September 2020 IDM Special Edition

Issue 9 of 2020

EXCELLENCE IS DOING 

ORDINARY THINGS 

EXTRAORDINARILY 

WELL 

– John W. Gardner

WHAT MAKES US 

EXCELLENT? 

/ Unimpaired and automated PDA systems 

/ Integration with top-ranked Debt Counsellor systems 

/ Enhancing Debt Counsellor efficiency and sustainability 

/ Best customer support in the country – queries are resolved within 24 hours 

/ Strong compliance and best-industry-practice implementation is at our centre 

Call Chris van der Straaten 

Head of Hyphen PDA | 082 557 0437 

Or call our friendly support centre on 011 303 0060 - Option 2 

or visit our website www.hyphenpda.co.za

FROM THE IDM DESK 

STRUGGLING WITH YOUR DEBT? TAKE 

ADVANTAGE OF DEBT COUNSELLING 

IN THESE TIMES OF HISTORIC LOW 

INTEREST RATES 

Many South African consumers are wary of seeking help for their 

financial situation because they’re embarrassed or do not know about 

the options available to them. Now, with interest rates at historical lows, 

debt counselling may be too good an option to overlook. 

If you are struggling with your finances, you should be considering debt 

counselling as a way to take advantage of very low interest rates and 

to cut your debt burden in what is an extremely uncertain economic 

environment. 

The underlying principle of debt counselling is consumers only pay what 

they can afford towards debt repayments. 

Reputable debt counsellors use an industry standard called the Debt 

Counselling Rule Set (DCRS) that allows them to negotiate with creditors 

significant interest rate reductions on consumers’ debt. 

DCRS allows for reduction of monthly fees and interest rates on all loan 

types. DCRS is linked to the repo rate, which is currently 3.5%. This 

means that debt counsellors who use DCRS are able to secure interest 

rates on bonds and vehicle finance as low as the repo rate plus 2% - or 

5.5% - to ensure consumers are able to afford the repayments.

On top of that – for unsecured lending such as personal loans and credit 

cards, which is where most South Africans feel the burden of debt - 

DCRS allows for renegotiation of the interest rate as close to zero percent 

as possible. 

Personal loans sometimes have annual interest rates as high as 23%. 

Store cards and credit cards also typically have comparatively high 

interest charges. In some instances, to make the repayment plan 

affordable for a consumer the rates on these debts could be renegotiated 

down to 0%. 

In the current economic environment this could provide massive relief for 

many consumers who are struggling to make ends meet. 

The reality is that if you’re feeling the burden of debt, talking to your 

debt counsellor is the responsible thing to do, particularly in an economy 

that was already in difficulty before lockdown and will now struggle to 

recover even to pre-lockdown levels. The earlier you act, the better your 

chances of getting back on a sound financial footing and not putting 

everything you’ve worked for at risk. 

South Africa has a world-class, regulated debt counselling sector and 

it is working well. DebtBusters uses the DCRS system and has helped 

hundreds of thousands of consumers since the system’s inception in the 

early 2010s.

Take Back Control 

Of Your Finances 

We provide a remedy specifically for 

over-indebted consumers which 

involves restructuring of debt 

payments, lowering interest rates and 

fees and lengthening payment terms. 

Debt Counselling could be the best 

gift you give yourself. 

Call 087 237 7874 today! 

2018 

Debt Review 

Awards 

WINNER 

2018 

Debt Review 

Awards 

WINNER 

DebtBusters voted SA’s BEST ‘National Debt Councellor’at the 

2018: Debt Review Awards - for the 3rd consecutive year! 

Consumer Debt Help voted SA’s BEST ‘Large Debt Councellor’ 

at the 2018: Debt Review Awards - for the 5th consecutive year! 

Follow us on Facebook 

DebtBusters employs NCR 

registered debt counsellors 

| www.debtbusters.co.za 

Proudly part of the Intelligent Debt 

Management (IDM) Group

FROM THE 

EDITOR 

I was recently watching the 2020 Emmy’s as they hosted 

their first virtual awards ceremony. The host (Jimmy 

Kimmel) and a select few filmed at a location while 

guests and the nominees joined remotely online. As I was 

watching I thought to myself: I now totally know what goes 

into producing and organizing such a coordinated effort 

in order to have such an Awards show.

