Following numerous warnings of unethical
debt counsellors in the media, the National Consumer Tribunal (NCT) have cancelled two debt counsellors registrations. Petrus Martinus Ferreira (trading as Ferreira Debt Counsellors–FDC) and Ralph Zulu (of GNR and Associates) have had their debt counsellor registration cancelled as a result of contravening the National Credit Act (NCA) and the conditions of their registration.
The applications for debt counsellor registration were brought to the NCT by the National Credit Regulator (NCR). According to the report, the NCT found that Ferreira failed to comply to the administrative requirements for debt counsellors as stipulated in the NCA. Along with this, Ferriera failed to submit debt review proposals on behalf of his clients to their creditor, nor were clients referred to the Magistrate’s Court as is required for persons undergoing debt review.
As Ferriera did not do this, his clients were at serious risk of their creditors entering into legal processes to obtain their funds. Once creditors are informed that clients are under debt review, they cannot enter into legal proceedings (although proceedings entered into before the debt review process are still legitimate). This means that clients of Ferreira could have had their possessions repossessed.
Zulu, too did not adhere to the requirements, specifically the time-frames, for processes, keeping proper records, or following debt counsellor processes to the end where the case reaches the Magistrate’s court. Zulu was penalised for this last year and has subsequently improved his administration.
Before entering into
debt counseling, make sure that the counsellor you are applying to is registered, legitimate and longstanding.