First, know the only two legal routes
Every legitimate debt review removal ends in one of two documents. If a company cannot tell you which one it will get for you, keep looking.
| Route | When it applies | Who can get it |
|---|---|---|
| Clearance certificate (Form 19, section 71) | All the short-term debts in your plan are paid | Your registered debt counsellor must issue it |
| Court order | You still owe money but are no longer over-indebted, or the debt review should not have been granted | A court, on an application usually brought with an attorney |
The 8-point checklist
- 1A verifiable NCR registration number (NCRDC…), checked by you on www.ncr.org.za, not a screenshot.
- 2A route named in writing: clearance certificate or court order, and why you qualify for it.
- 3The full fee in writing before you pay, including court or attorney costs if the court route is needed.
- 4An honest "not yet". A good company tells you when you do not qualify yet, rather than taking a fee anyway.
- 5A realistic timeline. Clearance certificates take weeks, court orders take months. "Overnight" is a red flag.
- 6A physical address and a landline you can check, not only a cellphone number.
- 7Reviews you can trace to a public profile such as Google, not only testimonials on the company's own site.
- 8Proof at the end: a copy of the clearance certificate or court order, and confirmation that the bureaus have updated your record.
Red flags: walk away if you see these
- A promise to remove the flag "overnight", "in 24 hours" or "guaranteed".
- No NCR registration number, or one that does not match the name on the register.
- Pressure to pay before anyone has looked at your debt review documents.
- Advice to stop paying your debt review instalments while they "handle it".
- A fee demanded into a personal bank account.
More detail: debt review removal scams and how to spot them.
Questions to ask before you pay anyone
- Which route do I qualify for, and what documents does that need from me?
- What is your NCR registration number?
- What is the total cost, and is any of it refundable if I turn out not to qualify?
- How long will it take, and how will you keep me updated?
- What will I receive at the end to prove the flag is gone?
How Debt365 measures up
Debt365 is an NCR-registered debt counsellor (NCRDC2403) with an office at 9 Spoorlyn Rd, Rhodesfield, Kempton Park, and serves clients in all nine provinces. We publish our removal pricing by route, tell you in writing which route applies after a free eligibility check, and say so if you do not qualify yet. You can read our Google reviews and verify our registration on www.ncr.org.za.