With a whopping 30% of indebted South Africans falling behind on payments, the demand for debt counselling is skyrocketing faster than Bitcoin prices in 2017 - but beware, not all debt counsellors are as trustworthy as your grandma's secret cookie recipe.
A rising interest rate environment and high inflation mean that 30% of all South Africans who have debt are delinquent – in other words, they have been in arrears for three months or longer.
DebtBusters’ Q4 2023 Debt Index shows that debt counselling enquiries increased 46% and demand for online debt management was up 54% compared with the same period in the previous year. The demand for debt counsellors is high, but there are many unscrupulous practitioners out there who prey on overindebted consumers.
Benay Sager, chairperson of the National Debt Counsellors’ Association (NDCA), says you should use this checklist when you choose a debt counsellor.
Read the article on Daily Maverick.