Russell Dickerson from RD Debt Counselling chats about RD Debt Counselling and how they can help you become debt free in the shortest possible time. Catch Russell on East Rand Stereo, every Saturday morning at 8:15.

We are RD Debt Counselling and we have been doing debt counselling for almost 10 years. Our offices are in Benoni.

Since we started with debt counselling, we have helped hundreds of people get out of debt and start a new financial life with no more debt. These people have managed to keep their houses and cars and pay them off and get out of debt review. They are now able to carry on with their lives, debt-free.

Read more: How do I know if I need debt counselling?

Many people think that debt counselling is a life sentence. This is not true. Most of our clients are finished with the debt counselling process within 5 years, and we have figures from the NCR (National Credit Regulator) which says the average person is finished with debt counselling in less than 4 years.

What happens during the debt counselling process?

We work out a 5-year repayment plan. The majority of people only need help for a year or 2 while they are struggling and then they find their feet and things start going better. What they do then is they pay more every month, and they finish the debt counselling process much quicker than the original plan.

Read more: Debt review works! Read Elizabeth’s story

Recently I had a client who got a  big payout 6 months after he started debt counselling and he paid all his debt and went back to normal. Debt counselling is not a 5 year sentence, if you can pay more than the minimum, you can get out of debt a whole lot quicker.

What does it cost for someone to come and see you for a debt review?

At RD Debt Counselling, we are in the business of giving people free advice on their debt, so it costs you nothing to come and sit with me and discuss your situation.  We won’t send some unqualified agent who doesn’t have the knowledge or experience to come and see you. With us, you can sit with a debt counsellor who has been doing this for 10 years and get the best debt advice.  You can get your whole budget and expenses worked out and see exactly how the debt counselling process will work for you and then you can decide if it is going to be the best option for you.

As I always say, the more information you get the better decision you can make.  Don’t listen to the guy at work who knows everything, speak to people who are professionals, who can give you advice and then after you have heard everyone, make your decision about whether debt counselling is the right thing for you.

 What is the difference between sequestration and debt counselling?

 My answer to this question always is, until you have seen what debt counselling can do for you, do not start with sequestration.

In sequestration you lose your assets, that is the house and car and furniture etc, that you have been paying for many years. If there is an option, and you want to keep your house and your car in debt review, then that is the wise choice.

Obviously, if your finances have fallen apart completely and there is no way that you will ever get out of debt, then sequestration has its place, but it will stay with you for the rest of your life.

Debt counselling is cleared as soon as you have finished paying your debt. When your credit bureau record is cleared, you can buy a house or a car.

How does the debt counselling process work, and how long does someone have to stay under debt review before their credit record is cleared?

The main part of debt counselling is that we take over all your debt, and we reduce the amount that you pay every month, and we stretch out the time that you were paying to make it longer.

Another very important thing that we can do is negotiate lower interest rates, if certain conditions are met.

You can imagine how much you save if your credit card has an interest rate of 22%, and we get it down to 3%, and we do on most clients. Think how much you can save on paying back the R15 000 or 20k that you owe on the credit card.

Another important point is that our applications go to court and this makes some people nervous, but they shouldn’t be nervous. The court order fixes all the terms and conditions. In other words, if we negotiate a 3% interest rate on your credit card, and the court agrees, then the bank can’t come back in 2 years’ time and say the interest rates are up and you must now pay more. If it is fixed in the court order, the other side of the coin is that the court order also shows exactly how much is the minimum that you must pay every month.

This is very important, because if you don’t pay every month, then your debt review will struggle and the banks can stop their account in debt counselling if they don’t get the money that the court said they were going to get. In this case, you end up with messed up debt counselling, just because of missed payments.

As soon as your creditors are paid, We at RD Debt Counselling issue a Clearance Certificate which clears you from the credit bureau and you are back on your financial feet, hopefully a lot wiser and more cautious, but able to buy houses and cars again.

Contact RD Debt Counselling today!

We are debt counsellors based in Johannesburg, South Africa. We help you become debt free in the shortest possible time! Contact us for a free debt review today.