September 2020 IDM Special Edition
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Issue 9 of <strong>2020</strong>
EXCELLENCE IS DOING<br />
ORDINARY THINGS<br />
EXTRAORDINARILY<br />
WELL<br />
– John W. Gardner
WHAT MAKES US<br />
EXCELLENT?<br />
/ Unimpaired and automated PDA systems<br />
/ Integration with top-ranked Debt Counsellor systems<br />
/ Enhancing Debt Counsellor efficiency and sustainability<br />
/ Best customer support in the country – queries are resolved within 24 hours<br />
/ Strong compliance and best-industry-practice implementation is at our centre<br />
Call Chris van der Straaten<br />
Head of Hyphen PDA | 082 557 0437<br />
Or call our friendly support centre on 011 303 0060 - Option 2<br />
or visit our website www.hyphenpda.co.za
FROM THE <strong>IDM</strong> DESK<br />
STRUGGLING WITH YOUR DEBT? TAKE<br />
ADVANTAGE OF DEBT COUNSELLING<br />
IN THESE TIMES OF HISTORIC LOW<br />
INTEREST RATES<br />
Many South African consumers are wary of seeking help for their<br />
financial situation because they’re embarrassed or do not know about<br />
the options available to them. Now, with interest rates at historical lows,<br />
debt counselling may be too good an option to overlook.<br />
If you are struggling with your finances, you should be considering debt<br />
counselling as a way to take advantage of very low interest rates and<br />
to cut your debt burden in what is an extremely uncertain economic<br />
environment.<br />
The underlying principle of debt counselling is consumers only pay what<br />
they can afford towards debt repayments.<br />
Reputable debt counsellors use an industry standard called the Debt<br />
Counselling Rule Set (DCRS) that allows them to negotiate with creditors<br />
significant interest rate reductions on consumers’ debt.<br />
DCRS allows for reduction of monthly fees and interest rates on all loan<br />
types. DCRS is linked to the repo rate, which is currently 3.5%. This<br />
means that debt counsellors who use DCRS are able to secure interest<br />
rates on bonds and vehicle finance as low as the repo rate plus 2% - or<br />
5.5% - to ensure consumers are able to afford the repayments.
On top of that – for unsecured lending such as personal loans and credit<br />
cards, which is where most South Africans feel the burden of debt -<br />
DCRS allows for renegotiation of the interest rate as close to zero percent<br />
as possible.<br />
Personal loans sometimes have annual interest rates as high as 23%.<br />
Store cards and credit cards also typically have comparatively high<br />
interest charges. In some instances, to make the repayment plan<br />
affordable for a consumer the rates on these debts could be renegotiated<br />
down to 0%.<br />
In the current economic environment this could provide massive relief for<br />
many consumers who are struggling to make ends meet.<br />
The reality is that if you’re feeling the burden of debt, talking to your<br />
debt counsellor is the responsible thing to do, particularly in an economy<br />
that was already in difficulty before lockdown and will now struggle to<br />
recover even to pre-lockdown levels. The earlier you act, the better your<br />
chances of getting back on a sound financial footing and not putting<br />
everything you’ve worked for at risk.<br />
South Africa has a world-class, regulated debt counselling sector and<br />
it is working well. DebtBusters uses the DCRS system and has helped<br />
hundreds of thousands of consumers since the system’s inception in the<br />
early 2010s.
Take Back Control<br />
Of Your Finances<br />
We provide a remedy specifically for<br />
over-indebted consumers which<br />
involves restructuring of debt<br />
payments, lowering interest rates and<br />
fees and lengthening payment terms.<br />
Debt Counselling could be the best<br />
gift you give yourself.<br />
Call 087 237 7874 today!<br />
2018<br />
Debt Review<br />
Awards<br />
WINNER<br />
2018<br />
Debt Review<br />
Awards<br />
WINNER<br />
DebtBusters voted SA’s BEST ‘National Debt Councellor’at the<br />
2018: Debt Review Awards - for the 3rd consecutive year!<br />
Consumer Debt Help voted SA’s BEST ‘Large Debt Councellor’<br />
at the 2018: Debt Review Awards - for the 5th consecutive year!<br />
Follow us on Facebook<br />
DebtBusters employs NCR<br />
registered debt counsellors<br />
| www.debtbusters.co.za<br />
Proudly part of the Intelligent Debt<br />
Management (<strong>IDM</strong>) Group
FROM THE<br />
EDITOR<br />
I was recently watching the <strong>2020</strong> Emmy’s as they hosted<br />
their first virtual awards ceremony. The host (Jimmy<br />
Kimmel) and a select few filmed at a location while<br />
guests and the nominees joined remotely online. As I was<br />
watching I thought to myself: I now totally know what goes<br />
into producing and organizing such a coordinated effort<br />
in order to have such an Awards show.
