit Regulator (NCR) has established guidelines outlining the fees debt counsellors can charge in South Africa. Understanding these fees is crucial before entering debt review. This table provides a clear breakdown of the different fees, along with details on when they become due or what triggers their payment.

STEP	SERVICES	AMOUNT(excl vat)	PAYMENT DUE
Application	Completion and submission of Form 16	R50.00 (Regulated)	Upfront and in full
Administration Fee	a) Consultation with consumer including an explanation of process and fee disclosure b) Form 17.1 process c) Loading of consumers onto the DHS d) Rejection process of form 17.2(a) including. notifying the consumer and credit providers II. updating the DHSIII. compliance with Regulation	R300.00 per application	Payable upfront and in full
Restructuring Fee	Attending to the Form 17.2(b) process including, but not limited to, the following related services: a) Proposal preparation; b) Loading the plan on the debt counsellor’s PDA*** profile; c) Negotiating with credit providers; d) Submitting the final proposal; e) Supplying debt counselling documents to the attorney to draft the court application; f) Updating the DHS; g) Transferring the consumer; h) Instructing the attorney to draft the court application/collating and filing NCT**** application; and i) Withdrawal by the consumer (Form17.W process)	For one applicant the fee is either equal to the distributable amount** or a maximum fee of R8 000.00 (whichever amount is the lesser). For consumers married in Community of Property, the fee is either equal to the distributable amount or a maximum fee of R9 000.00 (whichever amount is the lesser).	Collected from restructured payment in Month 1 after drafting and submission of the proposals.
Reckless Lending Fee	a) Reckless lending assessment; and b) Supplying reckless lending documents to the attorney to draft the affidavit on the assessment outcome.	R1 500.00 per debt counselling application.	Collected from restructured payment in Month 2 after completing the written outcome of the reckless lending assessment.
Aftercare Fee	a) Form 17.2(c) process; b) Review of the consumer’s financial situation; c) Attending to payment queries; d) Clearance process, including securing the paid-up letters; e) Withdrawal by the consumer (Form 17.W process); and f) Updating the DHS.	For the entire debt counselling process the fee is equal to 5% of the distributable amount or a maximum fee of R450.00 (whichever amount is the lesser)	Collected from restructured payment in every month after Month 2 in which aftercare services are rendered.
NCT Submission Fee	Submission of the NCT application.	R500.00 (excluding the NCT filing fee which is R200.00).	Collected from restructured payment in Month 2 after completion of the restructuring process.
Attorney Fee	a) Drafting of the court application b) Attendance at court.	To be agreed upon upfront with the attorney and communicated in writing to the consumer when applying for debt counselling.	Collected from restructured payment and distributed to the attorney only after: a) one or more credit providers have not accepted the repayment plan; b) the attorney has drafted the court application; and c) the attorney has attended the hearing of the court application:

Frequently Asked Questions about Debt Counselling Fees

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