Debtfree Magazine: Issue 07 of 2020 by Debtfree Magazine

Issue 7 of 2020

EXCELLENCE IS DOING ORDINARY THINGS EXTRAORDINARILY WELL â&#x20AC;&#x201C; John W. Gardner

WHAT MAKES US EXCELLENT? / Unimpaired and automated PDA systems / Integration with top-ranked Debt Counsellor systems / Enhancing Debt Counsellor efficiency and sustainability / Best customer support in the country â&#x20AC;&#x201C; queries are resolved within 24 hours / Strong compliance and best-industry-practice implementation is at our centre

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Take Back Control Of Your Finances We provide a remedy specifically for over-indebted consumers which involves restructuring of debt payments, lowering interest rates and fees and lengthening payment terms. Debt Counselling could be the best gift you give yourself.

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FROM THE EDITOR

If 2020 were a foot race, we would have just passed the half-way mark. We would be feeling very proud of ourselves for making it this far. Cheers, pats on the back and applause all round, well done us!!! Although we are just over half way through 2020, we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t congratulate ourselves just yet. When we look back at 2020, our freshest memories are of the pandemic and economic fallout from the national lockdown. We are not sure where/when exactly the finish line is for these two things, and this steals away from our positive accomplishments. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know if we are heading towards greater hardship in 2021 or hopefully, some relief from the stress, pressure and tragedy. So, for now, we tiptoe with trepidation into the second half of the year, and simply hope for the best. Despite our new unfamiliar reality of living through a global pandemic, things are still progressing and fluctuating, the world is not on pause, waiting for 2021. Banks have introduced new processes, repo rates have been adjusted, and businesses are being bought and sold.

The world is still spinning, although you might be feeling out of sync, somewhat disconnected from our new reality. What the industry is seeing, is a slow increase in debt review applications. While earlier, these had dropped off to next to nothing, they have once again shot up, and this makes sense. The banksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; payment holidays are soon coming to a close and consumers have seen the true extent of how the lockdown has impacted their finances. The annual Debt Review Awards peer reviews have resumed, these reviews were temporarily halted during the initial stages of the lockdown but have since resumed and will soon come to a close. Then it will be time to announce the results. So, this issue we delve into the Debt Review Awards Peer Review and how it works. We will look at how the results will be announced (and celebrated) this year despite the pandemic and lockdown restrictions. As we all struggle onwards through the months ahead, let us try, as an industry, to keep as many people in debt review as possible, to offer more people than ever the relief that debt review brings and to help cheer one another along this complicated and tricky journey that will lead to the finish line of becoming debt free.

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DEBT REVIEW AWARDS

CREDIT PROVIDERS VS CONSUMERS

HOST YOUR OWN INTERNAL AWARDS

NEWS

SERVICE DIRECTORY

DISCLAIMER Debtfree Magazine considers its sources reliable and verifies as much information as possible. However, reporting inaccuracies can occur, consequently readers using this information do so at their own risk. Debtfree Magazine makes content available with the understanding that the publisher is not rendering legal services or financial advice. Although persons and companies mentioned herein are believed to be reputable, neither Debtfree Magazine nor any of its employees, sales executives or contributors accept

any responsibility whatsoever for their activities. Debtfree Magazine contains material supplied to us by advertisers which does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Debtfree Magazine team. No person, organization or party can copy or re-produce the content on this site and/or magazine or any part of this publication without a written consent from the editorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; panel and the author of the content, as applicable. Debtfree Magazine, authors and contributors reserve their rights with regards to copyright of their work.

C O N T E N T S

BREAKING NEWS

POPI WORKSHOP BY ONE With less than 1 year to go before PoPI Act comes into full force in SA the need to get complaint has never been more urgent. However, even after years of build up there remains a lot of uncertainty about how the provisions of the Act will impact on Debt Counsellors day to day businesses. This is one reason why ONE (who provide specialist insurance to consumers under debt review, as well as a huge range of other insurance products, hosted an online workshop this month about PoPIA. Be sure to visit the Debtfree website to watch the video of the webinar.