And though many of the attendees and nominees are famous Hollywood<br />
people I thought…hey man, we already did that this year with the annual<br />
Debt Review Awards and we were just as good.<br />
Turns out we are ahead of the curve in the debt review industry and our<br />
online Awards show will be just one of many such Awards shows held<br />
remotely this year. And while I think Jimmy Kimmel is great I do think<br />
Rob Van Vuuren is great. He went from host to demotivational speaker in<br />
minutes and left us laughing and demoralized for days if not weeks after.<br />
Thanks Rob!<br />
But seriously, the team here at Debtfree Magazine (who help with<br />
organizing the Awards each year) did an amazing job in not only<br />
organizing the Awards but helping us as an industry to feel a few<br />
minutes of relaxation, humor, tension and suspense and excitement. Well<br />
done to the team and well done to all those recognized for their hard<br />
work in the industry in what has undoubtedly been a year to remember.<br />
A challenging year of note.<br />
For consumers who are going through these tough times, all we can<br />
say is: please talk to your Debt Counsellor about any and all issues that<br />
come your way that threaten to take you out of the process. Speak to<br />
them soon, speak to them honestly and be prepared to take the advice<br />
they will give. <strong>2020</strong> is not a year for half measures and they may give<br />
you some hard homework and tasks to accomplish but it will be worth<br />
it to stay in the process and keep chipping away at your debt. Don’t let<br />
<strong>2020</strong> be the year that throws your financial future down the drain.<br />
Also a big word of commendation and thanks to all those credit provider<br />
debt review departments out there who are working through the<br />
pandemic and pushing the other departments at the credit providers to<br />
help keep their clients in debt review rather than put them back into the<br />
old collections process. Well done to you for pushing to help your clients!
Some people see the Awards process as being about winning (naturally<br />
so) but our team also like to think of it as acknowledging that there<br />
are hard working people behind all the companies and brands and<br />
departments who are helping consumers through the toughest of times.<br />
We are always impressed to see how hard everyone is working to help<br />
consumers get out of debt. So, here’s a “virtual” award to you. To the<br />
Debt Counsellors and credit providers; to the software developers and<br />
insurance providers; to the attorneys and the PDAs; to the Regulator and<br />
Tribunal and, most importantly, to all you consumers on your hard but<br />
rewarding journey to being totally debt free.<br />
THIS LITTLE<br />
PIGGY GOES<br />
TO... YOU
DEBT REVIEW<br />
LESSON 1<br />
Every legitimate Debt Counsellor has a<br />
certificate issued to them by the National<br />
Credit Regulator. When talking to a new<br />
Debt Counsellor you can ask them to<br />
email you or show you a copy of their<br />
certificate.
DEBT REVIEW AWARDS<br />
C<br />
NEWS<br />
TALK TO<br />
YOUR DEBT<br />
COUNSELLOR<br />
O<br />
NTENTS<br />
SCAM ALERT<br />
SERVICE<br />
DIRECTORY<br />
DISCLAIMER<br />
Debtfree Magazine considers its sources reliable<br />
and verifies as much information as possible.<br />
However, reporting inaccuracies can occur,<br />
consequently readers using this information do<br />
so at their own risk. Debtfree Magazine makes<br />
content available with the understanding that<br />
the publisher is not rendering legal services or<br />
financial advice. Although persons and companies<br />
mentioned herein are believed to be reputable,<br />
neither Debtfree Magazine nor any of its<br />
employees, sales executives or contributors accept<br />
any responsibility whatsoever for their activities.<br />
Debtfree Magazine contains material supplied to<br />
us by advertisers which does not necessarily reflect<br />
the views and opinions of the Debtfree Magazine<br />
team. No person, organization or party can copy<br />
or re-produce the content on this site and/or<br />
magazine or any part of this publication without<br />
a written consent from the editors’ panel and the<br />
author of the content, as applicable. Debtfree<br />
Magazine, authors and contributors reserve their<br />
rights with regards to copyright of their work.
