Author - Lauren Heekes
Unhappy with your current Debt Counsellor and the service you are receiving? Read Sumaya's story.
Sumaya’s Story
Sumaya applied for Debt Review in 2018. As the months went by she became increasingly unhappy with her Debt Counsellor.
What were some of the issues Sumaya was experiencing?
1. When Sumaya sent an email to her Debt Counsellor, she was pushed from one person to another, having to explain her concerns over and over again. This was extremely frustrating.
2. Her concerns were not being addressed, managed and finalised.
Debit Orders were still going off her account. i.e. the Debt Counsellor did not cancel her debit orders with all her Credit Providers. This affected her budget every month.
She was not receiving statements indicating how her Debt Review installment was being distributed.
Her Credit Provider statement balances did not match the balances she received from her Debt Counsellor.
Collection Agencies were still contacting her for payment, even though she explained that she was under Debt Review. She was being harassed for payment when she was already making payment.
Send Your Questions to Negociate Credit Solutions at email contactme@negociate.co.za or get additional contact information below for facebook messenger or submit a "Call back Request"
So how did we help Sumaya?
1. We issued a transfer request from the other Debt Counsellor.
2. We allocated a dedicated consultant, email address and contact number to her. She now had a dedicated consultant that would attend to her issues.
3. We ensured her that all of her emails would be answered in 24 hours, and solutions found within the Credit Provider time frames i.e. 5-10 day turnaround times. Serious issues that took longer to resolve would have a paper trail and she would be copied in on that correspondence.
4. We made sure that her balances, installments and interest rates were correct and that she was receiving her statement each month.
5. All debit orders were cancelled on her behalf.
6. We asked her Credit Providers to investigate why she was still being contacted by Collection Agencies. What had happened was that the Credit providers had not notified their Collection Agencies that she had applied for Debt Review. When a Debt Review Application is accepted by a Credit Provider, all debt is taken back from the Collection Agencies. The Credit Providers are meant to notify the Collection Agencies that collection of debt must stop. This does not always happen. It is the Debt Counsellor's responsibility to follow up with the Credit Providers if these issues occur.
Send Your Questions to Negociate Credit Solutions at email contactme@negociate.co.za or get additional contact information below for facebook messenger or submit a "Call back Request"
What situations constitute a need to transfer to another Debt Counsellor
1. Some clients move to different areas and want a Debt Counsellor in their area to assist them.
2. Some are not happy with the service that their current Debt Counsellor is providing.
3. Others are unable to get hold of their Debt Counsellor or may have forgotten who they signed up with for Debt Review. If this is the case always remember to contact the National Credit Regulator. They have a database of all clients under Debt Review and can refer you back to your original Debt Counsellor. However if you haven't heard from your Debt Counsellor then you should probably transfer to another one.
4. Some Debt Counsellors have passed away or have been de-registered as Debt Counsellors and the National Credit Regulator has provisionally transferred the clients to another Debt Counsellor. This new Debt Counsellor may not know how to get hold of you. Alternatively, maybe they are able to get hold of you, but you don’t want this new Debt Counsellor to manage your Debt Review process.
Whatever your reason may be, you can transfer to another Debt Counsellor at any time.
The National Credit Regulator can provide you with the details of a reputable Debt Counsellor that you can transfer to.
If you would like to talk to us about some of the issues you are experiencing with your current Debt Counsellor please take note of various ways to make contact below.
Please note that we will first provide you with the best advice possible on how to get your current Debt Counsellor to assist you. Sometimes it is just a matter of not asking the right questions or maybe even contacting the wrong person.
However if your concerns are valid you can transfer to us and we can assist you, or we will refer you to the National Credit Regulator for further assistance.
There is no quick fix to getting out of debt. Make sure that you partner with a Debt Counsellor that is going to assist you all through the process.
1. Complete a call back request on our website at http://bit.ly/38Aoyuc
2. Send us an email to contactme@negociate.co.za
3. Submit your query via our FaceBook Messenger app https://bit.ly/3i3PIwl
4. Call us on 0861 555 554 (Option 4)
A consultant will contact you to discuss the way forward. Please note that you are not obligated to proceed if you feel that the solution we offer you will not assist you enough.
If you find this article helpful, “Like” our FaceBook page and join our FaceBook Community. Send us a question in messenger and get some free advice on how to resolve any financial issues .
About our Author
Lauren is a registered member of the National Credit Regulator. Prior to that, she worked as a Financial and Technical consultant for McGregor-BFA (Now INET-BFA). McGregor-BFA provided Trading and Market related data as well as Investment management software to Asset Managers, University Business Schools and Investment entities. Thereafter experience was advanced to the Property Market working as a Project Manager for Propertyi. But it was her career at the IEB in Adult Education that inspired a passion of hers to educate consumers about responsible ways of managing their financial lives and the long term advantages of doing so. It is her belief that financial education should be taught from an early age. By doing so we can create a country that is economically stable, driven not only by work ethics, but by becoming Financially Independent too.
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