And though many of the attendees and nominees are famous Hollywood 

people I thought…hey man, we already did that this year with the annual 

Debt Review Awards and we were just as good. 

Turns out we are ahead of the curve in the debt review industry and our 

online Awards show will be just one of many such Awards shows held 

remotely this year. And while I think Jimmy Kimmel is great I do think 

Rob Van Vuuren is great. He went from host to demotivational speaker in 

minutes and left us laughing and demoralized for days if not weeks after. 

Thanks Rob! 

But seriously, the team here at Debtfree Magazine (who help with 

organizing the Awards each year) did an amazing job in not only 

organizing the Awards but helping us as an industry to feel a few 

minutes of relaxation, humor, tension and suspense and excitement. Well 

done to the team and well done to all those recognized for their hard 

work in the industry in what has undoubtedly been a year to remember. 

A challenging year of note. 

For consumers who are going through these tough times, all we can 

say is: please talk to your Debt Counsellor about any and all issues that 

come your way that threaten to take you out of the process. Speak to 

them soon, speak to them honestly and be prepared to take the advice 

they will give. 2020 is not a year for half measures and they may give 

you some hard homework and tasks to accomplish but it will be worth 

it to stay in the process and keep chipping away at your debt. Don’t let 

2020 be the year that throws your financial future down the drain. 

Also a big word of commendation and thanks to all those credit provider 

debt review departments out there who are working through the 

pandemic and pushing the other departments at the credit providers to 

help keep their clients in debt review rather than put them back into the 

old collections process. Well done to you for pushing to help your clients!

Some people see the Awards process as being about winning (naturally 

so) but our team also like to think of it as acknowledging that there 

are hard working people behind all the companies and brands and 

departments who are helping consumers through the toughest of times. 

We are always impressed to see how hard everyone is working to help 

consumers get out of debt. So, here’s a “virtual” award to you. To the 

Debt Counsellors and credit providers; to the software developers and 

insurance providers; to the attorneys and the PDAs; to the Regulator and 

Tribunal and, most importantly, to all you consumers on your hard but 

rewarding journey to being totally debt free. 

THIS LITTLE 

PIGGY GOES 

TO... YOU

DEBT REVIEW 

LESSON 1 

Every legitimate Debt Counsellor has a 

certificate issued to them by the National 

Credit Regulator. When talking to a new 

Debt Counsellor you can ask them to 

email you or show you a copy of their 

certificate.

DEBT REVIEW AWARDS 

C 

NEWS 

TALK TO 

YOUR DEBT 

COUNSELLOR 

O 

NTENTS 

SCAM ALERT 

SERVICE 

DIRECTORY 

DISCLAIMER 

Debtfree Magazine considers its sources reliable 

and verifies as much information as possible. 

However, reporting inaccuracies can occur, 

consequently readers using this information do 

so at their own risk. Debtfree Magazine makes 

content available with the understanding that 

the publisher is not rendering legal services or 

financial advice. Although persons and companies 

mentioned herein are believed to be reputable, 

neither Debtfree Magazine nor any of its 

employees, sales executives or contributors accept 

any responsibility whatsoever for their activities. 

Debtfree Magazine contains material supplied to 

us by advertisers which does not necessarily reflect 

the views and opinions of the Debtfree Magazine 

team. No person, organization or party can copy 

or re-produce the content on this site and/or 

magazine or any part of this publication without 

a written consent from the editors’ panel and the 

author of the content, as applicable. Debtfree 

Magazine, authors and contributors reserve their 

rights with regards to copyright of their work.

REDUCE UNNECESSARY 

EMAILS & CALLS 

ARE YOUR CLIENTS SIGNED UP TO DReX? 

Encourage your clients to sign up on DReX and 

instantly reduce requests for balances, statements 

and payment confirmation. Now you can focus on 

other revenue generating activities! 

CLICK HERE 

for the link to send to your clients 

CONSUMER BENEFITS: 

^ ^ ^ 

Visibility of balances 

Detailed statements 

Access to debt review documentation 

CLICK HERE 

to upload a database & we’ll do the rest! 

DReX simplifies the exchange of data and makes 

managing the debt review process less admin intensive 

+27(0)31 251 4151

DEBT REVIEW 

LESSON 2 

Leaving debt review is not a simple process 

and needs to be done once your debts are 

paid up and with the help of a professional 

Debt Counsellor.

