Debt review already has some reputational issues spurred on by negative comments from major credit providers.
There is no room for scammers who are actively trying to undermine the purpose of the Act and bring the industry into disrepute.
The NCR recently investigated some scammers and took action to shut them down. Here are some of the highlights from the NCT cases where the phoney Debt Counsellors were exposed and deregistered.
NCR vs Matea Gladness Maota
This Debt Counsellor was not using a PDA to receive funds from consumers. She also got court orders saying that consumers had no more debts when they actually did still owe credit providers. She issued false clearance certificates.
Outcome: Deregistered! R100 000 fine
NCR vs Mandisa Perseverance Balungile Mthembu
This Debt Counsellor blamed her employer for telling her to just update the NCR’s database with incorrect information saying the consumers were no longer over indebted. She did so even though there were no documents or paid up letters from any credit providers. Sorry, even the Nazi’s couldn’t get away with saying the boss made them do it.
Outcome: Suspended for 2 years!
NCR vs Christopher Sethole
The NCR proved that Christopher Sithole was issuing clearance certificates for people who had not paid up their debt. The scam used a 3rd party to produce fake letters that looked like they were from various credit providers. These were sent to the NCR and Credit Bureaus.
Outcome: Deregistered! R25 000 fine
