Debt Counselling removal has become somewhat of a pain point lately. In short, to complete your debt counselling process or to cancel it early, an extra step has been added, and unfortunately it is not a step you can take alone.. you will need the help of a lawyer. Luckily we can help!
To terminate the debt counselling process and to have the debt counselling notice removed from your credit reports requires that a court application be made for the court to find that you are not over-indebted, even if there is no court order in place for your debt counselling.
If your financial circumstances have improved to the point that you are now able to meet the repayments due to all your creditors, then the debt counselling process can be terminated. To have you listed as being under debt counselling and/or over-indebted would be unfair and in breach of the spirit of the National Credit Act, since you are not over-indebted anymore, and you are from now on able to pay your creditors directly and don’t need the help from a debt counsellor or debt counselling anymore. To complete the removal you will obtained a court order to rescind the debt counselling order. Credit bureaus will be updated via the NCR Debt Help System about the changes in your situation and you will obtain a court order declaring that you are no longer over-indebted.
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The Process
Step by step process to get your debt counselling removed
Step 1: Application
Complete the contact form with all your details
We need this information to legally apply on your behalf to be removed from the debt counselling process
Step 2: Assessment & Application
Our team of legal experts will assess your situation, apply at court to remove you from debt counselling process
Step 3: Court order
Court order will be issued
When the court approves the request, all relevant documents will be sent to the credit bureaus
Debt Counselling Removal FAQ
Can I cancel Debt Counselling?
Yes. If you have settled all your accounts, but you are no longer over-indebted and you can afford the original contractual monthly amounts that you were paying before the debt counselling process.
Can I cancel Debt Counselling without an attorney?
In short, no. It is permissible for a consumer to represent him or herself at court. However, the formalities of making an application are best understood by an attorney, and mistakes in the application can result in the dismissal of the application or postponements that can readily be avoided occurring. As such, a consumer can employ the services of an attorney to attend to the court application to terminate the debt counselling process and to ensure that once the court application is granted, the consumer’s credit information is accordingly updated with the credit bureaux and National Credit Regulator to reflect that the consumer is no longer under debt counselling.
Do I have to attend court to terminate Debt Counselling?
The consumer does not have to be present at court. The consumer must facilitate the process where required, typically by providing required information and documentation.
Do I need to apply to court to cancel Debt Counselling if no court order was issued?
As per point 2 above, and as further detailed in the National Credit Regulator’s Removal from Debt Counselling Guidelines, the termination of the Debt Counselling process is only possible if the consumer applies to court to rescind the Debt Counselling order if one was obtained, or for a determination that the consumer is no longer over-indebted. These are the only two circumstances in which a Form 17.W can be issued that results in the removal of the Debt Counselling signifier from the consumer’s credit report. If the consumer has paid up all the accounts that are under Debt Counselling then neither of the two circumstances shall be applicable as the consumer would be entitled to a clearance certificate that would be issued by the debt counsellor once all debt included in the Debt Counselling process is paid up, or all such debt is paid up and there is only an outstanding home loan account that is up to date and the consumer is able to revert to the original monthly bond repayment amount.
Can Debt Counselling termination be done in less than 60 days?
Realistically, the Debt Counselling cancellation process can never take less than 60 days. Firstly, the court application must be prepared and a court date must be obtained. The court date is never likely to be less than 2 weeks away, as the court application must be served on the debt counselor and the creditors. Furthermore, the allocation of a court date depends on the caseload that the court has before it already. Thereafter, once the court order is obtained, the Debt Counselling signifier must be removed from the consumer’s credit reports and from the NCR’s database. This takes a minimum of 20 business days as per the National Credit Act 34 of 2005.
Can I cancel Debt Counselling and continue to pay the reduced instalment?
The application to terminate Debt Counselling depends on the consumer’s ability to show he or she is no longer over-indebted. If the consumer cannot afford to increase the Debt Counselling repayment amounts, preferably to the amounts that they were paying before commencing with the Debt Counselling process, it is highly unlikely that the application shall succeed unless the creditors have indicated acceptance of such reduced payments.
