Debt counselling is not a fly-by night industry done by shady, hole-in-the- wall companies. Debt counselling has changed the lives of thousands of South African’s for the better - and with a tough 2020 behind all of us, it can do the same for you.
Advantages
- If you have applied for debt review before any legal action was taken against you, then your assets (the things you own) are safe from repossession.
- From the moment you are placed under debt review, you no longer need to deal with intimidating debt collectors who continuously harass you. When they call or contact you in any way — just tell them to contact your debt counsellor.
- Your interest rates on your unsecured debt can be lowered down to as little as 1% — and your repayment terms can be lengthened.
- With lower monthly interest rates and longer terms, your monthly repayments on your debt will be less.
- All your payments will be consolidated into one monthly installment.
- Your debt is consolidated without an expensive loan.
- Since you pay less on your monthly debt, you have more money available for your essential living expenses like food, electricity and transport.
- A good debt counsellor will go through all of your accounts and be able to assess whether you are the victim of reckless lending by your creditors. If this is the case, that debt could be entirely written off.
- When you are under debt review — you many not access more credit. That’s a definite advantage, as it makes no sense to keep incurring new debt, when you have committed to getting rid of your existing debt.
Disadvantages
- After your initial assessment with a debt counselling company, you may be informed that your current situation does not qualify you to go under debt review.
- Some of your accounts, especially those which have been subjected to legal action, may be excluded.
- Your debt may take longer to repay.
- You may have to give up on a few luxuries in your life, but once you become become debt free, it will undoubtedly be worth it.
- You will be “flagged” at the credit bureaus — but you will not be “blacklisted”.
- You will not be able to use any of your retail store cards or credit cards.
- You will not be able to apply for new credit.
Like most things in life that get good results, there is hard work and discipline involved. There are some sacrifices that you will have to make to reach your end goal of financial freedom. However, through the process of debt review you will undoubtedly have less stress and worry about your debt, and have more money left for your everyday living expenses. Annually, thousands of South African consumers receive clearance certificates from their registered debt counsellors and start over, free from the burden of overwhelming debt.