BREAKING 

NEWS

ABSA TO UPDATE DEBT 

COUNSELLORS MONTHLY 

ABSA’s team who handle debt review have notified Debt 

Counsellors that they will now be introducing a new system 

of sharing consumers current balances monthly. They will 

automatically be sending this information out to Debt 

Counsellors, as this is a very common query type in the industry. 

It is often necessary to check if the balances between the 

Payment Distribution Agents software and the Banks software 

match. It is not uncommon for their to be minor differences. 

Now, on a monthly basis a bulk database of all the particular 

Debt Counsellor’s active clients with ABSA will be shared, 

meaning that the Debt Counsellor should not have to regularly 

try and get this information from ABSA via email. By supplying 

the information proactively it is hoped this helps both Debt 

Counsellors and reduced enquiries at the bank which might 

be missed. 

The information will be shared with two part verification (one 

email with info and another with the code needed to open the 

info). The information will be provided for all the clients in bulk 

in Excel format for ease of use. The emails will be provided 

between the 10th and 18th of each month after payments 

have been made by the clients via their PDA and captures and 

reflecting on the bank’s system.

REPO RATE UNCHANGED 

The Monetary Policy Committee of the SA Reserve Bank (MPC) 

met and discussed possible changes to the Repo Rate during 

September. They factored in recent inflation figures, the Rand 

to Dollar exchange and of course factors around the Covid-19 

pandemic. 

It was ultimately decided there would be little benefit to adjusting 

the rate from its current low of 3.5% per annum. Experts expect 

the rate to remain low until late 2021.

STANDARD BANK TO 

LAUNCH INFO PORTAL 

With the Protection of Personal Information Act (PoPI) finally 

coming into full effect in the next few months the various banks, 

credit providers and Debt Counsellors are having to think about 

how they will share information about their mutual clients while 

sticking to the new laws. Standard Bank has announced that 

they have a data sharing portal of their own in development 

and that Debt Counsellors will be given access to the portal in 

the near future. The portal will be used by more than just Debt 

Counsellors of course and will be an integral part of the banks 

future info sharing processes. 

Debt Counsellors will be able to use the portal to get information 

such as: CoBs, Proposals, Termination notice records, Paid up 

letters & general info about their clients. They will also be able 

to edit (or suggest edits) for some client information (eg. contact 

info and address). PoPI is going to present all industries with 

challenges and innovative solutions will be needed for those 

who regularly share consumer’s private information (such 

as Debt Counsellors, attorneys, credit bureaus, Government 

offices and credit providers). 

To sign up now (in advance) for early access to Standard 

Bank’s system for when it goes live, Debt Counsellors 

can email the bank with their name and contact info at: 

RegulatoryOperationsCommunication@standardbank.co.za

YOU ARE WELCOME WATCHING TO THE THE 

DEBT REVIEW 

DEBT REVIEW 

AWARDS 2020 


ONLINE SHOW 

ONLINE SHOW

THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS 

INTRODUCTION 

Each year the debt counselling and debt review industry 

have an awards show where the results of industry peer 

reviews are announced. This year due to Covid-19 the 

Awards Gala became an online show streamed live over 

YouTube. Here’s a look at all the action, laughs and 

Golden Piggy Bank winners. 

More than that, you are starting a process that you may not know too 

much about. What are some facts that you absolutely need to know 

about debt review?

YOU ARE WATCHING THE 

DEBT REVIEW 


ONLINE SHOW


PRE SHOW 

Our hosts for the day: Tom & Maluska (a cat or two and 

maybe a dog)


DEBT REVIEW 


ONLINE SHOW

The YouTube live stream began at 11am with the 

broadcast of chats with well known industry figures as 

they discussed and debated the criteria used in the peer 

review process each year. 

There were three chats about the criteria used for Debt Counsellors 

(when reviewed by credit providers), the criteria used for credit providers 

(when reviewed by Debt Counsellors) and then the criteria used 

for Payment Distribution Agents (by both credit providers and Debt 

Counsellors). 

Having the pre show in place helped the live stream team, deal with 

a few technical issues that came up. With some behind the scenes 

scrambling, the show was able to carry on for the next 7 hours with only 

3 short glitches during all that time.


DEBT REVIEW 


ONLINE SHOW 

Next, we had a quick update about the new Award category this year 

(Technology Adoption Award – in partnership with Slipstream) and then 

a presentation from Maximus who produce software that helps Debt 

Counsellors run their practice and assist consumers. The software is 

currently used by Debt Counsellors to integrate with 2 of the 4 NCR 

registered PDAs.