REPO RATE REDUCED During July 2020 the SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago announced that the repo rate would be cut by another 25 basis points bringing the rate down to only 3.50%. This is good news for credit users since the banks link their lending interest rates to this repo rate. The lower that rate is, the less interest consumers end up paying for their existing credit.

DEBT REVIEW AWARDS DATE ANNOUNCED This year, due to the current pandemic, the announcements of the results of the industry wide Debt Review Awards Peer Review will be made online. The event will be live streamed on September 11th (a rather easy to remember date). All in the industry are invited to join the event online, which will run throughout the day with the announcements of the peer review results late afternoon.

NCR SETS A DATE FOR MISSED 2020 STATUARY RETURNS Earlier this year, the NCR extended the date for registrants to submit statistical reports till the lockdown ended. Now, with the lockdown going on for a long time, they have reviewed that decision and rather ask for the missing reports to be submitted by 31st August 2020. This includes Form 39 (for credit providers), Form 42 (for Debt Counsellors), Form 44 (for credit bureaus) and Form 45s (for insurers).

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TERS EXTENDED FOR 6 MORE WEEKS In some much needed good news to employers and employees, Government has announced the Covid-19 Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) benefit has been extended till 15th August 2020. Initially, the benefit was set to only run during April, May and June 2020. Since April 2020 around R30 Billion has already been distributed through the relief scheme to around 6.8 million workers. It is said that the UIF has another R10 billion available to use.

TYMEBANK MAY HAVE JUST HIT 2 MILLION CLIENTS TymeBank recently reported that they hit 1.9 million clients with over 150 000 new clients during lockdown in May 2020. Since they normally take on around 100 000 clients a month, they may have just hit an amazing 2 million clients since their launch in February 2019.

ABSA INTRODUCE NEW VERIFICATION PROCESS ABSA Distressed Consumers has introduced a new measure to improve their POPI compliance by asking Debt Counsellors who call in to the centre to share the names of two other clients with them to varify that they have access to information about their clientele. Some Debt Counsellors worry that the process may go contrary to their own internal POPI practices by sharing information about other clients. Others are concerned that this information only gives ABSA confirmation that the person they are speaking to has data about the Debt Counsellorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book and not who the person on the phone is themselves (eg. Traditionally security questions relate to personal information and not company information). ABSA are trying to stay ahead of the curve and implement these new processes as soon as possible since POPI will take full effect in 2021.

NCR LOOKS TO ESTABLISH A POOL OF DEBT COUNSELLORS The National Credit Regulator (NCR) wants to find a pool of Debt Counsellors to handle clients of Debt Counsellors who are deregistered or whose registration has lapsed. Since 2007, only 23 different Debt Counsellors have had their registration with the NCR revoked by the National Consumer Tribunal. The NCR indicated in a recent Circular (8 of 2020) that they would look to distribute any such clients in a rotational way to all those on the panel. Debt Counsellors were given until the middle of July to sign up to be considered for the panel.

DEBT REVIEW AWARDS 2020

A LITTLE HISTORY In 2014 the debt review industry were invited to participate in the very first Annual Debt Review Awards. Panels of experts, drawn from across the industry, reviewed the performance of their industry peers and a small Awards gala was held in Cape Town where the results were announced and the first Golden Piggy Banks were handed out. The Awards process is now in its 7th year and has been refined and improved over the years. While, in the past, the panels consisted of up to 50 people, now all those who are registered with the National Credit Regulator are able to participate in the review process. This means thousands of registrants can form part of the reviews.

DEBT REVIEW AWARDS 2020

RECOGNITION FOR HARD WORK The peer reviews are done throughout the year (to help average out the results) and after being audited the results are then announced on the evening of the Debt Review Awards Gala. The Gala, though modest, has given those invited the opportunity to get dressed up, enjoy some good association, great entertainment and informative speeches about industry developments. Those who receive the highest averaged results, across all the peer reviews through the year, receive recognition through this process at the Gala. Each year now over 50 different Debt Counsellors are recognized as well as various credit providerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s debt review departments in regard to various types of credit (eg. Home loans, Vehicle finance, short term credit etc). Their hard work and efforts in behalf of troubled consumers and in trying to improve the industry is recognized in a very public way. They can be proud that their peers are taking note of all their hard work and effort throughout the year.

