According to Wikus Olivier, a debt counsellor at DebtSafe, the new amendments are very consumer orientated and has put the consumer at a very favourable position to address their debt problems.
There are a few changes to sections within the act pertaining to debt counselling. Some of the amendments include:
"These amendments will allow for alternative dispute resolution agents (ADR) to be registered who handles disputes between consumers and credit providers on a voluntary basis. We foresee that most debt counsellors will register as ADR in order to have a broader service offering. An ADR that is not a registered debt counsellor are prohibited from doing debt review activities," explains Olivier.
"Payment distribution agencies (PDA) will also be able to register in terms of the Act. In the past only three PDAs were accredited by the National Credit Regulator (NCR) and were the only ones to offer the payment and distribution services up to date. Consumers need to make sure that the PDA they are using through their debt counsellor is in fact registered with the NCR.
"All credit providers have to be registered with the NCR. In the past there were certain thresholds that a credit provider had to exceed in order to register. Now, every person or company that gives out loans or credit has to be registered with the NCR. This will help the NCR in combating reckless and unscrupulous lenders which will in turn help protect the consumer," concludes Olivier.