Letter to cancel debt review (template)

Send this to your debt counsellor in writing and keep a copy. Replace each [PLACEHOLDER].

[YOUR FULL NAME]
[YOUR ID NUMBER]
[YOUR ADDRESS]
[YOUR EMAIL]  |  [YOUR PHONE]

[DATE]

[DEBT COUNSELLOR / FIRM NAME]
[THEIR EMAIL OR ADDRESS]

RE: Notice of intention to cancel / withdraw from debt review
    Reference [YOUR DEBT REVIEW REF]

Dear [DEBT COUNSELLOR NAME],

I am writing because I would like to understand whether I can leave debt review.
My circumstances have changed: [BRIEF REASON - e.g. my income has recovered and I can manage my
accounts; I no longer wish to proceed].

Before I take any further step, please confirm to me in writing:
  1. the exact stage my matter has reached (application only, proposal sent,
     pending court date, or court order granted);
  2. whether new facts about my circumstances can be put to the Magistrate's Court at this stage, and how;
  3. if a court order has been granted, what my options are to exit, which I understand
     is completing the plan and obtaining a [clearance certificate](/debt-counselling/debt-review-clearance-certificate/);
  4. all outstanding balances on the debts in my plan and any fees due; and
  5. the consequences of withdrawing, including the loss of protection against
     creditor legal action.

Please do not stop distributing my payments or take any irreversible step until
you have confirmed the above and I have replied to confirm how I wish to proceed.

Yours faithfully,

[YOUR FULL NAME]
ID number: [YOUR ID NUMBER]

It depends entirely on the stage. If you have applied but no court has yet made a debt re-arrangement order, you cannot withdraw by writing to your counsellor. What is possible is to put new facts to the Magistrate's Court together with your counsellor's proposal; if the court finds you are not over-indebted the review ends, and you remain liable for the counsellor's fees for work done.

Once a court or consent order has been granted, you cannot cancel it: the NCR says the only way out is to complete the plan and receive your clearance certificate, and that no court can rescind a debt review court order. If your income drops, ask your counsellor about the change-in-circumstances process (Form 17.3), which lets the counsellor ask your credit providers to adjust the plan. So the first thing to establish, before anything else, is whether a court order already exists in your matter.

Debt review gives you real legal protection: while you are properly under it, creditors are restricted from taking legal action against you for the debts in the plan, and your instalments and interest have usually been reduced. If you cancel, that protection falls away.

That means creditors can resume normal collections and, if you are in arrears, move toward legal action, summons and judgment. The reduced instalments and any frozen or lowered interest also typically revert. Before cancelling because your income recovered, work out whether you can genuinely afford the original instalments again, using a fresh budget, so you do not cancel your protection only to fall behind once more.

It helps to separate two things people lump together. Voluntary cancelling is not available once you have applied. Removal means coming off debt review the clean way once you qualify - by completing the plan and getting a clearance certificate (Form 19), which your counsellor must file with the credit bureaus within seven days.

If your goal is simply to be free of the debt review flag because you have paid up, you do not need to cancel; you need your clearance certificate and a debt review removal request. If your goal is to be free of the flag because you have paid up, ask for your clearance certificate. If your circumstances have changed and you think you are no longer over-indebted, talk to your counsellor about putting the new facts to the court before an order is made.

• Stopping payments without confirming your stage. Defaulting does not cleanly cancel anything and can trigger legal action.
• Confusing cancel with remove. If you have paid up, you want a clearance certificate, not a cancellation.
• Cancelling without a fresh budget. Make sure you can afford the original instalments again before giving up your protection.
• Acting on verbal advice. Get your stage, options and fees confirmed in writing by your debt counsellor before you decide, and seek attorney advice if a court order is already in place.