REDUCE UNNECESSARY<br />
EMAILS & CALLS<br />
ARE YOUR CLIENTS SIGNED UP TO DReX?<br />
Encourage your clients to sign up on DReX and<br />
instantly reduce requests for balances, statements<br />
and payment confirmation. Now you can focus on<br />
other revenue generating activities!<br />
CLICK HERE<br />
for the link to send to your clients<br />
CONSUMER BENEFITS:<br />
^ ^ ^<br />
Visibility of balances<br />
Detailed statements<br />
Access to debt review documentation<br />
CLICK HERE<br />
to upload a database & we’ll do the rest!<br />
DReX simplifies the exchange of data and makes<br />
managing the debt review process less admin intensive<br />
+27(0)31 251 4151
DEBT REVIEW<br />
LESSON 2<br />
Leaving debt review is not a simple process<br />
and needs to be done once your debts are<br />
paid up and with the help of a professional<br />
Debt Counsellor.
BREAKING<br />
NEWS
ABSA TO UPDATE DEBT<br />
COUNSELLORS MONTHLY<br />
ABSA’s team who handle debt review have notified Debt<br />
Counsellors that they will now be introducing a new system<br />
of sharing consumers current balances monthly. They will<br />
automatically be sending this information out to Debt<br />
Counsellors, as this is a very common query type in the industry.<br />
It is often necessary to check if the balances between the<br />
Payment Distribution Agents software and the Banks software<br />
match. It is not uncommon for their to be minor differences.<br />
Now, on a monthly basis a bulk database of all the particular<br />
Debt Counsellor’s active clients with ABSA will be shared,<br />
meaning that the Debt Counsellor should not have to regularly<br />
try and get this information from ABSA via email. By supplying<br />
the information proactively it is hoped this helps both Debt<br />
Counsellors and reduced enquiries at the bank which might<br />
be missed.<br />
The information will be shared with two part verification (one<br />
email with info and another with the code needed to open the<br />
info). The information will be provided for all the clients in bulk<br />
in Excel format for ease of use. The emails will be provided<br />
between the 10th and 18th of each month after payments<br />
have been made by the clients via their PDA and captures and<br />
reflecting on the bank’s system.
REPO RATE UNCHANGED<br />
The Monetary Policy Committee of the SA Reserve Bank (MPC)<br />
met and discussed possible changes to the Repo Rate during<br />
<strong>September</strong>. They factored in recent inflation figures, the Rand<br />
to Dollar exchange and of course factors around the Covid-19<br />
pandemic.<br />
It was ultimately decided there would be little benefit to adjusting<br />
the rate from its current low of 3.5% per annum. Experts expect<br />
the rate to remain low until late 2021.
STANDARD BANK TO<br />
LAUNCH INFO PORTAL<br />
With the Protection of Personal Information Act (PoPI) finally<br />
coming into full effect in the next few months the various banks,<br />
credit providers and Debt Counsellors are having to think about<br />
how they will share information about their mutual clients while<br />
sticking to the new laws. Standard Bank has announced that<br />
they have a data sharing portal of their own in development<br />
and that Debt Counsellors will be given access to the portal in<br />
the near future. The portal will be used by more than just Debt<br />
Counsellors of course and will be an integral part of the banks<br />
future info sharing processes.<br />
Debt Counsellors will be able to use the portal to get information<br />
such as: CoBs, Proposals, Termination notice records, Paid up<br />
letters & general info about their clients. They will also be able<br />
to edit (or suggest edits) for some client information (eg. contact<br />
info and address). PoPI is going to present all industries with<br />
challenges and innovative solutions will be needed for those<br />
who regularly share consumer’s private information (such<br />
as Debt Counsellors, attorneys, credit bureaus, Government<br />
offices and credit providers).<br />
To sign up now (in advance) for early access to Standard<br />
Bank’s system for when it goes live, Debt Counsellors<br />
can email the bank with their name and contact info at:<br />
RegulatoryOperationsCommunication@standardbank.co.za
YOU ARE WELCOME WATCHING TO THE THE<br />
DEBT REVIEW<br />
DEBT REVIEW<br />
AWARDS <strong>2020</strong><br />
AWARDS <strong>2020</strong><br />
ONLINE SHOW<br />
ONLINE SHOW
THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
Each year the debt counselling and debt review industry<br />
have an awards show where the results of industry peer<br />
reviews are announced. This year due to Covid-19 the<br />
Awards Gala became an online show streamed live over<br />
YouTube. Here’s a look at all the action, laughs and<br />
Golden Piggy Bank winners.<br />
More than that, you are starting a process that you may not know too<br />
much about. What are some facts that you absolutely need to know<br />
about debt review?
