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Johannesburg - Magistrates will be trained in debt counselling on Sunday as part of efforts to clear up bottlenecks in the debt review system, the National Credit Regulator (NCR) said on Thursday.
It said 140 Gauteng magistrates would receive the training at a conference it would host with the Judicial Officers' Association of SA (Joasa) and the Justice College.
A task team convened by the NCR recently found that a lack of capacity and delays in magistrates' courts caused by uncertainty around the interpretation of the National Credit Act (NCA) were creating bottlenecks in the debt review process.
Since the NCA's introduction in 2007, more than 180 000 consumers have already applied for debt counselling with some cases ending up in court for adjudication.
According to Paul Slot, Octogen director and debt counsellor, a methodology and standard is needed to guide the process.
He cited the necessity for a rapport based on trust between parties involved in the debt review as crucial.
"We need a methodology where the credit provider agrees with the review by the debt counsellor even before (it goes to) court," he said.
Slot said this was because courts need to hear the review as quickly as possible, especially if the credit provider terminates the debt review.
"That is a serious and massive problem in the review process - and there is one bank that is not helping us in this regard," he said.
There have been huge delays, with many magistrates unwilling to take on any debt review cases because they are unclear about the procedure.
Even though Slot said the court process is improving, he also acknowledged the enormous number of cases waiting to go before court.
He said when cases do appear, they may be postponed numerous times which creates the need for greater court capacity.
"The quicker debt review cases can be dealt with in the magistrate's court, the quicker over-indebted consumers can get back on their feet," said Peter Setou, senior manager: education and strategy at the NCR.
He added that without the protection of the debt review process or the matter appearing in court, consumers face the risk of forfeiting assets to credit providers seeking to recover their debt.
- Fin24.com