
NATIONAL CREDIT REGULATOR – CONTACT LIST
April 24, 2023
FNB integrated with Switch in April 2023
May 11, 2023Pursuant to the 23 May 2023 meeting the following was discussed with regards to the Form 17.3
- 3 must be sent with proof of the client circumstances.
- In order to cater for the 17.3 change of circumstances, they will extend the term of the repayment.
- Maximum amount of “Change of Circumstances” they allow in the process is 2.
- The Maximum amount of term extension over the debt review period will be 4 Months.
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May 2023 – Updated Contact List for Imas
We hereby request that ALL iMasFinance Administration, Sequestration and Debt Review documentation be submitted to respective e-mail addresses listed below:
administrations@imasfinance.co.za – Administration applications & court orders, payment schedules/reports, Sec74Q (rescission) & Sec74U (paid up) & related queries ONLY.
sequestrations@imasfinance.co.za – Voluntary surrender applications, sequestration orders, rehabilitation orders, trustees’ reports, requisition & related queries ONLY.
cliclaims@imasfinance.co.za – Death certificates, Retrenchment letters, Medical Certificates, Deceased CLI claim forms, Disability CLI claim forms, CLI approvals, Repudiation letter and related queries ONLY.
Drapplications@imasfinance.co.za – Court applications, Court/Consent Orders, complaints & related queries ONLY.
Drproposals@imasfinance.co.za – F17.2, Proposals, Refunds, CLI Cancellation, request for Balances, Settlement letters & related queries ONLY.
Debtreview@imasfinance.co.za – F17.1, 17.3, 17.7, Paid-up letters, Reckless Investigations documents & related queries ONLY.
Alloc.payments@imasfinance.co.za – PDA Statements, Debit Order/Salary Stop Order Cancellations & related queries ONLY.
Terminations@imasfinance.co.za – F17.4/F17w & Termination queries & related queries ONLY.
Debt Review, CLI Claims, Administration & Sequestration Telephone Numbers:
012 674 7000 – option 3 (have the ID number ready)
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All DCASA Members,
I had a meeting with Senior Management and representatives of the Debt Review Department at iMasFinance (previously known as Iemas Financial Services) with regards to complaints that we have received from our members. The meeting was conducted in a good spirit with both parties willing to engage in discussion with the aim of getting permanent solutions to matters of concern.
The following matters were raised by our members and discussed during the meeting.
- Not cancelling Salary deductions.
- Countering DCRS proposals.
- Acceptance of 17.3
- Not responding within 10 days / Answering calls.
Following the discussions, we have agreed to the following procedures and agreed to meet in person towards the end of May 2023 to conclude the way forward on any unresolved matters.
- Not Cancelling Salary Deductions.
Once the Certificate Of Balance is received from iMas your investigation can be finalised and on receipt of the following documents, will they cancel the salary deduction request to the employer:
- Form 17.2 B (Confirming client over indebted).
- Proposal to be prepared needs to be in line with the ACT. iMas indicated that they will oppose any proposals that are not in accordance with the Task Team Guidelines or in cases where debt review applications are seen as pre-meditated by their members. Pre-meditation being defined as applications received within six months after a loan was granted to the member.( However, if there have been changes in their circumstances, please send documented proof of this, I will be having a face to face meeting with IMAS towards the end of the month as we are not in full agreement with the above).
- Salary deduction Cancellation Form. iMas do not require a specific document and documents generated by the DC systems will be acceptable if properly signed and dated.
Please note the following:
Salary deduction files needs to be submitted by iMas to the employer groups on either the 1st or the 7th of every month for deduction at the end of that particular month. This means that they are not in a position to stop any salary deduction if the proposal is accepted in the same month. These deductions are out of their mandate and can only be stopped in the following month.
However, if they receive a proposal in line with the act, any new salary deduction will be stopped from that date forward. The following has been agreed.
- If all is in line with the Task Team Recommendations, they will refund any actual payments received from the employer, after the deductions was stopped, to the PDA assigned to the case. There will be the exception to the rule but they wish to avoid payment to members, as it will prevent the member spending the money delaying the process further which iMAS will not accept.
- The member will pay the difference between their Debt Review payment and the iMas deduction to ensure payment is received timeously. (You will have to suspend your proposal until both payments are received to ensure correct distribution). Please discuss this directly with your PDA.
Please note that there may be a delay in receiving the refund as iMas need to receive the payment from the employer groups prior to processing the refund. The fact that the deduction reflects on the payslip of a member is not a reason for a refund. However, when they do receive the payment, they have a turnaround time of five business days to make payment to the PDA.
Again, I reiterate that if they believe the Debt Review application is premeditated, they will not stop the Salary deduction until a court makes the determination. (We are not aligned with this as this is not in line with the Task Team Agreement, hence the face to face meeting will be scheduled). Unfortunately, the NCR claim that as these are only guidelines they cant enforce this.
- Counters to DCRS proposals
There have been concerns expressed by iMas that there are certain DC’s that have been approaching Clients who has recently obtained credit from iMas and encourage them to apply for Debt Review to create a payment holiday for these clients. (Within 3 months of receiving their loan which is of serious concern to them for the following reasons).
- Our income and expenditure differ vastly to theirs
- Clients still have full DSTV, and other various luxuries on the expense sheets.
- Taken out recent car finance well in excess of their affordability etc.
- Not providing for comprehensive insurance on vehicles accounts
As a result, they will question the budget presented by the DC’s in order to ensure a realistic resolution for all parties. iMas will oppose all pre-meditated and unrealistic proposals.
iMas has assured me that they are fully committed to working within the confines of the Task Team Recommendations when there is clear evidence that the member is distressed but reiterate that they reserve the right to question the DC when a client takes out a loan and applies for Debt Review within 3 months.
We have requested that they report such matters to DCASA (if they are our members), for further investigation.
- Not accepting 17.3
iMas indicated that they are willing to work on this on the basis that they receive clear commitment that the member will catch up on the arrears within a reasonable time. (They want dates and payment amounts to be made).
I have explained that these members are on strict budgets and at times there are unforeseen expenses that the client needs to pay. (Car expenses, repairs to appliances etc.). Whilst the Task Team Recommendations allows for a break for up to 4 months in this event, (dependent on their circumstances), iMas is still of the opinion that the client must have a clear plan to catch up on the arrears.
DCASA is not in full agreement with this as we believe that our clients are already financially distressed and if there is a genuine reason for the missed payment. (Proof must be supplied), they should agree to the Task Team Recommendations that allows for this and extends the term of the agreement instead. (Section 3 of the National Act would support our views as this could lead to other creditors not receiving payment leading to further terminations and killing the Debt Review process.
As a result, it has been agreed that they will look further into the matter, but for now their stance remains the same. (If there is no clear commitment to remedy and to clear the arrears, they will look to reinstate the salary deduction).
After meeting with IMAS personally on the 23 of May 2023 they have agreed to following:
Pursuant to the 23rd May 2023 meeting the following was discussed:
- 3 must be sent with proof of the client circumstances.
- In order to cater for the 17.3 change of circumstances, they will extend the term of the repayment.
- Maximum amount of “Change of Circumstances” they allow in the process is 2.
- The Maximum amount of term extension over the debt review period will be 4 Months.
- Not responding within 10 days or answering calls.
iMas confirmed that they were in the process of moving to new systems that incorporated their entire operations which resulted in the delays. However, they do firmly believe that these matters have been resolved. (If this is not the case, please let us know). – Reinhard Pettenburger (DCASA President)
– 26 April 2023