Debt Management

Find out more about how a debt management plan works and which debts you can use it for. Then have a one on one free consultation with one of our debt counsellors about how a debt management plan is the best way to pay off or clear your debt.

What is Debt Management?

Debt Sage offers debt management services to South Africans who are struggling to meet their monthly debt commitments. Our accredited debt advisers will help you work out an affordable, realistic monthly budget and draw up a debt management plan and talk to your creditors on your behalf.

Our debt management plan ensures that all the money you pay into it goes towards paying off your debts and allows you to pay off your debts at a rate you can afford. You make one monthly payment to the Payments Distribution Agency who then pays your creditors for you.

How do you know when to apply for debt management?

The people that let their debts build up before they seek help often find:

• their cards are maxed out;
• no one else will lend to them;
• things have spiraled out of control, and
• it takes much longer to pay back what they owe.

Which debts can I pay off with a Debt Management Plan?

You can only use a debt management plan to pay the following debts:

• overdrafts;
• personal loans;
• building loans;
• credit cards;
• store card debts;
• payday loans;
• home loans.

Which debts can’t I pay off with a Debt Management Plan?

You can’t use a debt management plan to pay the following debts:

• court fines;
• TV Licence;
• electricity bills;
• child support and maintenance;
• SARS income tax debt;
• rent.

The Benefits of Debt Management

There are benefits of debt management and talking to our debt advisers before you decide to take out a debt management plan. These include:

• Debt Sage debt management consultants will give you advice about better ways of managing your money and suggesting ways of dealing with debts that you might not know about;
• making one regular monthly payment allows you better control over your finances;
• gives you peace of mind – in many cases, you will no longer be contacted by your creditors or debt collectors;
• your creditors may agree to reduce or freeze interest and charges on your debt and may stop other activities like taking you to court.

Choosing your debt management plan consultant

When choosing a debt management plan consultant, you should make sure that:

• the debt consultant is licensed by the National Credit Regulator (NCR);
• the debt consultant discusses all the possible options available to you to deal with        your debt problem;
• you’re told clearly at the start how much it will cost to arrange the plan and how              you will pay that cost;
• you understand what will happen if the debt consultant withdraws running the plan for you because you’ve missed payments

Check the terms of your debt management plan

Before starting a debt management plan, the operator should make clear to you the terms and conditions, including:

• how much money you’ll be expected to pay each month and for how long;
• the reasons the debt consultant might stop running the plan for you, for example, if you don’t make the required monthly payments.

There are benefits of talking to our debt advisers before you decide to take out a debt management plan. These include giving advice about better ways of managing your money and suggesting ways of dealing with debts that you might not know about.