DEBT REVIEW 


ONLINE SHOW 

Meanwhile, Lazlo Toth of Consumer Friend was putting on his tux and 

getting ready for the Awards and reminiscing about how difficult 2020 

has been. DJ Shacido was on the decks pumping out some vibes as 

everyone got ready for the main show to begin.


DEBT REVIEW 


ONLINE SHOW


DEBT REVIEW 

AWARDS SHOW 

Comedian (and it turns out motivational speaker) Rob 

Van Vuuren was on hand to entertain the viewers with his 

stories (mostly about how he hates motivational speakers) 

and toilet paper.


DEBT REVIEW 


ONLINE SHOW

There were various speakers at the Awards show including 

Mr. Chris Van der Straaten of Hyphen PDA who went 

through some of the challenges that Hyphen PDA and 

most large practices have had to deal with this year. 

Wessel Symington of Steyn Coetzee Attorneys then discussed some 

very important precedent setting court cases that has changed the way 

consumers can defend themselves. 

The first of several speakers from other countries, who shared their 

experiences about debt review, was Ms. Thatcher Maziya (of Debt Solve 

incorporated) from the Kingdom of eSwatini. She shared the latest 

developments and the similarities and differences in the process.


NEW AWARD 

CATEGORY - 

SLIPSTREAM 

TECHNOLOGY 

ADOPTION AWARD 

This year the Debt Review awards partnered with Slipstream to bring a 

new award category into existence: Technology Adoption. Technology is 

key to the successful running of debt review and Slipstream have helped 

create the very popular DReX portal. The Award this year recognized 

those Debt Counsellors who themselves use the portal as well as a large 

number of their clients (who use it to get balances and information about 

their case). The top 3 users were: Summit Financial Partners, National 

Debt Advisors and the Award winner Debt Rescue.


DEBT REVIEW 


ONLINE SHOW


DEBT REVIEW 


ONLINE SHOW


CONSUMERS 

GETTING OUT 

OF DEBT 

Adri de Bruyn & Elzaan Kemp of Kemp Du Breyn & DC 

Experts shared how their clients (some in their 70s) had 

been assisted to get out of debt even during the lockdown. 

Many have been given generous assistance from Standard 

Bank in clearing their last remaining debts. 

It was great to see that even with all the chaos caused by Covid-19 

and the lockdown consumers are still getting clearance certificates and 

settling all their debt. Debt review continues to help people successfully 

deal with their debt stress.


ONE: SIGNIFICANT 

CONTRIBUTION 

TO DEBT REVIEW 

AWARDS 

Each year those in the industry and insurance provider ONE helps the 

Debt Review Awards team identify those individuals who are going 

‘above and beyond’ to make debt review work. These are individuals 

who are improving the process and industry. In each practice, office and 

service provider are those who are putting extra time and effort to help 

make debt review the best process for consumers to use to get out of 

debt. 

This year the well deserved winners of the ONE Significant Contribution 

to Debt Review awards were Muhammed Laher of ABSA and Timmy Vd 

Grijp from the National Credit Regulator.


DEBT REVIEW 


ONLINE SHOW


DEBT REVIEW 


ONLINE SHOW

The next international speaker was from the UK, Mr Sean 

Fest (of Credit Management) who shared how things are 

working there. He explained how their regulation and 

Regulators work and how, surprisingly many consumers 

have been using the time during lockdown to settle up 

their debts, while slashing their monthly expenses. He 

did warn however that a wave of consumers will soon 

be entering debt review over there as the banks’ grace 

periods and government assistance comes to an end. 

From across the border in Namibia, Mr Salmao lipinge spoke about how 

debt review is finally starting to get recognized there. It has not been 

an easy journey but consumers there really need a lot of assistance. He 

praised the local Regulator for their active role in helping consumers and 

mentioned many fine developments which are helping consumers deal 

with the results of the pandemic. 

Mr Russell Dickerson of the Debt Counsellors Association of South Africa 

spoke to the guests and encouraged everyone to be positive people who 

were making the best use of online resources. He promised that after 

the long drought (of lockdown) the summer rains of new applications for 

help were finally on their way.