YOU ARE WATCHING THE<br />
DEBT REVIEW<br />
AWARDS <strong>2020</strong><br />
ONLINE SHOW
THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS<br />
PRE SHOW<br />
Our hosts for the day: Tom & Maluska (a cat or two and<br />
maybe a dog)
YOU ARE WATCHING THE<br />
DEBT REVIEW<br />
AWARDS <strong>2020</strong><br />
ONLINE SHOW
The YouTube live stream began at 11am with the<br />
broadcast of chats with well known industry figures as<br />
they discussed and debated the criteria used in the peer<br />
review process each year.<br />
There were three chats about the criteria used for Debt Counsellors<br />
(when reviewed by credit providers), the criteria used for credit providers<br />
(when reviewed by Debt Counsellors) and then the criteria used<br />
for Payment Distribution Agents (by both credit providers and Debt<br />
Counsellors).<br />
Having the pre show in place helped the live stream team, deal with<br />
a few technical issues that came up. With some behind the scenes<br />
scrambling, the show was able to carry on for the next 7 hours with only<br />
3 short glitches during all that time.
YOU ARE WATCHING THE<br />
DEBT REVIEW<br />
AWARDS <strong>2020</strong><br />
ONLINE SHOW<br />
Next, we had a quick update about the new Award category this year<br />
(Technology Adoption Award – in partnership with Slipstream) and then<br />
a presentation from Maximus who produce software that helps Debt<br />
Counsellors run their practice and assist consumers. The software is<br />
currently used by Debt Counsellors to integrate with 2 of the 4 NCR<br />
registered PDAs.
YOU ARE WATCHING THE<br />
DEBT REVIEW<br />
AWARDS <strong>2020</strong><br />
ONLINE SHOW<br />
Meanwhile, Lazlo Toth of Consumer Friend was putting on his tux and<br />
getting ready for the Awards and reminiscing about how difficult <strong>2020</strong><br />
has been. DJ Shacido was on the decks pumping out some vibes as<br />
everyone got ready for the main show to begin.
YOU ARE WATCHING THE<br />
DEBT REVIEW<br />
AWARDS <strong>2020</strong><br />
ONLINE SHOW
THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS<br />
DEBT REVIEW<br />
AWARDS SHOW<br />
Comedian (and it turns out motivational speaker) Rob<br />
Van Vuuren was on hand to entertain the viewers with his<br />
stories (mostly about how he hates motivational speakers)<br />
and toilet paper.
YOU ARE WATCHING THE<br />
DEBT REVIEW<br />
AWARDS <strong>2020</strong><br />
ONLINE SHOW
There were various speakers at the Awards show including<br />
Mr. Chris Van der Straaten of Hyphen PDA who went<br />
through some of the challenges that Hyphen PDA and<br />
most large practices have had to deal with this year.<br />
Wessel Symington of Steyn Coetzee Attorneys then discussed some<br />
very important precedent setting court cases that has changed the way<br />
consumers can defend themselves.<br />
The first of several speakers from other countries, who shared their<br />
experiences about debt review, was Ms. Thatcher Maziya (of Debt Solve<br />
incorporated) from the Kingdom of eSwatini. She shared the latest<br />
developments and the similarities and differences in the process.
THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS<br />
NEW AWARD<br />
CATEGORY -<br />
SLIPSTREAM<br />
TECHNOLOGY<br />
ADOPTION AWARD<br />
This year the Debt Review awards partnered with Slipstream to bring a<br />
new award category into existence: Technology Adoption. Technology is<br />
key to the successful running of debt review and Slipstream have helped<br />
create the very popular DReX portal. The Award this year recognized<br />
those Debt Counsellors who themselves use the portal as well as a large<br />
number of their clients (who use it to get balances and information about<br />
their case). The top 3 users were: Summit Financial Partners, National<br />
Debt Advisors and the Award winner Debt Rescue.
YOU ARE WATCHING THE<br />
DEBT REVIEW<br />
AWARDS <strong>2020</strong><br />
ONLINE SHOW
YOU ARE WATCHING THE<br />
DEBT REVIEW<br />
AWARDS <strong>2020</strong><br />
ONLINE SHOW
THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS<br />
CONSUMERS<br />
GETTING OUT<br />
OF DEBT<br />
Adri de Bruyn & Elzaan Kemp of Kemp Du Breyn & DC<br />
Experts shared how their clients (some in their 70s) had<br />
been assisted to get out of debt even during the lockdown.<br />
Many have been given generous assistance from Standard<br />
Bank in clearing their last remaining debts.<br />
It was great to see that even with all the chaos caused by Covid-19<br />
and the lockdown consumers are still getting clearance certificates and<br />
settling all their debt. Debt review continues to help people successfully<br />
deal with their debt stress.
THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS<br />
ONE: SIGNIFICANT<br />
CONTRIBUTION<br />
TO DEBT REVIEW<br />
AWARDS<br />
Each year those in the industry and insurance provider ONE helps the<br />
Debt Review Awards team identify those individuals who are going<br />
‘above and beyond’ to make debt review work. These are individuals<br />
who are improving the process and industry. In each practice, office and<br />
service provider are those who are putting extra time and effort to help<br />
make debt review the best process for consumers to use to get out of<br />
debt.<br />
This year the well deserved winners of the ONE Significant Contribution<br />
to Debt Review awards were Muhammed Laher of ABSA and Timmy Vd<br />
Grijp from the National Credit Regulator.
YOU ARE WATCHING THE<br />
DEBT REVIEW<br />
AWARDS <strong>2020</strong><br />
ONLINE SHOW
YOU ARE WATCHING THE<br />
DEBT REVIEW<br />
AWARDS <strong>2020</strong><br />
ONLINE SHOW
The next international speaker was from the UK, Mr Sean<br />
Fest (of Credit Management) who shared how things are<br />
working there. He explained how their regulation and<br />
Regulators work and how, surprisingly many consumers<br />
have been using the time during lockdown to settle up<br />
their debts, while slashing their monthly expenses. He<br />
did warn however that a wave of consumers will soon<br />
be entering debt review over there as the banks’ grace<br />
periods and government assistance comes to an end.<br />
From across the border in Namibia, Mr Salmao lipinge spoke about how<br />
debt review is finally starting to get recognized there. It has not been<br />
an easy journey but consumers there really need a lot of assistance. He<br />
praised the local Regulator for their active role in helping consumers and<br />
mentioned many fine developments which are helping consumers deal<br />
with the results of the pandemic.<br />
Mr Russell Dickerson of the Debt Counsellors Association of South Africa<br />
spoke to the guests and encouraged everyone to be positive people who<br />
were making the best use of online resources. He promised that after<br />
the long drought (of lockdown) the summer rains of new applications for<br />
help were finally on their way.
THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS<br />
THE AWARDS<br />
Mr Barry Fuchs of Moore SA was the auditor keeping an<br />
eye on things and after a short speech explaining how the<br />
peer reviews work (from our Editor Mr Zak King) it was<br />
time to hear the results of the peer reviews.
YOU ARE WATCHING THE<br />
DEBT REVIEW<br />
AWARDS <strong>2020</strong><br />
ONLINE SHOW
YOU ARE WATCHING THE<br />
DEBT REVIEW<br />
AWARDS <strong>2020</strong><br />
ONLINE SHOW
THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS<br />
PDA AWARDS<br />
The National Credit Regulator has currently recognized<br />
and registered 4 Payment Distribution Agents. There<br />
are two awards handed out in the Payment Distribution<br />
category. An award as reviewed and rated by Debt<br />
Counsellors and then a second award from a credit<br />
provider perspective.<br />
This year both awards went to Hyphen PDA.
THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS<br />
CREDIT PROVIDER<br />
AWARDS<br />
There are many thousands of credit providers in South<br />
Africa, both large and small. This year Debt Counsellors<br />
rated the following credit providers the highest in their<br />
relevant credit type category:<br />
Direct Axis,<br />
Consumer Friend,<br />
Old Mutual,<br />
Standard Bank (who had a very strong showing taking awards in 3<br />
different categories namely: Secured, Unsecured credit, as well as,<br />
Vehicle finance).<br />
African Bank was recognized this year as the most improved debt review<br />
department at a credit provider.<br />
New Award: Covid-19 Excellence<br />
The new award category for <strong>2020</strong> in regard to excellence in dealing with<br />
the Covid-19 pandemic went to FNB. Well done.
