Frequently Asked Questions

Debt review (formally "debt counselling") is a legal process under the National Credit Act that restructures your monthly instalments to an amount you can afford, while giving you legal protection from repossession and further legal action for the debts included, as long as you keep to the agreed plan.

Generally, yes, if you have one or more credit agreements under the National Credit Act and can no longer comfortably meet your monthly obligations. There's one important exception: if a credit provider has already served you with a summons on a specific debt, that particular debt is usually no longer eligible — see Already got a summons? for the full explanation.

Register an account, then complete the intake form. Our team takes it from there — capturing your debts and expenses, running an affordability assessment, and preparing your documents.

Your ID number, contact details, employer and income information, and details of every debt you want included (creditor name, account number, balance, and instalment). If you have any letters of demand, summonses, or judgments, have those on hand too — they change how that specific debt is handled.

No — a registered debt counsellor and supervising advocate handle your application. You're always welcome to get independent legal advice, especially if your matter is complicated (for example, if you're already facing litigation on one of your debts).

It varies by case — how many creditors are involved and how quickly they respond matters most. Expect it to take some weeks from intake to a finalised proposal, not days. We'll keep you updated by email at each stage.

Form 16 is your formal application for debt review under section 86(1) of the National Credit Act. We draft it from your intake details, our supervising advocate reviews it, and then you're sent a secure link to review and sign it yourself.

Form 17.1 is the proposal sent to your credit providers once your application is signed — it sets out the restructured instalments we're asking each of them to accept.

It's faster than posting paperwork back and forth, and every signature is recorded with a timestamp, your IP address, and a hash proving the document wasn't changed after you viewed it — a real audit trail, not just a formality.

Yes. On the signing page you can choose to print the document, sign it by hand, and upload a scan or photo instead of drawing a signature on-screen.

Yes, tell us and we'll update your case. Depending on the stage you're at, a document may need to be redrafted to reflect the change.

No, not for a debt included in your debt review, as long as you keep up with the restructured payments. That protection is conditional on you sticking to the plan.

Once your application is in place and your credit providers have been notified, they're generally barred from starting or continuing legal action on the debts included — but this only applies going forward. A debt that's already been summonsed before you applied is a different situation; see Already got a summons?.

That specific debt is very likely no longer eligible for debt review protection, and if it's been a while, a default judgment may already have been granted without a hearing. This is time-sensitive — read Already got a summons? and contact us immediately if this applies to you.

We revise the proposal for that creditor and go through the review process again. This doesn't affect the rest of your debts, which can continue as planned.

Often, yes — part of a restructuring proposal is typically negotiating a reduced interest rate with each credit provider, though this is at their discretion and varies case by case.

No. Taking on new credit while under debt review undermines the basis of your application (that you can't currently afford your existing obligations) and can jeopardise your protection.

Missing payments can put your legal protection at risk — a credit provider can apply to have your debt review terminated and revert to normal debt collection. Contact us immediately if you're going to miss a payment, before it happens if you can.

Once all your included debts are settled in full, your debt counsellor issues a clearance certificate confirming you're no longer over-indebted, which is used to have the debt review flag removed from your credit record.

Yes, a "debt review" flag is recorded with the credit bureaus while you're under review — this is different from a negative "default" or "judgment" listing, and is generally viewed more favourably by future credit providers than an unresolved default.

Until you've paid off your included debts and your debt counsellor issues a clearance certificate, at which point it can be removed. There's no fixed calendar period — it depends on how long your repayment plan takes.

Yes, it can affect which debts and assets are considered jointly. Tell us your marital status accurately at intake (we ask this directly) so it's accounted for correctly.

Yes — the intake form asks for your employment type specifically so your income and affordability can be assessed correctly, whatever your employment situation.

Tell us about joint debts specifically — they may need to be addressed alongside a joint applicant's own debt review application, depending on the credit agreement and your marital regime.

Fees are set by the practice handling your matter, not by this website itself — ask them directly for their current fee structure before you apply.

Debt counselling and payment distribution fees are typically built into your restructured monthly instalment, rather than billed separately — confirm the exact structure with the practice handling your matter.

We use encryption in transit, hashed passwords, CSRF protection, rate limiting, role-based staff access, and an audit log of who accessed your case and when. See our POPIA Compliance page and Privacy Policy for full detail.

Only the practice's staff working on your case, and the credit providers named in your proposal once it's authorised for dispatch. We don't sell your information or use it for marketing.

Use the password reset link on the login page — we'll email you a one-time link to set a new one.

No — a signing link only works once you're logged into the specific account it was addressed to. Forwarding the link to someone else doesn't give them access to sign it.

Email [FILL IN: LEGAL_CONTACT_EMAIL in .env], or see our Help centre for more specific guidance.