What’s happening at DebtBusters?

DebtBusters is the leading debt counsellor in South Africa, dedicated to helping the many South African consumers who are overwhelmed by debt and are struggling to manage their finances on their own.

At DebtBusters, our mission is to give South Africans a second chance to build a brighter financial future. Over the past five years, we have managed to assist more than 20,000 South African consumers with their debt situation.

We pride ourselves on being a key player in shaping the development of the industry and this is helped by both its extensive relationships with credit providers, insurers and a market share in excess of 15%.

We believe that we are not only the largest debt counsellor in South Africa, but also the best! - Why?

• We provide tailored debt solutions to our clients’ specific financial needs
• We ensure that all of our clients are adapted to the new debt counselling process under the Debt Counselling Rule Set (DCRS) - 96% of our clients renegotiated credit agreements are accepted by credit providers.
• Our operational processes are designed to ensure that you are provided with optimal care at any point during the debt review process. We have specialised teams focusing on the different steps of the debt counselling process, such as an expert handful of financial consultants dedicated to reviewing your financial situation, expert negotiators focused on renegotiating your credit agreements by reducing your interest rates and extending the debt repayment terms, as well as a specialised legal department.
• We have a number of dedicated support teams committed to your on-going well-being throughout your debt review.
• We are currently the only debt counsellor in South Africa who exchanges your existing Credit Life Cover, obtained with your original loan, for a cheaper and more affordable cover, which is implemented by our sister company, Insurance Busters.

DebtBusters developments — what are we doing to improve our service to you?

At DebtBusters, our vision is to become South Africa’s unparalleled debt counselling and financial services company by guiding our clients first to financial wellbeing and then to financial wealth. We are dedicated to improving the operational side of the business on a consistent basis and have great pride and passion in ensuring that we constantly offer you exceptional service. To achieve this, we have the following exciting and new business developments in store for you!

• Growing team and new office space! We currently have more than 200 employees and are growing at a rapid pace to ensure that we are able to fully meet your needs. In addition, we have hired new professionals as part of the executive team, responsible for making sure that the strategic vision of the business is put into effect. With this expansion, as of January 2014, we will be taking over more office space, but will continue to operate from our centralised office in Cape Town, South Africa.

• Customer service enhancements. We are in the process of introducing a new web-based portal, which will provide you with access to all of your debt review information. More details will be released in the next two months after the portal has gone through beta testing.

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• Financial Planning products. DebtBusters is dedicated to being there for you not only throughout the debt counselling process, but for the rest of your life too. In 2014, we will be broadening our business venture of guiding our clients from financial health to financial wealth by introducing new and affordable financial planning products to take care of your financial future.

• DebtBusters Debt Counselling number change. We have the pleasure of confirming that your new Debt Counsellor is the founder and business owner of DebtBusters. As some of you will have noticed, several company documents have been reinstated with NCRDC1817 and will no longer be represented by Luke Hirst NCRDC195. Be on the lookout for these changes on your documents and if you have any queries please contact DebtBusters Client Services department on 0861 663 328.

• Review of the National Credit Regulator (NCR) Credit Provider Affordability Assessment Guidelines and the Code of Conduct to Combat Over-indebtedness: DebtBusters' CEO is dedicated to establishing new ways in which South African consumers can be educated and assisted with their debt situation, in order to prevent the larger debt crisis in South Africa from worsening. It is has become evident that many South African consumers have fallen victim to reckless lending and there is not enough being done to help those currently struggling with debt and their finances. With this in mind, over the past few months DebtBusters' CEO has spent time working with the NCR in order to review the Credit Provider Affordability Assessment Guidelines and The Code of Conduct to Combat Over-indebtedness Guidelines, both set out by the NCR. He has successfully suggested viable changes that will be enforced with the implementation. Several of the changes include; Credit Providers are to take the reasonable steps in assessing the prospective consumer’s existing financial means, prospects and obligations in order to determine whether or not the loan they have applied for is deemed reckless. Credit providers are also responsible for reviewing the consumer’s income and the minimum living expenses calculation, which has been determined in conjunction with DebtBusters client statistics, as well as for conducting a full credit check. In terms of combating over-indebtedness, the ‘Debt Counselling Rules System (DCRS) is to be implemented first. However, if clients do not solve, then the last credit agreements consumers have been entered into, are to be restructured first. Credit providers will also be urged to update the credit bureaus with credit information every 48 hours, as opposed to every 30 days. Consequently, when consumers apply for loans, credit providers will be able to make an accurate affordability assessment by factoring all of the consumer’s latest information.