YOU ARE WATCHING THE<br />
DEBT REVIEW<br />
AWARDS <strong>2020</strong><br />
ONLINE SHOW
YOU ARE WATCHING THE<br />
DEBT REVIEW<br />
AWARDS <strong>2020</strong><br />
ONLINE SHOW
THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS<br />
DEBT COUNSELLORS<br />
50 different Debt Counsellors were recognized in <strong>2020</strong><br />
at the Debt Review Awards. These hard working Debt<br />
Counsellors have been working extra hard during the<br />
lockdown to assist their consumers.<br />
5 of these Debt Counsellors took home the Golden Piggy Bank Awards<br />
as they received the highest ratings in their size categories. They were:<br />
Alan Manshon, Shaun Zeelie, Russell Dickerson, Consumer Debt Help<br />
and National Debt Advisors (NDA).<br />
New Award: Covid-19 Excellence<br />
The new award category for <strong>2020</strong> in regard to excellence in dealing with<br />
the Covid-19 pandemic went to National Debt Counsellors (NDC).
THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS<br />
THAT’S ALL FOLKS<br />
After a few more laughs at the end of the show from<br />
Comedian Rob Van Vuuren and hosts Tom & Maluska it<br />
was time to either celebrate, commiserate or just relax<br />
while enjoying the music by DJ Shacido.<br />
Many hundreds (possibly thousands) of viewers were able to tune in to<br />
the show this year despite the challenges of Covid-19. Well done to the<br />
team behind the scenes and well done to all those who were nominated<br />
and recognized at this year’s Awards.
YOU ARE WATCHING THE<br />
DEBT REVIEW<br />
AWARDS <strong>2020</strong><br />
ONLINE SHOW
THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS<br />
CELEBRATING<br />
THE AWARDS<br />
Well planned social distancing parties were held at<br />
debt counselling practices and credit provider debt<br />
review departments across the country. Many held<br />
parties over zoom or teams as they all tuned in to watch<br />
simultaneously from home.<br />
It was great to see everyone dressed up (at least from the waist upwards)<br />
and enjoying themselves and sharing photos via social media. Search for<br />
#debtreviewawards<strong>2020</strong> on your favorite social media platform to see<br />
many of the pics.<br />
For more info & video clips of the action head over to:<br />
www.debtreviewawards.co.za or YouTube
TALK TO YOUR<br />
DEBT COUNSELLOR<br />
SOONER, NOT LATER<br />
Whether you are in debt review or not, life can be tricky<br />
and challenges will come your way.<br />
Unforeseen economic challenges, like those brought about by Covid-19,<br />
can cause you to worry about being able to make your court ordered<br />
debt review repayment. Your landlord may decide it is time to sell the<br />
place you are renting, or your mobile phone may be stolen. All these<br />
things will impact on your day to day life and could hinder your ability to<br />
communicate with your Debt Counsellor, PDA or credit providers. They<br />
may also force you to make changes that will impact your debt review.<br />
Many people in debt review will just go ahead and make some changes,<br />
and then only months later, speak to their Debt Counsellor about<br />
it. By this time, all the progress that has been made with their debt<br />
review could be threatened. It could end the entire debt review if left<br />
unchecked, it may in fact, already be too late.<br />
A large number of issues in debt review can be mitigated by speaking to<br />
your Debt Counsellor sooner rather than later.<br />
Let’s look at a few of these issues and consider how speaking to your<br />
Debt Counsellor as soon as the situation comes up, the most beneficial<br />
course of action.
TALK TO YOUR DEBT COUNSELLOR<br />
TROUBLE MAKING<br />
A PAYMENT<br />
If you have been put on short time then this will directly affect your<br />
income. Receiving less income could result in your prioritizing daily<br />
expenses over monthly debt repayments. You need to put food on the<br />
table and buy electricity to get by. Many consumers who have such an<br />
unplanned drop in income, do not speak to their Debt Counsellor when<br />
they first see trouble coming. Instead they make a decision based on<br />
their perceived needs at the time. Often this results in them not having<br />
the needed monthly debt repayment amount to their credit providers<br />
(via their Payment Distribution Agent). Some though, wisely decide to pay<br />
what they can, but others foolishly just skip the entire payment.<br />
If a few days goes by and none of their creditors complain, they may<br />
foolishly think everything is ok and as if nothing is wrong. This is naive<br />
and unrealistic. It is obvious that the credit providers’ computers will pick<br />
up the missed payment, and will start the process of them trying to get<br />
out of the debt review. Although consumers will have been warned about<br />
the serious results of missing payments, they simply hope for the best.<br />
What happens next… the credit provider’s computers generate a letter<br />
saying they are getting out of the debt review because the consumer did<br />
not stick to the agreement and court order, and will revert to pestering<br />
calls, sms’ and eventually a summons. The consumers stress levels will<br />
start to rise, and they will invariably go running to their Debt Counsellor,<br />
to ask for assistance long after the fact. They may now face legal action,<br />
judgments (which last for 30 years) and the repossession and sale of<br />
their assets like their car and home.
