Zero Debt review

Zero Debt calls itself an NCR-registered debt counselling company. Its website prints no NCR registration number. The NCR register lists Christiaan Frans Craven (NCRDC1142) and Lydia Craven (NCRDC3121) as registered individuals trading as Zero Debt.

A counsellor assesses whether you are over-indebted and, if you are, proposes reduced payments to your credit providers. Despite the name, this does not wipe out what you owe. The NCR says debt counselling does not cancel debt. It lowers your payments from your disposable income, and the repayment period may become longer. It is also not debt consolidation, which the NCR describes as a single loan used to pay off all your debts.

• Zero Debt was founded in 2009 by Chris Craven. (zerodebt.co.za)
• Zero Debt calls itself an NCR-registered debt counselling company. (zerodebt.co.za)
• Zero Debt says it is rated 4.9/5 on Google with over 700 verified reviews (company claim). (zerodebt.co.za)
• Zero Debt says you will never have to attend court; its nominated attorneys obtain the court order, and legal fees are included in your reduced monthly repayment. (zerodebt.co.za)
• Zero Debt says you need a monthly income and will not qualify if unemployed. (zerodebt.co.za)
• Zero Debt has a Cape Town (Bellville) office and a Johannesburg (Bryanston) office. (zerodebt.co.za)
• Zero Debt's PAIA manual gives its Bellville address as Golden Isle Building #2, 281 Durban Road, Bellville, Cape Town, 7530 and tel 087 701 9665. (zerodebt.co.za)

Fees as Zero Debt 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: zerodebt.co.za, zerodebt.co.za, zerodebt.co.za.

Checked on 30 September 2026 against Zero Debt'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: zerodebt.co.za, zerodebt.co.za, zerodebt.co.za.

Zero Debt says a debt review consultant will contact you to do an obligation-free assessment. It says you need a monthly income and will not qualify if you are unemployed.

The legal steps are the same at every counsellor. You apply on Form 16 with documents such as your salary slip, your outstanding balances and a list of your credit providers. The counsellor must explain the process and its consequences before you sign, give you proof that your application was received, and disclose all fees in writing.

The counsellor then tells your credit providers and the credit bureaus that you have applied. The application, negotiation and referral to the Magistrate's Court or the National Consumer Tribunal (NCT) should be completed within 60 business days of the date you applied, and during that time you are protected against legal action such as repossession and default judgment. That protection does not reach a credit agreement where the credit provider had already started enforcement steps before you applied.

If all your credit providers accept the counsellor's proposal, it goes to the NCT for a consent order. If one or more decline, it goes to the Magistrate's Court, which holds a hearing and may reject the proposal or make an order restructuring your debts.

You can pay your credit providers directly or through a payment distribution agent (PDA) registered with the NCR, which the NCR does not make compulsory. Never give your counsellor money to pass on to your credit providers, because counsellors are not allowed to collect and distribute it.

Zero Debt says you will pay debt counselling fees and legal fees, both built into your debt restructuring plan, so no upfront fees are needed. It says legal fees depend on the type of debt and your monthly repayment. Its website does not list Rand amounts or itemise the individual fees.

Zero Debt also says you will never have to attend court, because its nominated attorneys obtain the court order and the legal fees are included in your reduced monthly repayment. The NCR says attorney fees are agreed with the attorney and given to you in writing when you apply, so ask for that in writing.

The NCR debt counselling fee guideline lists these fees, before VAT. The application fee of R50 and the administration fee of R300 are paid upfront and in full. The restructuring fee is the distributable amount or R8,000, whichever is lower (R9,000 if you are married in community of property), and is a once-off payment due in month one. The after-care fee is 5% of the distributable amount, up to R450, paid monthly after month two. The distributable amount is the amount payable to your credit providers under the initial plan. The NCR has also listed a reckless lending fee of R1,500, but it gave notice in 2018 that it intended to withdraw that category, so ask why it would apply to you.

Zero Debt does not say which of these fees it charges or when they fall due. Ask in writing what you pay upfront and what is spread across your monthly payments.

Debt counselling is not free, although the NCR says you should not have to borrow money to pay for it. Ask for a receipt for anything you pay, and get every fee, its Rand amount and its due date in writing before you sign.

You cannot simply pull out of debt review after you have applied. The NCR withdrawal guidelines, effective 7 March 2022, follow the 2019 Van Vuuren v Roets judgment: there is no voluntary withdrawal, and once a court has confirmed the order under section 87(1)(b), no court can end it or declare you not over-indebted.

The route out is the section 71 clearance certificate. Either every debt under the order is paid in full, or every short-term debt is paid and only a home loan remains, up to date. The counsellor must issue the certificate within seven days and file it with the credit bureaus, which then remove the debt review flag and the record of the debts that were under review. Your payment history is not removed, except as the normal retention periods allow. If a counsellor will not issue it, the National Consumer Tribunal can review that decision.

Only a few other things end a review: a Magistrate's Court finding that you are not over-indebted, an NCR finding that you never applied, or sequestration or liquidation. You can also transfer to another counsellor at any stage, without giving a reason and without your current counsellor's consent. Fees you have already paid cannot be charged again by the new counsellor, and unused fees must be refunded.

See how to cancel debt review and the clearance certificate for more.

Be careful with anyone who offers to "remove" debt review for a fee. NCR Circular 2 of 2025 explains that under section 126A(3) a person offering to remove information from a credit bureau or improve a credit record may not be paid until the service has been performed.

Zero Debt's website does not say how long debt review takes, so ask your counsellor for the length of your own plan in writing.

• Zero Debt says you will not qualify if you are unemployed.
• You cannot apply for more credit while you are under debt review. From the day you apply you must not take on new credit agreements, other than a consolidation agreement.
• There is no payment holiday. You must pay as advised from the start of the process.
• Your credit providers must keep reporting your payment history to the credit bureaus, so keep paying as agreed. The NCR says the debt review flag is not a negative listing or blacklisting. It is an indicator that you are under debt counselling.
• If you default on your payments, a credit provider may terminate the application on that agreement and take legal steps.
• A counsellor may suspend services if you do not cooperate or do not pay their fees.

The upside is legal protection while you keep paying as agreed, and one reduced payment.

Zero Debt lists a toll-free line and the email [email protected] on its contact page, shown in the table above. It lists no WhatsApp number. Because its website prints no NCR number, ask which counsellor will handle your file and confirm that name and number on the NCR register. See how to verify an NCR-registered debt counsellor.

Complaints about a debt counsellor go to the NCR: [email protected] or 0860 627 627. Complaints about a credit provider or 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 and can help once you have complained to the provider or bureau first. Its number is 0860 800 900. The NFO does not list debt counsellors as participants, so counsellor complaints belong with the NCR.