Debt review is either a lifeline or a trap, depending on who is explaining it — and unfortunately, the loudest explainers are often the ones selling it. Here is the plain-language version.
What debt review actually is
Debt review (formally, debt counselling) is a legal process under the National Credit Act. A registered debt counsellor assesses your debts, negotiates reduced instalments and extended terms with your credit providers, and consolidates everything into one monthly payment distributed to your creditors. While under review:
- Creditors generally cannot take legal action against you.
- You cannot take on any new credit — no cards, no accounts, no loans.
- A flag sits on your credit record until you are issued a clearance certificate.
What it costs
Fees are regulated but real: an application fee, a restructuring fee (typically capped around one month's restructured instalment), and ongoing after-care fees. A legitimate counsellor will show you every fee in writing before you sign. If someone is vague about fees, walk away.
When it is worth it
Debt review earns its keep when all three of these are true:
- Your minimum debt payments exceed roughly 40–50% of your take-home pay.
- You genuinely cannot cover essentials after paying minimums.
- Creditors are calling, or legal action has started or is close.
In that situation, the legal protection and the single reduced instalment can be the difference between recovering and losing a car or furniture to repossession.
When it is NOT worth it
If you can still cover your minimums and essentials, you have better options. The avalanche method plus a hard spending freeze clears debt faster, costs nothing, and leaves your credit record intact. Debt review is a medical procedure, not a convenience — do not book surgery for a headache.
Questions to ask any debt counsellor
- Are you registered with the NCR, and what is your registration number?
- What are the total fees, in rands, for my case?
- How long until I am realistically cleared?
- What happens to my bond and car finance?
The part nobody says out loud
Debt review restructures your debt. It does not restructure the habits that created it. The monthly budget still has to change — otherwise you exit review in three years and rebuild the same balances at higher interest.
Debt review is a tool, not a rescue. The rescue is the budget you run afterwards.
Khaya's debt tools show your full picture — balances, rates, payoff dates — so you know which side of the line you are on before you sign anything.
