What are the Legal Fees for Debt Review?

Overview

A monthly PDA fee equal to 3% of the first instalment on the payment plan, but never less than R50 (VAT excl) and never more than R500 (VAT excl). Secondly, with regard to the financed car – all debt must be included under debt counselling, unless a specific credit provider has already started with legal action.

The debt review fees are set out in the Government Gazette. Generally, the first month is earmarked for the debt counsellor and may not exceed R6 000. The second month is for the legal fees and is usually around R3 350.

Debt counsellors are required by the National Credit Regulator (NCR) to disclose fees upfront, and consumers need to sign this disclosure. If your debt counsellor did not do this, please inform the NCR on form 29 to be obtained from their website. Here is a link to the site.

The fee structure is also set out there for your information.

A negotiation fee is for the work the debt counsellor does, including the statutory forms that need to be served on creditors, the actual calculations of the redistribution of funds, the negotiation with creditors and the preparation of the debt review file for the legal team.

The legal fees are towards the preparation of the affidavits, the notion of motion, the actual court application, the serving of documents, the court appearance and the court order.

These fees are actually low if you look at the amount of work that needs to be done on your behalf. Fees may only be deducted in the first two months: debt restructuring in the first month and legal fees in the second month.

From the third month distribution towards your creditors must begin.

Also, please check if your debt counsellor is registered with the NCR. Ask for a copy of the NCR registration certificate of the person attending to you at the debt collection firm.