How to Find and Choose the Best Debt Counsellor

In this article, we share the best tips on how to find a good and reputable debt counsellor when you need one as well as share the most kept industry secrets and tips that will help you through this journey.

How to Find and Choose the Best Debt Counsellor

A debt counseling business is becoming more and more necessary for consumers to help them with their debt issues. It’s crucial that you choose the correct debt counselor to assist you in completing this procedure successfully and in order to achieve debt freedom because this commitment could last up to 60 months.

Here are some tips to help you make the proper decision:

1. The debt counsellor needs to be able to fully describe the debt counselling procedure. Professional debt counsellors must register with the NCR in order to practice, and they are supposed to offer accurate and useful information about the debt counseling procedure. In order to guarantee that South African consumers are given ethical assistance with paying off their debt, the National Credit Act (NCA) implemented debt counseling as a legitimate and strictly regulated debt solution in 2007.

2. Debt counsellors must safeguard your financial and personal data. Your personal and financial information must always be kept private by debt counselors. Verify that the debt counselor you are considering hiring has security precautions in place, that client information is kept completely secure, and that it is not provided to third parties.

3. Costs of debt counselling must be explained. Debt counselors are permitted to charge a variety of fees related to the debt counselling process, but they must adhere to the NCR’s specified pricing rules. The NCR states that debt counselors may charge an application fee for debt counselling, a cost for debt restructuring or “debt counselling,” legal fees, and a monthly fee for after-care services. Before you join up, you are free to ask the debt counsellor about their price schedule/fees, and they must be able to give you the right answers before you make any commitments.

4. Debt counsellors must be registered with the National Credit Regulator. According to the National Credit Act (NCA), all debt counsellors are required to register with The National Credit Regulator. Debt counsellors will have a registration number, which can be verified by contacting the NCR on 0860627627 or on the Register of Registrants.

5. Debt Counsellors must work with a reliable and registered payment distribution agency. Once your debt has been restructured, debt counseling organizations are legally prohibited from paying your creditors on your behalf. Instead, they must employ a Payment Distribution Agency (PDA) that is registered with the National Credit Regulator.

6. Debt counselors need to be accessible to help with any questions or problems that may come up. If you run into any problems while going through the procedure, a debt counseling organization should be able to help. Throughout your debt counseling journey, confirm that your debt counselor has the tools and capability to respond to questions and requests for information.

Know Exactly what is Debt Counselling and weigh the Advantages and Disadvantages of Debt Counselling before you make your initial consultation.

Watch the below video or visit this page to learn more about Debt Counselling.

Apply for Debt Counselling

Once you have decided to apply for Debt Counselling.

Complete the below form for your free assessment or click here to download the PDF version.

Our final tips

• Don’t ever make a direct payment to a debt counsellor’s bank account or his or her company/business account. Only make payments through a registered Payment Distribution Agency (PDAs), which are NCR-registered and governed, will receive and distribute all of your monthly payments in accordance with the debt review process as regulated by The National Credit Act.

• Do some online research on the debt counselling company you’ve picked. Visit the website of the debt counselor. Check out service ratings on platforms like hello peter or google reviews. Search Google Maps to confirm the address. If your debt counsellor does not come up under any of these searches, you may very well be dealing with a scammer. Rather be safe than sorry and try another Debt Counsellor.

• Before you sign anything, check the documents out and ask any questions. A registered, reputable debt counsellor won’t mind when you ask as many questions as necessary to feel comfortable. Do not sign anything unless you are perfectly satisfied with it, as you should with any financial documentation. If you ever need clarification on anything, you may always consult the Regulator.

• Verify that the debt counselor is billing you the appropriate fees in accordance with the NCR. These are capped and given to the debt counsellor as payment for all of their services. —— See the debt counselling fee structure.

• Have direct contact with your debt counsellor.

You can contact us on 0410125036 should you need more information or further assistance.