NCR Campaign To Warn Consumers
The National Credit Regulator (NCR) is warning consumers not to be taken in by promises of getting out of debt review if they have not paid off all their debts.
The NCR are busy with a media campaign to warn consumers about possible misleading adverts on social media. Many of these adverts feature politicians and offer debt relief, or they may talk about a ‘government approved method of getting debt written off’.
The NCR also are wary of adverts that promise a percentage of someone’s debt will be written off. For example, the advert on social media may say Save 63% on your debt repayments.
Can’t An Attorney Get Me Out Of Debt?
Some attorneys may offer their services to rescind a court order for debt review. They may charge a lot of money (up to R8000 according to the NCR) to do so. The problem is that recent High Court rulings state that this is simply not possible with the way the National Credit Act is written right now.
The current wording requires that a person settle all their debts (except a bond) or if the person never got a court order for their debt review go to court and prove they have no more debt or enough money to pay all their debts normally every month.
‘only Debt Counsellors who are registered with the NCR are able to offer the services of a Debt Counsellor’
The NCR are quick to remind people that only Debt Counsellors who are registered with the NCR are able to offer the services of a Debt Counsellor (talking to all your credit providers to request debt restructured repayments). This means that mediators or dispute resolution agents or attorneys are not able to offer these exact services (They might be able to help with a single debt however if there is a dispute over some details).
People Getting Scammed?
It seems from their campaign they are worried that some people are making payments to people online but then lose their money because the person is a scammer or never actually delivers on their promises.
Even if consumers then later complain to the NCR the scammer may have already disappeared and be impossible to locate. If you have any doubts about any service provider or online advert then the NCR also welcomes phone calls to discuss matters or just to check if someone is legitimate.
‘the NCR also welcomes phone calls to discuss matters or just to check if someone is legitimate’
So, rather stick to dealing with NCR registered Debt Counsellors. If you were under debt review in the past and now want to reenter the credit market you may need to ask a Debt Counsellor to review your situation and see if that possibility exists or if you may need to pay off any remaining debts.