TALK TO YOUR DEBT COUNSELLOR<br />
A SUDDEN EXPENSE<br />
n unplanned expense can also necessitate consumers<br />
to spend money that they had set aside for debt review<br />
payments. When your car breaks down or your geyser<br />
explodes or perhaps your washing machine breaks down<br />
you may decide that you need to take immediate action to<br />
fix the problem. This can result in not having the needed<br />
funds to make your regular monthly debt restructuring<br />
payment.<br />
Missed payments can lead to credit providers leaving the debt review<br />
process and starting new legal action against the consumer. This will<br />
increase the consumers stress and could end their debt review journey.<br />
In many cases this results in the consumer owing more money than they<br />
thought, as the benefits of debt review are stripped from the accounts<br />
they have been paying and huge fees and interest are once again<br />
included by the credit providers. Next, the collection agent calls and<br />
legal action begins with summonses and more.<br />
In some cases, the car repairs that were paid for with the debt review<br />
installment ends up being repossessed and sold off on auction, leaving<br />
the consumer without a vehicle for the next few years.
TALK TO YOUR DEBT COUNSELLOR<br />
A CHANGE IN<br />
CONTACT INFO<br />
It is not uncommon for people in South Africa to regularly change<br />
contact info. This includes their physical address, their mobile number<br />
and their email address. Maybe their phone gets lost or damaged and<br />
they simply get a new sim card and number. Perhaps they decide to<br />
move or they change jobs, and thus email addresses. This is not unusual<br />
and normally they let their friends and family know about the changes.<br />
What may present a challenge for people under debt review is when<br />
they move, and the credit providers send important legal documents to<br />
their old address. Because they are not aware of the legal document, it<br />
can escalate to the point where a credit provider goes to court and the<br />
consumer is not there to defend themselves. Next they could be surprised<br />
with a judgment and a huge bill from the credit provider’s attorneys.<br />
Other consumers complain that they are no longer getting regular<br />
distribution updates from their Payment Distribution Agent. It could be<br />
that the emails are going to their old email address or the notification<br />
sms’ has gone to their old mobile number. It might even be unaware that<br />
their Debt Counsellor is desperately trying to reach them with important<br />
information, but you have not updated your contact details with them.
TALK TO YOUR DEBT COUNSELLOR<br />
INCOME CHANGES<br />
If you see problems brewing due to a possible future change in income,<br />
your Debt Counsellor can reach out to your credit providers in advance<br />
and warn them. This may prevent them from trying to get out of the debt<br />
review. It might not prevent all of them from leaving and starting to send<br />
new lawyers after you but it might keep most of them in the process. It<br />
could happen that the credit providers are understanding, and give you<br />
a month’s breathing room or allow you to make a reduced payment for<br />
that month. This could only happen if they are notified well in advance,<br />
and if the Debt Counsellor has enough time to try reach out to them.<br />
Speak to your Debt Counsellor as soon as you think there might be a<br />
change with your income.
TALK TO YOUR DEBT COUNSELLOR<br />
EXTRA EXPENSES<br />
If you have a sudden unexpected expense, and have<br />
not been saving a little as per your budget with the Debt<br />
Counsellor, you might make a rushed decision to spend<br />
money that should go towards repaying your debt. After<br />
all, you need clean clothes, you need to have a shower<br />
and you need to be able to get to work.<br />
A short conversation with your Debt Counsellor however, may help you<br />
figure out how much it will cost to use a laundromat this month, while<br />
you save towards a new washing machine. They may help you realise<br />
that your friend has a washing machine, or your relatives do, which you<br />
could use without spending more now. You may be able to get a lift to<br />
work with a colleague or use public transport for a few weeks, while<br />
the Debt Counsellor speaks to the vehicle finance credit provider about<br />
making a reduced payment for a little while, to help cover the repair<br />
costs. You will never know unless you speak to your Debt Counsellor.<br />
Speak to your Debt Counsellor if you face a sudden unplanned<br />
expense.
TALK TO YOUR DEBT COUNSELLOR<br />
NEW CONTACT INFO<br />
Rather than miss out on the chance to defend yourself legally (if your<br />
credit providers send letters to your old address) and rather than miss<br />
out on important emails and SMS’, it is essential to update your Debt<br />
Counsellor if/when your contact info changes. They will advise you on<br />
who else to inform about your change of address. They will remind you<br />
to let the credit providers know about the change. They may remind you<br />
to update your insurance provider or Payment Distribution Agent about<br />
the change so that you don’t have experience problems later.<br />
Speak to your Debt Counsellor if your Contact info changes.
