When is Debt Review Unlawful?

1. The Debt Review Flag is Unlawful when: 

* You have been decieved to be placed under debt review
* You were placed under debt review without your consent
* You did not apply or sign or submit Form 16 application form
* You did not agree to the re-structured payment arrangment
* You did not sign the supporting affidavit for court application
* Debt counselling process was not finalized within the 60 days prescribed timeframe
* There is no court order in place

2. The debt counsellor is:
* Unknown
* Uncontactable
* No longer involved in debt counselling
* Deregistered by the Tribunal

3. A properly conducted debt review

1. Form 16 - a consumer signs this form to apply for debt counselling and submits it to the debt counsellor with Copy of ID; Proof of Residence and Statements of all outstanding accounts

2. Form 17.1 - Within 5 days of the applicaiton, the debt counsellor must notify all credit providers and credit bureaus that the consumer has applied for debt review. The debt review flag shall be placed on your credit records

3. Form 17.2 - Within 10 days, the debt counsellor must conduct assessment of the consumer's financial circumstances and submit the debt resctructuring proposal to all credit providers. When the credit provider accept the proposal, the consumer must sign this form to accept the restructured payments.

4. Supporting Affidavit: The debt counsellor shall draft a supporting affidavit which the consumer must commission with the commissioner of oaths (police) for application to court. 

5. Court Application: Within 60 days from the application date, the debt counsellor must attach the signed Form 17.2 and the supporting affidavit to place the matter on the court roll. 

6. Court Order: The debt counsellor must supply the consumer with a copy of the court order.
 
Note: A debt review court order is for the protection of both the consumer and the credit providers to ensure that each party complies with the stipulated restructured repayments. It is not binding the consumer to stay under debt review until all debts are settled in full. Where all debt counselling processes have been conducted in compliance with the regulations and the consumer's financial circumstances improve,  yet the debt counsellor is not willing to do reasessment and release the consumer from debt review, the consumer can apply to court to rescind the order and submit the rescission court order to the NCR to remove the debt review flag from credit bureau records. 

The above steps and timeframes are compulsory and non-negotiable. If you did not sign any of the documents and/or you did not receive a copy of the court order, the debt review is unlawful and can be disputed through the NCR. 

If you are confident that any of the above steps was not completed or you did not sign any of the documents, you can log a dispute with the NCR using Form 29. 

Click this link to upload Form 29

Important: The NCR is dealing with thousands of disputes and it is your responsibility to follow up on the progress of your dispute.

If you want your debt review matter resolved urgently, but you do not have the time to do followups, you can subscribe with the AACS to log the dispute on your behalf and do the followup for you.