September 2020 IDM Special Edition

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.