DEBT REVIEW AWARDS 2020

WHO PARTICIPATES IN THE PEER REVIEWS? Only those who are registered with the National Credit Regulator are eligible to be considered in the Debt Review Awards process. This also includes the 4 registered Payment Distribution Agencies (CollectNet, DC Partner, Hyphen PDA, IPDA). Though registrants do not need to sign up to the process to be considered (this happens though the year anyway) they do have to sign up to be eligible to take home the top honours at the Awards ceremony. If you would like to sign up you can do so here: www.debtreviewawards.co.za/sign-up-to-participate/

DEBT REVIEW AWARDS 2020

WHO REVIEWS WHO? It would be a very bad idea to let registrants who ‘compete’ on a business level with one another to review each other. They may be tempted to simply give poor reviews of their competition and they also do not interact with each other in a significant way in regard to each consumers’ matter. This is why the Peer Reviews about credit providers are done by Debt Counsellors and the reviews of Debt Counsellors are done by credit providers. That way there is no incentive to hand out negative reviews out of spite or a sense of competition. By having large amounts of reviews for all the top candidates it also helps average out the results to eliminate any bias by any party or group of participants.

DEBT REVIEW AWARDS 2020

CHECKING THE NUMBERS The entire process takes place online and computers crunch the numbers for the most part. The system has built in processes and question duplication to prevent any attempts to manipulate the process. There is also a human auditing process which reviews who is signing in, what ratings they are giving, IP addresses, NCR registration numbers and more. After one final audit the results are printed out and added to Awards announcements cards to be opened on the night of the Gala.

DEBT REVIEW AWARDS 2020

ANNOUNCING THE RESULTS IN 2020 Pretty early on in 2020 it became obvious that things were going to have to change for the Debt Review Awards Gala. The idea of having a large group of hundreds of people all together while Covid-19 is around immediately seemed like a bad idea. So, plans were put in place to source an online platform to announce the results to the industry and still capture some of the excitement of the live announcements of the results. The entertainers were approached about doing their performances online and speakers were also briefed. The wheels were put into motion and with the help of financial sponsors arrangements have been made. Through the use of online software and primarily a live stream (to platforms like Youtube) the announcements of the results will be made this year on Friday September 11th 2020. This means that unlike in the past where only around 200 people could attend, now thousands from across the industry will be able to be part of the Awards event. Please visit www.debtreviewawards.co.za for more information and follow social media for the links closer to the time. Debtfree Magazine will also be posting regular updates about how to log on and be part of the action.

DEBT REVIEW AWARDS 2020

RECOGNIZING INDIVIDUALS WITH THE HELP OF ONE Over the last few years and with the help of the well respected insurance providers ONE, the Debt Review Awards has been able to recognize not only brands for their efforts but also many individuals who work in the industry. This includes attorneys, those who work at the Regulator, Associations and on Credit Providers and Debt Counsellorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s teams. Over the years, winners of the ONE: Significant Contribution to Debt Review awards have included well known, hard working individuals like: Paul Slot (of DCASA), Denise Hartley (Nedbank at the time), Harry Greene (BASA), Neil Roets (Debt Rescue), Rob Easton Berry (Consumer Friend), Justin Van Der Linde (Consumer Friend), Luis Da Cruz (Wesbank), Stephan Van Der Hooven (Attorney), Chris Van der Straaten (Hyphen PDA), Morris Maluleke (NCR), Kershnee Naidoo (SBSA). We look forward to seeing who will be recognized this year.

DEBT REVIEW AWARDS 2020

YOUR OWN INTERNAL AWARDS? A big part of the Debt Review Awards is to give individuals the recognition they deserve for all the hard work they are doing. At credit providersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; offices and Debt Counsellorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; practices across the country there are superstars who work hard every day to assist troubled consumers through tough times. They all deserve to be acknowledged. Do you have staff members that you would like to give recognition for their hard work and efforts? Why not coordinate your own internal recognition of these staff members for the day of the Awards. There will be time for you to do so during the event. You can do so online with your remote working team or in person while observing social distancing protocols.