THE AWARDS 

Mr Barry Fuchs of Moore SA was the auditor keeping an 

eye on things and after a short speech explaining how the 

peer reviews work (from our Editor Mr Zak King) it was 

time to hear the results of the peer reviews.


DEBT REVIEW 


ONLINE SHOW


DEBT REVIEW 


ONLINE SHOW


PDA AWARDS 

The National Credit Regulator has currently recognized 

and registered 4 Payment Distribution Agents. There 

are two awards handed out in the Payment Distribution 

category. An award as reviewed and rated by Debt 

Counsellors and then a second award from a credit 

provider perspective. 

This year both awards went to Hyphen PDA.


CREDIT PROVIDER 

AWARDS 

There are many thousands of credit providers in South 

Africa, both large and small. This year Debt Counsellors 

rated the following credit providers the highest in their 

relevant credit type category: 

Direct Axis, 

Consumer Friend, 

Old Mutual, 

Standard Bank (who had a very strong showing taking awards in 3 

different categories namely: Secured, Unsecured credit, as well as, 

Vehicle finance). 

African Bank was recognized this year as the most improved debt review 

department at a credit provider. 

New Award: Covid-19 Excellence 

The new award category for 2020 in regard to excellence in dealing with 

the Covid-19 pandemic went to FNB. Well done.


DEBT REVIEW 


ONLINE SHOW


DEBT REVIEW 


ONLINE SHOW


DEBT COUNSELLORS 

50 different Debt Counsellors were recognized in 2020 

at the Debt Review Awards. These hard working Debt 

Counsellors have been working extra hard during the 

lockdown to assist their consumers. 

5 of these Debt Counsellors took home the Golden Piggy Bank Awards 

as they received the highest ratings in their size categories. They were: 

Alan Manshon, Shaun Zeelie, Russell Dickerson, Consumer Debt Help 

and National Debt Advisors (NDA). 

New Award: Covid-19 Excellence 

The new award category for 2020 in regard to excellence in dealing with 

the Covid-19 pandemic went to National Debt Counsellors (NDC).


THAT’S ALL FOLKS 

After a few more laughs at the end of the show from 

Comedian Rob Van Vuuren and hosts Tom & Maluska it 

was time to either celebrate, commiserate or just relax 

while enjoying the music by DJ Shacido. 

Many hundreds (possibly thousands) of viewers were able to tune in to 

the show this year despite the challenges of Covid-19. Well done to the 

team behind the scenes and well done to all those who were nominated 

and recognized at this year’s Awards.


DEBT REVIEW 


ONLINE SHOW


CELEBRATING 

THE AWARDS 

Well planned social distancing parties were held at 

debt counselling practices and credit provider debt 

review departments across the country. Many held 

parties over zoom or teams as they all tuned in to watch 

simultaneously from home. 

It was great to see everyone dressed up (at least from the waist upwards) 

and enjoying themselves and sharing photos via social media. Search for 

#debtreviewawards2020 on your favorite social media platform to see 

many of the pics. 

For more info & video clips of the action head over to: 

www.debtreviewawards.co.za or YouTube

TALK TO YOUR 

DEBT COUNSELLOR 

SOONER, NOT LATER 

Whether you are in debt review or not, life can be tricky 

and challenges will come your way. 

Unforeseen economic challenges, like those brought about by Covid-19, 

can cause you to worry about being able to make your court ordered 

debt review repayment. Your landlord may decide it is time to sell the 

place you are renting, or your mobile phone may be stolen. All these 

things will impact on your day to day life and could hinder your ability to 

communicate with your Debt Counsellor, PDA or credit providers. They 

may also force you to make changes that will impact your debt review. 

Many people in debt review will just go ahead and make some changes, 

and then only months later, speak to their Debt Counsellor about 

it. By this time, all the progress that has been made with their debt 

review could be threatened. It could end the entire debt review if left 

unchecked, it may in fact, already be too late. 

A large number of issues in debt review can be mitigated by speaking to 

your Debt Counsellor sooner rather than later. 

Let’s look at a few of these issues and consider how speaking to your 

Debt Counsellor as soon as the situation comes up, the most beneficial 

course of action.

