Remove the debt review flag before the Festive Season

Go into the festive season with more cheer and a clean credit slate. If you’ve paid up all your debt, but still have a debt review flag on your credit report, we can get you cleared!

Did you know: if you’re applying for credit and you keep getting rejected, it may be because you have a debt review flag on your credit report!

Read: Loan declined due to affordability in South Africa

Fix this before you start buying gifts for the Festive Season. 

Start your online application to remove debt review here. 

*Please note you MUST have paid up all your debt to qualify for a debt review clearance certificate. 

How do I get a court order to cancel debt review?

You don’t need a court order to cancel debt review. What you need is to have settled all your debt other than your home loan. If this is you, you can cancel debt review with a debt review clearance certificate from Meerkat. 

As a consumer under debt review, you can no longer voluntarily exit the debt review process. This is since March 2022 when the withdrawal guidelines for the debt review process were amended. 

Even with a 17.w form a consumer cannot withdraw from the process. See here for the updated 17.w form from the NCR. 

This means that as soon as you complete an application for debt review, you are considered to be under the debt counselling process and can no longer exit unless you have paid up all your debt. 

Ways to exit the debt review process without paying:

• If, after receiving your debt review application, a Debt Counsellor has declared that you are not over-indebted, your application will be rejected and you will no longer be under the debt review process. 
• If, after a Debt Counsellor finds you over-indebted and submits your application to The Magistrate Court and they reject your application because they find you are not over-indebted, you will no longer be under the debt review process. 

*It’s important to note that this is very rare as a Debt Counsellor has strict guidelines they have to follow when determining whether or not a consumer is over-indebted. 

Can a lawyer remove me from debt review?

A lawyer can only remove you from debt review if they can prove that due to a drastic change of financial circumstances like a new job for example, you are no longer over-indebted. 

The only individual who has genuine power to withdraw you from debt review in South Africa is a registered Debt Counsellor. This is because once you have applied for debt review, you are locked into the process until you’ve settled all your debt. 

According to the updated withdrawal guidelines by The National Credit Regulator(NCR), a debt review court order can no longer be rescinded. This means that it cannot be reversed once your restructured agreement has been taken to court.

Read: Lawyers and debt review removal in South Africa

How do I get out of debt review in South Africa?

You get issued a clearance certificate from a registered Debt Counsellor. 

You can only get a debt review clearance certificate if you meet at least one of the below criteria:

• You’ve paid up all your debt.

or

• You’ve paid up all your debt other than your home loan. 

or 

• You’ve paid up all your debt and the debt you haven’t paid up has prescribed. 

How do I get issued with a debt review clearance certificate?

1. Complete your easy online application here. 
2. Upload your paid-up letters from your creditors.
   *Even if you don’t have your paid-up letters, we can still help you. 
3. Pay the online application fee of R1150. * Please note if you do not have the paid-up letters from your creditors you will be charged an extra fee. 
4. Your latest credit record will be retrieved to see if you are under debt review. 
5. Your creditors and the credit bureaus will be updated so that the debt review flag can be removed from your credit report. 
6. Meerkat issues you with your debt review clearance certificate and you’re free to start making applications for credit again!

Some more FAQs regarding debt review removal:

How much does it cost to remove debt review?

If you have your paid-up letters, it will cost you R1150 (including VAT) to remove debt review. 

Is debt review a criminal record?

No, it is not. When you are under debt review, a flag gets placed on your credit report to inform credit providers that you can not take out any further credit. 

What’s important to note is that this ban from credit is temporary and only lasts until you’ve completed the process. Once you’ve completed the process, you will have access to credit again!

How long does it take to remove the debt review flag?

If you have your paid-up letters, Meerkat can remove you from debt review in 10 days. 

*T’s & C’s apply

Which court deals with debt review?

As outlined in The National Credit Act (NCA), The Magistrate's Courts or the National Credit Tribunal will deal with debt review matters. 

Who is Meerkat?

Meerkat is a registered financial services provider (FSP 50979) and registered Debt Counsellor NCRDC 2613. We can legally get you to exit the debt review process.