DEBT REVIEW AWARDS 2020

SEE YOU AT THE AWARDS SHOW The Debt Review Awards offers an opportunity for an already hard working industry to stop for a second and figure out whether they are working to a high enough standard. It helps identify those companies and individuals who are going above and beyond, leading the way for others to follow and imitate. It helps recognize that as an industry we can all strive to be the best and help consumers through debt review with passion and excellence. The organizers want to send a special thank you to the volunteers, generous sponsors, supporters and those participating in the Peer Reviews for all their input and invaluable support. See everyone at the online show during September.

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DEBT REVIEW IF BEHIND ON CAR PAYMENTS

They have to invite you to court before they can take your car back. You get to defend yourself at court first.

Contact a/your Debt Counsellor at once if approached by any collections person.

CREDIT PROVIDERS VS CONSUMERS

ARE ALL THE PARTIES ON AN EVEN PLAYING FIELD? New court rulings from across the country are trying to give consumers a fighting chance to defend their matters at lower courts rather than at the very expensive High Court. Any person that has ever required the services of an attorney will know that it is very expensive. To litigate a matter in a South African court costs thousands, and more often hundreds of thousands of rands and unfortunately all too often the party with the biggest wallet â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;winsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; the matter simply because the other party runs out of money and cannot afford to fight their matter any further, notwithstanding the merits and their chances of success.

CREDIT PROVIDERS VS CONSUMERS

THE FINE PRINT In most, if not all, credit agreements consumers enter with credit providers there is a clause stating that the parties consent to the jurisdiction of the Magistrates court and that should the consumer breach the agreement the consumer will pay the credit providers legal costs on an attorney and client scale.

CREDIT PROVIDERS VS CONSUMERS

IMPORTANT LEGAL THINGS TO KNOW South Africa has the following courts namely, in order of their hierarchy, the Constitutional Court, The Supreme Court of Appeal, High Court’s (including any High Court of Appeal that may be established by an Act of Parliament to hear appeals from High Courts), Magistrate’s Court’s and any other court established or recognised in terms of an Act of Parliament (like the Small Claims Court of Labour Court). Some of these courts have a monetary jurisdiction meaning the courts can only adjudicate over a matter if the claim amount is less than a certain monetary value, except if all the parties agree to that court adjudicating over the matter. The Magistrate’s Court can for example only adjudicate over a matter if the claim is less than R200 000.00 and the Regional Court R400 000.00. The High Court does not have a maximum monetary jurisdiction amount and has concurrent jurisdiction with any Magistrate’s Court, but are more expensive. In a civil action the plaintiff, as dominus litis (basically the captain of the boat), decides whom it wants to sue and where it wants to do so.

CREDIT PROVIDERS VS CONSUMERS

WHICH COURT TO USE The question that has arose recently is why would a credit provider elect to issue summons in the High Court when the Magistrate’s Court also had jurisdiction over the matter and the costs would be a lot cheaper for both parties. The answer it would seem was that certain Plaintiffs (credit providers in this case) were “forum shopping” and selecting courts where, in their opinion, they have a better chance of success, knowing that the Defendant (the poor consumer) does not have easy access to the court and it would be much more expensive for them to try fight their case. Choosing to use the more expensive High Courts was further sweetened by the fact that consumers would pay the credit provider’s very expensive costs (on an attorney and client scale if the credit provider wins the matter. Luckily for consumers, under the National Credit Act (NCA) the courts seem to have become wise to the tactics of some of the Plaintiffs and have made it more difficult for Credit Providers to Forum shop.

CREDIT PROVIDERS VS CONSUMERS

GAUTENG On 26 September 2018, the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria delivered judgment in In re: Nedbank Limited v Thobejane and related matters, which found that foreclosure proceedings falling within the monetary jurisdiction of the Magistrate’s Court must be referred to the Magistrate’s Court and not directly to the High Court. The court found that the Credit Providers should have instituted proceedings in the Magistrate’s Court that had jurisdiction and which was geographically located closer to the Consumers and was therefore generally more accessible and financially viable for the consumers.

