If you're wondering how long debt review lasts, or perhaps you just have quite a few questions regarding the debt review process, this blog post will clear things up for you.
Debt counselling or debt review refers to the same debt relief process that was introduced by the National Credit Act (NCA) to help over-indebted consumers.
With debt review, a Debt Counsellor helps you consolidate your debt into one, affordable monthly repayment. With debt review at Meerkat you can:
Technically you should be able to apply for credit ONE week after receiving your debt clearance certificate.
A clearance certificate for debt review (Form 19) is a formally recognised document introduced by the National Credit Regulator (NCR) that confirms that you have successfully completed the debt review process. If you've ever wondered how you get clearance from credit bureaus, the key is with this document.
Obtaining a clearance certificate, is also the only way you can legally exit the debt review process. And, the way to do this is to ensure all your debts and payment arrangements, according to your repayment plan, have been paid in full.
Read the article to find our more about debt review removal.
The debt review flag will remain on your credit record until you have successfully completed the debt review (debt counselling) process. There is not a set period for everyone as the time it takes is dependent on:
The debt review process usually lasts between 3-5 years.
Because credit bureaus may take some time before updating your credit profile, we recommend waiting for about 3-4 months after receiving your credit clearance certificate. During this time, you can monitor your credit report to see if the debt review flag is still on your profile.
A reason some people may not want to register for the debt counselling process is because they fear that it would hurt their chances of applying for credit in the future. This is not the case. Debt review is actually an opportunity for improving your credit score.
Before approving a loan application, banks will retrieve your credit report to check your affordability. Once you’ve completed debt review, and credit bureaus have updated your report, the only thing showing should be your payment history.
If you want to know more about debt review (debt counselling) including:
While you should technically be able to apply for credit one week after receiving your National Credit Regulator (NCR) clearance certificate, as mentioned earlier, you have to take the following into account:
Read the article to find out more about life after debt review.