TALK TO YOUR DEBT COUNSELLOR<br />
SPEAK TO YOUR<br />
DEBT COUNSELLOR<br />
SOONER RATHER<br />
THAN LATER<br />
By simply reaching out to your debt counsellor (the person<br />
who you are paying to help you each month) you can<br />
avoid some of the biggest challenges that could arise in<br />
debt review. By keeping them in the loop, you can have<br />
the entire Debt Counselling team at their office, working<br />
on your case.<br />
While the Debt Counsellor is not able to just wave their wand and make<br />
the problems disappear, they can bring years of experience and good<br />
decision making to the table and help you see what all your options are.<br />
They can provide you with sound advice on how to protect your assets<br />
and stay in the debt review process, even when the unexpected comes<br />
along.<br />
The sooner you reach out to them, the more time you give them to help<br />
you find the best solution for your challenging situation.
BEWARE OF<br />
SCAMMERS<br />
A scam currently doing the rounds involves ‘crooks’<br />
calling you up, pretending to be from your bank, and<br />
getting you to willingly provide them with one time pin<br />
(OTP) codes.<br />
The recent release of personal information onto the internet from credit<br />
bureau Experian, has brought the problem of scammers back into<br />
the spotlight. One of the latest scams involves people calling you up<br />
pretending to be the bank’s anti-fraud department, and tricking you into<br />
sharing information so that the scammers can make purchases from<br />
your account
BEWARE OF SCAMMERS<br />
STEP 1 GAIN TRUST<br />
To gain your trust, the scammers use information they<br />
already have about you (from this Experian customer info<br />
or similar leaks) to pretend to representing your own bank<br />
and to fictitious already know everything about you.<br />
They may share your ID number and account number details with you<br />
to show that they really know who you are. This helps you relax and feel<br />
like you are actually dealing with your bank, who you know and trust.
BEWARE OF SCAMMERS<br />
STEP 2 TELL YOU<br />
THAT YOU HAVE BEEN<br />
A VICTIM OF FRAUD<br />
When someone calls you up and claims that you have<br />
been a victim of fraud, it’s scary! The very nature of such a<br />
call sends panic signals to your brain, the scammers take<br />
advantage of this feeling to trick you into giving them the<br />
info they need to complete their fraud.<br />
They will tell you that you have already been a victim and they are the<br />
ones who can help to prevent more fraud, but …. you will need to work<br />
with them to stop it from happening again.<br />
Obviously, you do not want to be a victim of fraud, so you will be quick<br />
to cooperate with this person, who you think is from your bank to stop<br />
any more money being stolen from you.
BEWARE OF SCAMMERS<br />
STEP 3 GET YOU TO<br />
GIVE THEM YOUR<br />
ONE TIME PASSWORD<br />
The next step the scammers take is to load up a payment<br />
(or payments) on your account, and then they simply ask<br />
you to give them the one time pin the bank SMS’ you<br />
when they hit “pay” on their side.<br />
In reality, however, they are using the very code you give them, to<br />
steal from you.<br />
They tell you that they are the ones sending you the code, and if you can<br />
give them the numbers they can use it to stop the fraud. So you provide<br />
them with the OTP.<br />
In reality, however, they are using the very code you give them, to steal<br />
from you.
BEWARE OF SCAMMERS<br />
BEWARE<br />
In scam warning messages being shared from various<br />
banks via official channels from various banks, they<br />
advise that their agents will never ask for OTP to be<br />
disclosed. Please keep this in mind if someone contacts<br />
you from your bank saying that you have been a victim of<br />
fraud.<br />
One option you have, is to end any suspicious call and immediately<br />
contact the official fraud prevention number as shown on your bank’s<br />
website or social media. This way you can ensure that you are dealing<br />
with the right people.<br />
If you tell the person on the phone that you are going to hang up and<br />
call into the bank and they tell you not to do that, then you may well be<br />
dealing with a scammer. So hang up and call your bank right away.<br />
Never share your OTP with anyone claiming to be from your bank!
DEBT REVIEW<br />
LESSON 3<br />
If you decide not to pay your Debt<br />
Counsellor the small court ordered<br />
professional fee each month, you<br />
may have to pay these fees later<br />
when you need a clearance certificate<br />
to get out of debt review.