Credit Matters debt review

Credit Matters describes itself as one of the largest national debt counselling businesses. We have not verified that, and its own pages give different figures for how many people it has helped, so we do not repeat any of them.

It is not a lender, so it does not give loans. Its website also lists administration orders and voluntary sequestration. Those are different from debt review: the NCR says a consumer under debt administration cannot apply for debt counselling, and a sequestration order brings a debt review to an end. Ask the counsellor which route fits your situation and why.

• Credit Matters says it started operating in July 2007, after the National Credit Act came into existence. (creditmatters.co.za)
• Credit Matters is based in Cape Town and says it handles the whole application by fax, email and telephone, so you need not visit its offices. (creditmatters.co.za)
• Credit Matters says it aims to get clients to debt-free status within five to eight years. (creditmatters.co.za)
• Credit Matters says accounts such as doctor and cell phone accounts are excluded from debt review, as are accounts where legal action was started before the application or where judgment or a garnishee order exists. (creditmatters.co.za)
• The NCR register lists Nadeem Williams (NCRDC19), final registration 07/05/2007, as a debt counsellor trading as Credit Matters. (ncr.org.za)
• The NCR register lists Mogamat Ardiel Theunissen (NCRDC20), final registration 07/04/2007, as a debt counsellor trading as Credit Matters. (ncr.org.za)
• The NCR register lists Roger Michael Brown (NCRDC533), final registration 09/18/2008, as a debt counsellor trading as Credit Matters. (ncr.org.za)

Fees as Credit Matters states them on its own website on 30 September 2026. Debt counselling fees are capped by the National Credit Regulator's fee guideline, and the counsellor must give you the fees in writing before you sign.

Sources: creditmatters.co.za.

Checked on 30 September 2026 against Credit Matters's official website. Before you sign anything with a debt help firm, confirm the debt counsellor's registration with the National Credit Regulator, and never pay a "removal" or "clearance" fee to someone who contacts you out of the blue.

Sources: creditmatters.co.za, creditmatters.co.za.

Debt review follows the same legal steps at every counsellor.

1. You apply on Form 16 with your documents, such as a salary slip and your outstanding balances. Form 16 warns that documents not submitted within 10 days of the application being received mean it will not be accepted.
2. The counsellor checks whether you are over-indebted. If you are, the counsellor tells your credit providers and the credit bureaus within five business days and sends the credit providers a repayment proposal.
3. The application, negotiation and referral to the Magistrate's Court or the National Consumer Tribunal must be completed within 60 business days of the date you applied. If all credit providers accept, the Tribunal can issue a consent order. If one or more decline, the matter goes to the Magistrate's Court.
4. You pay the agreed monthly amount, usually through a payment distribution agent (PDA) registered with the NCR. The NCR says you may pay your credit providers directly instead.

During those 60 business days you are protected against legal action such as repossession and default judgment. Never give your counsellor money meant for your credit providers.

Credit Matters says it handles the whole application by fax, email and telephone, so you do not need to visit its offices. More detail: the debt review process step by step.

Credit Matters' website gives conflicting fee statements, so we do not publish a rand fee from it. Ask for the full fee breakdown in writing before you sign anything, and ask which fees are taken upfront and which later.

The NCR fee guideline is the benchmark to check any quote against:

The distributable amount is what is payable to your credit providers under the first repayment plan. Attorney fees are not fixed: they are agreed with the attorney and given to you in writing. Ask for a receipt when you pay the application and administration fees.

All applicable fees must be disclosed to you in writing before you sign. If a quote does not match this list, ask the counsellor to explain the difference in writing.

• Debt review does not cancel debt. The NCR says it is not a savings plan, and lower monthly payments can mean it takes you longer to pay off what you owe.
• You cannot apply for new credit while you are under debt review.
• Your credit record carries a debt review flag. The NCR says the flag is not a blacklisting, but credit providers must keep reporting your payment history, so keep paying as agreed.
• There is no payment holiday. If you default, a credit provider can give notice to terminate the review on that agreement, but only at least 60 business days after you applied.
• Credit Matters says it aims to get clients debt-free within five to eight years. That is an aim, not a promise, so ask for the projected term for your own plan in writing.

You cannot withdraw once you have applied. Since Van Vuuren v Roets (2019) and the NCR withdrawal guidelines that took effect on 7 March 2022, no process lets you withdraw, and no court can rescind a debt review order.

The way out is a clearance certificate under section 71. You qualify when all the debts in the plan are paid, or when all your short-term debts are paid (vehicle finance, credit and store cards and loans count) and the only debt left is a home loan that is up to date under the order. The counsellor must issue the certificate within seven days after that. If it is refused, you can ask the Tribunal to review the decision.

The narrow exceptions are a magistrate finding you not over-indebted before an order is made, and a sequestration or liquidation order. You can also transfer to another debt counsellor at any stage without giving a reason. Never pay anyone who offers to remove you from debt review: under section 126A(3), NCR Circular 2 of 2025 says such firms may not be paid until the service has been performed. Read the clearance certificate guide.

Complain about a debt counsellor to the National Credit Regulator (NCR) at [email protected] or on 0860 627 627. Complaints about a credit provider, or about a credit bureau listing, go to the National Financial Ombud (NFO), which took over the Credit Ombud on 1 March 2024. The NFO is free: 0860 800 900. It does not list debt counsellors, so a complaint about how Credit Matters handled your case belongs with the NCR.