Debt Counselling

Alan M said:
secondly, in terms of costs, you are required to pay R50 upfront with your application - after that the fees are built into your monthly debt repayment.
Click to expand...
IIRC, there was a mention of R300 per month as a debt counsellor's fee. Is that what one could expect?
How does including such a figure in the monthly debt repayment square up with the requirements that where contracts are entered into, e.g. insurance agents, the fees and commissions have to be disclosed?
 
rocky34 said:
I have a huge directory of Debt Counselors. If anybody interested in it then send me a reply.:)
___________________________________
rocky34
Credit Card Debt
Click to expand...

I have to re-start this thread, seeing as the over-indebtednees of the country is very bad at this moment.

Regarding your HUGE directory, you can just get it on the NCR website, where they list all debt counselllors, by area. Why would we need your list? Also, one post only? Hmmmmm......
 
I used to work for Barclays and the free debt advisors are just as good as the non free - CAB (Citizens advice Bureau) and the CCCS (Consumer Credit Counselling Services). - UK. Surely there is something locally like this?

The paid debt advisors often didn't help as people had less cash to cover their debts as they were spending money they didnt have on advice that they could have gotten for free.

2c.
J

Alan M said:
Hi guys
I'm a registered debt counsellor and would be happy to answer specific questions you may have.

just from reading the thread so far, i would like to point out a couple of things though:
firstly, the debt counsellor acts as your agent so its a case of them giving u direction and advice - it remains for u to decide whether u want to follow it. I'd say it's important to build up a working relationship and find someone u trust is looking out for your best interests.
secondly, in terms of costs, you are required to pay R50 upfront with your application - after that the fees are built into your monthly debt repayment. this has been specifically designed to make debt counselling affordable to people in financial difficulty.
and my last point is the sooner u seek financial help, whether it be from a debt counsellor, a financial coach or your bank, the easier it is to manage the problem. most people tend to ignore the problem until they start getting threatening letters which means that they are already in arrears.
e-mail me on [email protected] if you would like an excel format budget or if u'd perhaps just like to get an opinion - it's free :)
Click to expand...
 
jsheed_sa said:
I used to work for Barclays and the free debt advisors are just as good as the non free - CAB (Citizens advice Bureau) and the CCCS (Consumer Credit Counselling Services). - UK. Surely there is something locally like this?

The paid debt advisors often didn't help as people had less cash to cover their debts as they were spending money they didnt have on advice that they could have gotten for free.

2c.
J
Click to expand...

Unfortunately there are no free debt counselling services in SA, however, there are limits on what you can charge a client, and it cannot be more than what they have available to repay their creditors per month, ie if he only has R500 to repay, you cannot charge more than that as your fee, and it is taken from that first months repayment. This is all legislated, and the creditors are aware of this.

The important thing a lot of people dont understand, is that seeing a debt counsellor can prevent legal action from being taken against you whilst you apply for debt review.
 
avdp said:
Unfortunately there are no free debt counselling services in SA, however, there are limits on what you can charge a client, and it cannot be more than what they have available to repay their creditors per month, ie if he only has R500 to repay, you cannot charge more than that as your fee, and it is taken from that first months repayment. This is all legislated, and the creditors are aware of this.

The important thing a lot of people dont understand, is that seeing a debt counsellor can prevent legal action from being taken against you whilst you apply for debt review.
Click to expand...

Yep if we knew people were under debt review depending on the ptp (promise to pay) or lptp (low promise to pay) we would offer them a deal of anywhere between 3-6 months depending on the amount where we would halt all legal proceedings. Don't be too proud - going in and making that first step sure does help and it keeps the hounds at bay.

J
 
risingtide said:
IIRC, there was a mention of R300 per month as a debt counsellor's fee. Is that what one could expect?
How does including such a figure in the monthly debt repayment square up with the requirements that where contracts are entered into, e.g. insurance agents, the fees and commissions have to be disclosed?
Click to expand...

Debt Counsellors charge as follows:
Once Off R50.
First payment you make is the counsellor's.
5% of the amount the negotiate for you, they get each month.

...talk about fantastic residual income, lol!
 
CharlesM said:
Debt Counsellors charge as follows:
Once Off R50.
First payment you make is the counsellor's.
5% of the amount the negotiate for you, they get each month.

...talk about fantastic residual income, lol!
Click to expand...

Yeah, but the 5% is your aftercare fee. If there are any changes that need to be made, ie increasing your payments if you have more funds available etc, then there is no other fee to redo the restructuring etc. Also, if for example you get retrenched, they have to inform the creditors so they dont immediately take legal action, which is what can happen...... And it's capped at R300
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X