TALK TO YOUR DEBT COUNSELLOR 

TROUBLE MAKING 

A PAYMENT 

If you have been put on short time then this will directly affect your 

income. Receiving less income could result in your prioritizing daily 

expenses over monthly debt repayments. You need to put food on the 

table and buy electricity to get by. Many consumers who have such an 

unplanned drop in income, do not speak to their Debt Counsellor when 

they first see trouble coming. Instead they make a decision based on 

their perceived needs at the time. Often this results in them not having 

the needed monthly debt repayment amount to their credit providers 

(via their Payment Distribution Agent). Some though, wisely decide to pay 

what they can, but others foolishly just skip the entire payment. 

If a few days goes by and none of their creditors complain, they may 

foolishly think everything is ok and as if nothing is wrong. This is naive 

and unrealistic. It is obvious that the credit providers’ computers will pick 

up the missed payment, and will start the process of them trying to get 

out of the debt review. Although consumers will have been warned about 

the serious results of missing payments, they simply hope for the best. 

What happens next… the credit provider’s computers generate a letter 

saying they are getting out of the debt review because the consumer did 

not stick to the agreement and court order, and will revert to pestering 

calls, sms’ and eventually a summons. The consumers stress levels will 

start to rise, and they will invariably go running to their Debt Counsellor, 

to ask for assistance long after the fact. They may now face legal action, 

judgments (which last for 30 years) and the repossession and sale of 

their assets like their car and home.


A SUDDEN EXPENSE 

n unplanned expense can also necessitate consumers 

to spend money that they had set aside for debt review 

payments. When your car breaks down or your geyser 

explodes or perhaps your washing machine breaks down 

you may decide that you need to take immediate action to 

fix the problem. This can result in not having the needed 

funds to make your regular monthly debt restructuring 

payment. 

Missed payments can lead to credit providers leaving the debt review 

process and starting new legal action against the consumer. This will 

increase the consumers stress and could end their debt review journey. 

In many cases this results in the consumer owing more money than they 

thought, as the benefits of debt review are stripped from the accounts 

they have been paying and huge fees and interest are once again 

included by the credit providers. Next, the collection agent calls and 

legal action begins with summonses and more. 

In some cases, the car repairs that were paid for with the debt review 

installment ends up being repossessed and sold off on auction, leaving 

the consumer without a vehicle for the next few years.


A CHANGE IN 

CONTACT INFO 

It is not uncommon for people in South Africa to regularly change 

contact info. This includes their physical address, their mobile number 

and their email address. Maybe their phone gets lost or damaged and 

they simply get a new sim card and number. Perhaps they decide to 

move or they change jobs, and thus email addresses. This is not unusual 

and normally they let their friends and family know about the changes. 

What may present a challenge for people under debt review is when 

they move, and the credit providers send important legal documents to 

their old address. Because they are not aware of the legal document, it 

can escalate to the point where a credit provider goes to court and the 

consumer is not there to defend themselves. Next they could be surprised 

with a judgment and a huge bill from the credit provider’s attorneys. 

Other consumers complain that they are no longer getting regular 

distribution updates from their Payment Distribution Agent. It could be 

that the emails are going to their old email address or the notification 

sms’ has gone to their old mobile number. It might even be unaware that 

their Debt Counsellor is desperately trying to reach them with important 

information, but you have not updated your contact details with them.


INCOME CHANGES 

If you see problems brewing due to a possible future change in income, 

your Debt Counsellor can reach out to your credit providers in advance 

and warn them. This may prevent them from trying to get out of the debt 

review. It might not prevent all of them from leaving and starting to send 

new lawyers after you but it might keep most of them in the process. It 

could happen that the credit providers are understanding, and give you 

a month’s breathing room or allow you to make a reduced payment for 

that month. This could only happen if they are notified well in advance, 

and if the Debt Counsellor has enough time to try reach out to them. 

Speak to your Debt Counsellor as soon as you think there might be a 

change with your income.


EXTRA EXPENSES 

If you have a sudden unexpected expense, and have 

not been saving a little as per your budget with the Debt 

Counsellor, you might make a rushed decision to spend 

money that should go towards repaying your debt. After 

all, you need clean clothes, you need to have a shower 

and you need to be able to get to work. 

A short conversation with your Debt Counsellor however, may help you 

figure out how much it will cost to use a laundromat this month, while 

you save towards a new washing machine. They may help you realise 

that your friend has a washing machine, or your relatives do, which you 

could use without spending more now. You may be able to get a lift to 

work with a colleague or use public transport for a few weeks, while 

the Debt Counsellor speaks to the vehicle finance credit provider about 

making a reduced payment for a little while, to help cover the repair 

costs. You will never know unless you speak to your Debt Counsellor. 

