Debt Review Removal: Your Questions Answered

In everyday use, yes. All four describe ending your debt review so the flag comes off your credit record. Legally it always happens one of two ways: a Section 71 clearance certificate once your re-arranged debts are paid, or a court order where you still owe money but are no longer over-indebted.

Yes, when it follows the National Credit Act. The Act provides for the clearance certificate and for the court to end a debt review. What is not lawful is a bureau 'removing' the flag without either, or anyone promising to hide it.

No. Stopping payments does not end debt review or clear the flag. It puts you in default, which lets credit providers terminate the review of their agreements and take legal action — so you lose the protection and keep the flag.

No. If you qualify, the law gives you a way out. If your counsellor will not help, or has closed, the National Credit Regulator can transfer your file to another registered counsellor.

If every short-term account on your plan is paid, it is the clearance certificate. If you still owe money, it is a court application — to reject the debt review if no order was granted, or to rescind the order if one was. Our two-minute qualification check walks you through it.

That your income, after reasonable living costs, covers the instalments on all your credit agreements as originally agreed — not the reduced debt review instalments. A magistrate decides this on the evidence: payslips or bank statements, a budget and your debts.

Yes. Every credit provider on your plan is notified and may oppose. A well-prepared affidavit that shows real affordability is what persuades the court; we only file when the numbers support it.

You stay under debt review with its protection intact, and you can apply again later if your position improves. This is why we test affordability honestly before filing.

No. A home loan can remain outstanding when the clearance certificate is issued, provided it is up to date. Once every other account on your plan is settled, the clearance certificate route applies.

The clearance certificate (from R2,900) is administrative: collecting paid-up letters, issuing Form 19 and confirming with the bureaus. The court route (from R6,500) includes an attorney, an affidavit, notice to every credit provider and a court appearance.

Missing paid-up letters are the most common delay on the clearance route, which typically takes 14 to 21 working days. On the court route, which typically takes 2 to 3 months, the court roll and any opposition from a credit provider set the pace.

The exact fee is confirmed in writing after your assessment, and you approve it before any work starts.

Removing the flag takes away the automatic block on new credit, but your score is still built from your account history. Settled accounts help; most people see their score improve steadily over the following year of on-time payments.

Once a clearance certificate is issued, the bureaus must remove the debt review information from your record. Your individual account histories remain, as they would for anyone.

Request your free report from TransUnion, Experian, XDS and VCCB a few weeks after the certificate or order. You are entitled to one free report a year from each. If any bureau still shows the flag, it needs to be followed up — we do this as part of the service.

You can apply as soon as the bureaus have updated. Whether a bank approves depends on its own criteria, which usually include a period of good account conduct after debt review.

Your file does not disappear. The National Credit Regulator can transfer it to another registered counsellor, who can then issue the clearance certificate or support a court application.

No. You share one estate, so both spouses are part of the debt review and both must be part of the removal. With an antenuptial contract, each spouse is treated separately.

An emoluments attachment (garnishee) order is a separate court order and is not cancelled by leaving debt review. We look at any order on your payslip at the assessment and explain how it affects your route.

Settling your re-arranged debts with a new consolidation loan is treated differently from paying them off. Tell us at the assessment; it changes which route applies.

No. A bureau may only remove the flag on a clearance certificate or a court order, and neither happens in a day or two. A promise like that is the clearest sign of a scam.

An attorney can bring the court application, which is why our panel attorney handles the court route. Only a registered debt counsellor can issue a clearance certificate.

Search their registration number on www.ncr.org.za under Registrants, then Debt Counsellors. Ours is NCRDC2403. Our only official channels are debt365.co.za, 087 012 6412 and WhatsApp 076 982 2112.