If no COB
If no COB is received within 5 business days, the DC may accept the information provided by the consumer as being correct to determine if the consumer is overindebted, in terms of Regulation 24(4).
NDRC Practice NoteLast reviewed 2026-04
If a credit provider fails to deliver the COB within five business days, Regulation 24(4) allows the debt counsellor to proceed using the consumer's own information. This protects the file from indefinite delay caused by a non-responsive creditor.
Proceeding without the COB still requires documentary backing from the consumer: the latest statement, a recent SMS balance, or the account number with a written record of the request. A bare assertion of balance will not survive a creditor challenge later.
Statutory basis: NCA Regulation 24(4). NDRC's workflow records the date of Form 17.1 dispatch on every file so the five-business-day clock is auditable.
Drawn from NDRC's active case work. For your situation, see our debt counselling overview.
Cite this clause
National Credit Regulator. (2015). Annexure A — Debt Review Process & Conduct Provisions, clause 2.3.2: If no COB. Guideline 001/2015 (Debt Review Task Team Agreements 2010), p. 17.