Speak to your Debt Counsellor if you face a sudden unplanned 

expense.


NEW CONTACT INFO 

Rather than miss out on the chance to defend yourself legally (if your 

credit providers send letters to your old address) and rather than miss 

out on important emails and SMS’, it is essential to update your Debt 

Counsellor if/when your contact info changes. They will advise you on 

who else to inform about your change of address. They will remind you 

to let the credit providers know about the change. They may remind you 

to update your insurance provider or Payment Distribution Agent about 

the change so that you don’t have experience problems later. 

Speak to your Debt Counsellor if your Contact info changes.


SPEAK TO YOUR 

DEBT COUNSELLOR 

SOONER RATHER 

THAN LATER 

By simply reaching out to your debt counsellor (the person 

who you are paying to help you each month) you can 

avoid some of the biggest challenges that could arise in 

debt review. By keeping them in the loop, you can have 

the entire Debt Counselling team at their office, working 

on your case. 

While the Debt Counsellor is not able to just wave their wand and make 

the problems disappear, they can bring years of experience and good 

decision making to the table and help you see what all your options are. 

They can provide you with sound advice on how to protect your assets 

and stay in the debt review process, even when the unexpected comes 

along. 

The sooner you reach out to them, the more time you give them to help 

you find the best solution for your challenging situation.

BEWARE OF 

SCAMMERS 

A scam currently doing the rounds involves ‘crooks’ 

calling you up, pretending to be from your bank, and 

getting you to willingly provide them with one time pin 

(OTP) codes. 

The recent release of personal information onto the internet from credit 

bureau Experian, has brought the problem of scammers back into 

the spotlight. One of the latest scams involves people calling you up 

pretending to be the bank’s anti-fraud department, and tricking you into 

sharing information so that the scammers can make purchases from 

your account

BEWARE OF SCAMMERS 

STEP 1 GAIN TRUST 

To gain your trust, the scammers use information they 

already have about you (from this Experian customer info 

or similar leaks) to pretend to representing your own bank 

and to fictitious already know everything about you. 

They may share your ID number and account number details with you 

to show that they really know who you are. This helps you relax and feel 

like you are actually dealing with your bank, who you know and trust.


STEP 2 TELL YOU 

THAT YOU HAVE BEEN 

A VICTIM OF FRAUD 

When someone calls you up and claims that you have 

been a victim of fraud, it’s scary! The very nature of such a 

call sends panic signals to your brain, the scammers take 

advantage of this feeling to trick you into giving them the 

info they need to complete their fraud. 

They will tell you that you have already been a victim and they are the 

ones who can help to prevent more fraud, but …. you will need to work 

with them to stop it from happening again. 

Obviously, you do not want to be a victim of fraud, so you will be quick 

to cooperate with this person, who you think is from your bank to stop 

any more money being stolen from you.


STEP 3 GET YOU TO 

GIVE THEM YOUR 

ONE TIME PASSWORD 

The next step the scammers take is to load up a payment 

(or payments) on your account, and then they simply ask 

you to give them the one time pin the bank SMS’ you 

when they hit “pay” on their side. 

In reality, however, they are using the very code you give them, to 

steal from you. 

They tell you that they are the ones sending you the code, and if you can 

give them the numbers they can use it to stop the fraud. So you provide 

them with the OTP. 

In reality, however, they are using the very code you give them, to steal 

from you.


BEWARE 

In scam warning messages being shared from various 

banks via official channels from various banks, they 

advise that their agents will never ask for OTP to be 

disclosed. Please keep this in mind if someone contacts 

you from your bank saying that you have been a victim of 

fraud. 

One option you have, is to end any suspicious call and immediately 

contact the official fraud prevention number as shown on your bank’s 

website or social media. This way you can ensure that you are dealing 

with the right people. 

If you tell the person on the phone that you are going to hang up and 

call into the bank and they tell you not to do that, then you may well be 

dealing with a scammer. So hang up and call your bank right away. 

Never share your OTP with anyone claiming to be from your bank!

DEBT REVIEW 

LESSON 3 

If you decide not to pay your Debt 

Counsellor the small court ordered 

professional fee each month, you 

may have to pay these fees later 

when you need a clearance certificate 

to get out of debt review.

September 2020 IDM Special Edition

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