Getting out of debt is difficult, but not impossible – you need a strategy. Wesbank breaks the debt review process down into three stages – Assessment, Application, Action. Here we discuss ‘Action’ – How to put your debt review plan into action and achieve your goals.
What documentation do you need to apply for debt review?
The first step in the debt review application process is an income and expenditure assessment. Your debt counsellor will need to see your pay slip or bank statement showing proof of income; your ID document; your contractual obligations; and the breakdown of your budget.
60 days
Should you decide to go ahead and apply for debt review, it takes up to 60 business days to finalise a debt review payment proposal. During this period, your debt counsellor will obtain the certificate of balance from all your creditors, and determine whether you are over-indebted or not. If you are over-indebted, they will negotiate with your creditors to restructure a new repayment plan, comprising reduced interest rates, extended terms, and smaller monthly repayments, whilst ensuring you have enough to cover your essential living expenses – the needs portion of your budget.
Forewarned is forearmed
Should one or more of your creditors decline the new payment proposals, your debt counsellor will have to approach a magistrate’s court to get a court order. If your application is not finalised within the legally stipulated timeframe, and your credit agreements are in arrears, your creditors are entitled to terminate the debt review, after which time legal action can be taken against you.
Participation in good faith by all stakeholders is crucial to the successful outcome of a debt review. Failing to adhere to good faith by any stakeholder can hinder or derail the entire process. This is why it is so important you choose a reputable debt counselling firm to work with from the outset.
If all goes according to plan
If all your creditors agree with the new payment proposals offered by your debt counsellor, a legal consent order will be obtained. This means that your new payment terms have been agreed and cannot be unilaterally changed. You will then start repaying all your creditors via one single, affordable transaction per month.
Provided you don’t fall into arrears with your repayment plan obligations, you will have legal protection of your assets during the repayment period, which is generally five years. If you are able to pay in extra to your agreed repayment plan, you will be able to settle the loan in a shorter period, which will not only save you the interest you’d otherwise have paid over the full term of the loan, but it’ll also increase your credit rating.
A clear exit strategy
“For the duration of your repayment plan, your profile with the credit bureaus will be flagged to say you are ‘under debt review’. This means that no creditor may grant you credit up until that flag has been removed. Only once you have settled your debt in full, and can demonstrate that you now have the ability to satisfy future financial obligations, will your debt counsellor issue you with a debt review clearance certificate. They will also notify your creditors and the credit bureaus that you are no longer ‘under debt review’, and that flag will finally be removed from your credit profile,” concludes Ghana Msibi, WesBank Executive Head of Motor.
Alan Straton
Latest posts by Alan Straton (see all)
- The Household Pest Mystery That Starts in the Roof - 25 October 2026
- The Holiday Souvenir Nobody Wants: Bed Bugs in the Luggage - 25 October 2026
- What Comes Out of a Rug Before the Washing Starts? - 25 October 2026
- Desktop Pop-Ups Become the Compliance Channel Email Cannot Deliver - 23 October 2026
- Desktop Pop-Ups Become the Compliance Channel Email Cannot Deliver - 23 October 2026
