Clearing Your Credit Profile

We specialise in assisting South African consumers with the legal removal of various negative credit listings, empowering them to regain control of their financial future. Our expert team understands the intricacies of the National Credit Act (NCA) and other relevant legislation, ensuring a compliant and effective process.

We offer comprehensive assistance with:

Debt Review Removal:
If you’ve successfully completed your debt review payments or your financial situation has improved significantly, we can guide you through the process of legally removing the debt review flag from your credit profile.

This typically involves:

Obtaining a Clearance Certificate (Form 19):
For those who have settled all debts (excluding a home loan if it was up to date), your debt counsellor is legally obliged to issue this certificate within 7 business days. We assist in ensuring your debt counsellor complies or, if necessary, help you appeal to the Magistrates’ or Tribunal Court.

Court Applications for Early Exit:
If you wish to exit debt review before all debts are paid off, a court order is required to declare you “no longer over-indebted.” We will assist with preparing and filing the necessary court application under Section 87(1)(a) of the NCA.

Credit Bureau Notification:
We ensure that the clearance certificate or court order is properly submitted to all major credit bureaux (TransUnion, Experian, Compuscan, XDS) for the swift removal of the debt review flag. Credit bureaux are legally obliged to update your profile within 21 days of receiving valid documentation.

Judgement Removal:
A judgement on your credit profile can severely impact your ability to obtain credit. In South Africa, a judgement remains on your credit report for 30 years or until it is rescinded by a court or paid in full. We can assist with:

Rescission of Judgement:
If a judgement was granted in error, due to irregularities, or if the debt has been paid in full, we can facilitate the application for a rescission of judgement. This involves a court application to have the judgement legally set aside and removed from your credit record.

Updating Credit Bureaux:
Once a judgement is rescinded or settled, we ensure the credit bureaux are notified to remove the listing from your profile within 7 business days of receiving proof of payment or the rescission order.

Payment Profiles and Adverse Information:
Your payment profile reflects your historical payment behaviour and is a key factor in credit assessment.

Adverse information, such as “delinquent,” “default,” “slow paying,” “absconded,” “handed over for collection,” “legal action,” or “written off,” can significantly hinder your creditworthiness.

While payment profiles themselves are not removed, adverse classifications and paid-up judgements can be.

Disputing Inaccurate Information:
The NCA grants you the right to challenge any inaccurate or outdated information on your credit report. We assist in lodging disputes with credit bureaux and ensuring they take reasonable steps to investigate and, if unsupported by credible evidence, remove the challenged information within 20 business days.

Removal of Paid-Up Adverse Listings:
Under South African regulations, all adverse consumer credit information and information relating to paid-up judgements must be removed from credit bureau databases. We help you ensure that these listings are correctly removed once the associated debt has been settled.

Prescribed Debt:
If a debt has prescribed (typically after 3 years of non-payment and no legal action), it can no longer be legally collected. We can help you identify if any of your debts have prescribed and guide you on the implications for your credit profile.