Debt Care review

DebtCare is a debt counsellor. It assesses whether you are over-indebted and restructures your debts into one monthly payment negotiated with your credit providers.

It is not a lender. It is also not the Standard Bank Debt Care Centre, which is an internal debt relief unit of Standard Bank, a credit provider. It is not a registered debt counsellor.

• DebtCare says it has helped more than 15 000 people become debt-free since 2008. (debtcare.co.za)
• DebtCare says on average its clients are debt-free within 36 to 60 months (elsewhere on the site it says 30 to 60 months). (debtcare.co.za)
• DebtCare says clients open a new bank account so creditors cannot debit the old one, and it notifies credit providers. (debtcare.co.za)
• DebtCare says its legal partners apply for the court order, so the client does not go to court. (debtcare.co.za)
• DebtCare says it has partnerships with the NCR, Intuitive (IFE) and Intuitive Payment Distribution Agency. (debtcare.co.za)
• DebtCare's information pack states its fees are regulated by the NCR and lists the fee structure to be signed by the client. (debtcare.co.za)
• NCR register: DebtCare - Bellville second registered counsellor NCRDC4553 registered 04/29/2025. (ncr.org.za)
• NCR register lists a separate business 'Debt Care Mzansi' (NCRDC4701, Constance Mampotse Setsiba, registered 07/03/2026, Mokopane and Randburg), so a reader can confuse the two. (ncr.org.za)

Fees as DebtCare 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: debtcare.co.za, debtcare.co.za.

Checked on 30 September 2026 against DebtCare'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: ncr.org.za, debtcare.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. More detail: the debt review process step by step.

The fee table above comes from DebtCare's 2021 application form. It is the only DebtCare fee schedule we could verify, not a current price list. Ask for its current fees in writing.

Set against the NCR fee guideline, the 2021 form matches in some places and differs in others:

• The R300 administration fee, the R8,000 restructuring cap for a single applicant and the aftercare fee of 5% up to R450 match NCR figures.
• The wording differs. DebtCare's form says R300 per consultation, where the NCR says per application. It bases restructuring on the first instalment, where the NCR says the lower of the distributable amount or the cap. It bases aftercare on the monthly instalment of the plan, where the NCR uses the distributable amount.
• The NCR guideline has no fixed legal fee. The form lists a legal fee of R7,000 for tier 1, with two higher tiers shown in the table above, all excluding VAT. The NCR says attorney fees are agreed with the attorney and given to you in writing.

The distributable amount is what is payable to your credit providers under the first repayment plan. Ask for a receipt when you pay the application and administration fees.

• 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.
• DebtCare says its clients are on average debt-free within 36 to 60 months. That is its own average, not a promise, and much of its website looks last refreshed in 2021. Ask for your projected term 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 DebtCare handled your case belongs with the NCR.

The NCR register is searched by the counsellor's full name or NCRDC number. A search for the trading name DebtCare returns nothing, so use a name or number, for example NCRDC1362.