CREDIT PROVIDERS VS CONSUMERS

EASTERN CAPE On 30 July 2019, the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Grahamstown delivered a judgment in Nedbank Limited v Gqirana NO and Another; First Rand Bank Limited v Cornellisson and related matters found that consumers in matters involving credit agreements where the NCA is applicable, were usually historically disadvantaged individuals and that the right of access to court was important, as generally the Magistrateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Courts would be the most appropriate forum for such individuals to access justice which is a right in terms of Section 34 of the constitution every person has.

CREDIT PROVIDERS VS CONSUMERS

WESTERN CAPE In a more recent example, on 25 May 2020, the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town delivered a judgment in Standard Bank of SA Ltd v Kekana; Standard Bank of SA Ltd v Mbedu; and related matters confirming that the provisions of Section 29(1)(e) of the Magistratesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Court Act, as read with Section 172(2) of the NCA, provides that the Magistratesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Courts have jurisdiction over all National Credit Act matters whatever the monetary sum and should be the Court of first adjudication of all National Credit Act matters to the exclusion of the High Court as a Court of first adjudication (save only in the event that there are unusual or extraordinary factual or legal issues raised which in the opinion of the High Court warrant them being heard first in the High Court).

CREDIT PROVIDERS VS CONSUMERS

GREAT NEWS FOR CONSUMERS With the most recent judgment confirming the previous decisions, it will likely be that all the High Courts in the other provinces will follow suit and not allow actions to be instituted in the High Court where it can be adjudicated by the Magistrateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Court. What this means is that this will enable consumers to have their day in court without it having to cost them an arm and a leg and will ensure better access to justice for all. It seems the courts themselves want to ensure that there is an even playing field for all.

Debtfree Magazine would like to thank Wessel Symington of Steyn Coetzee Attorneys for his help in creating this article. 021 872 1968 www.steyncoetzee.co.za

DEBT REVIEW IF BEHIND ON CAR PAYMENTS

Never just give your keys to someone claiming to be from the bank! Beware of being tricked.

Contact a/your Debt Counsellor at once if approached by any collections person.

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WHEN YOUR COMPLAINT TO THE NCR GETS REJECTED What options do you have if you complain about a Debt Counsellor to the NCR and they decide not to do anything about the matter? Most people go through the entire debt review process without any need to complain about their credit providers, PDA or Debt Counsellors. In some cases small hiccups come along and these are easily sorted out with a phone call or a few emails and all is well. No industry is perfect and no company or Counsellor will get things right 100% of the time. This is why some consumers do find that sometimes a problem comes along that they canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t resolve with the Debt Counsellor directly. In such a situation they may decide to take the complaint to the National Credit Regulator (NCR) who have authority over all Debt Counsellors in South Africa. Hopefully then the situation is sorted out but what happens if you complain to the National Credit Regulator (NCR) about your Debt Counsellor and the NCR decides that the Debt Counsellor didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t break any rules. What if you disagree with them and feel strongly that you need to get more help to fix the problem. What can you do? Do you have any other options?

WHEN YOUR COMPLAINT TO THE NCR GETS REJECTED

SECTION 141(1) If you find yourself in the unfortunate position where you have had to complain to the NCR about your Debt Counsellor but the NCR come back to you and say that they have had a look at the situation and they feel that the Debt Counsellor never broke any rules, you have several ways to take the matter further, if you feel unhappy with that decision. One of the options you have can be found in Section 141(1) of the National Credit Act which reads as follows: â&#x20AC;&#x153;141. (1) If the National Credit Regulator issues a notice of non-referral in response to a complaint other than a complaint concerning section 61 or an offence in terms of this Act, the complainant concerned may refer the matter directly to(a) the consumer court of the province within which the complainant resides, or in which the respondent has its principal place of business in the Republic, subject to the provincial legislation governing the operation of that consumer court; or (b) the Tribunal, with the leave of the Tribunal.â&#x20AC;?

WHEN YOUR COMPLAINT TO THE NCR GETS REJECTED

WHAT THIS MEANS Debtfree Magazine asked Attorney Rynhardt de Lange what this means and how it can be used by consumers in this situation. If the NCR has made a finding that the Debt Counsellor has not broken any part of the National Credit Act they will let the consumer know. The next step for the consumer is to ask for a ‘Notice of Non-Referral’ from the NCR (which will be issued in terms of Section 139(1)(a) of the National Credit Act). This Notice is also known as a Form 31. The Notice of Non-Referral is divided into three parts: Part 1: The details of the parties involved in the complaint Part 2: A summary of the complaint lodged by the consumer. Part3: The NCR’s finding in respect of the complaint and the reasons for their decision.

WHEN YOUR COMPLAINT TO THE NCR GETS REJECTED

20 DAYS You then have 20 business days to apply to the National Consumer Tribunal (NCT) to have the matter heard. If you miss this deadline you can still make a special request for the matter to be heard anyway which is called an application for â&#x20AC;&#x153;condonationâ&#x20AC;? explaining why they took so long to apply to the NCT. It is important to also let the Debt Counsellor know and serve them a copy of the application to the NCT. This gives them the chance to defend themselves (and otherwise the NCT will not hear the case if the application has not been properly served). The Debt Counsellor will be issued with a Filing Notice from the National Consumer Tribunal once all documentation has been correctly submitted and served by the consumer. The Debt Counsellor will then have 15 business days to serve and file an Opposing Affidavit, setting out why they feel no mistakes were made or that no problems exist.

WHEN YOUR COMPLAINT TO THE NCR GETS REJECTED

EXPERT HELP Consumers have the option to get legal help when making such an application and Debt Counsellors also can decide to make use of a legal representative who knows the NCA and is familiar with the rules and practice notes issued by the National Consumer Tribunal. The matter will then be decided on by the NCT and a ruling made either for the consumer or the Debt Counsellor. Hopefully any problems will then be resolved. Debtfree Magazine would like to thank Rynhardt de Lange for his help with this article. De Lange Attorneys Rynhardt de Lange (LLB) 083 951 4778 rynhardt@dl-law.co.za

DEBT REVIEW IF BEHIND ON CAR PAYMENTS

Use your phone to record any collections agent who approaches you. Send them away!

Contact a/your Debt Counsellor at once if approached by any collections person.

What if...

YOUR CLIENT’S VEHICLE IS STOLEN OR WRITTEN OFF?

Is he really insured, and if so, properly? Could the insurer repudiate the claim because of his debt review status? As he cannot borrow, how does he replace his vehicle? Since he can’t get more credit, how does he replace his vehicle?

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MAXIMISING INSURANCE RELATED INCOME

PARTNERSHIPS How Meliorleaf partnerships with Debt Counsellors work. We keep you advised regarding your clients to ensure they are covered properly and remain covered. We remunerate you, ongoing, for what you choose to do: Some debt counsellors want to be actively involved in arranging and managing insurance relationships, and we fairly share commissions earned Some debt counsellors are also registered Financial Services Providers. They can advise clients and provide a full broking service, and are entitled to earn the full commission But, Meliorleaf understands that some debt counsellors cannot or do not want to be actively involved. However, they do want their clients to be properly insured: For these debt counsellors, Meliorleaf can provide a fully outsourced turnkey solution. What’s more, we will still provide you with ongoing remuneration on all active policies.

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These interviews, with some of the most prestigious virologists worldwide summarise findings about lockdown:

Debt Counsellors Collective If you want your voice to be heard please feel free to email alan@themoneyclinic.co.za

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl-sZdfLcEkÂ www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RAtFBvKrVw www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxHbZ0ylsac

Welcome to our new facebook group members. If you are a Debt Counsellor and would like to contribute to our discussions, debates and conversations then please visit us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/allprodc

www.allprodc.org

Thank you to all front line essential service workers during the lockdown

Catch up on our recent podcasts on the DCASA website: www.dcasa.co.za/faq

www.dcasa.co.za

NDCA are ready to help consumers who are struggling with debt. Visit our site for more information

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