
KZN BRANCH MEETING – 11 NOVEMBER 2022
October 26, 2022
TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS
November 7, 2022If you have not seen the article published go and have a look https://www.dcasa.co.za/ncr-meeting-update-18-october-2022/. As DCASA has mentioned in said article the NCR arranged a meeting for the DC Associations to meet up with both the NCR’s Registrations Department as well as Complaints Department to discuss pertinent issues in the Industry
DCASA has made great strides this year in building lasting and influential relations with our fellow industry stakeholders for the benefit of our Members.
On the 2nd of November 2022, we raised the issue of DC Certificate Renewals and the chaos that ensued as many Debt Counsellors did not receive copies of their certificates via email within the time limits in the communication sent, failing to receive hard copies and struggling to communicate with the NCR to arrange couriers to collect. These are some of the obstacles DCASA noted and suggested that the NCR make use of a more streamlined process.
Suggestions made:
- An online platform for automatic renewals.
- Start earlier in sending renewal notices.
- The licences are only valid from a certain date so why not print them earlier to get to ensure the DC’s receive the certificates timeously.
The head of the Renewal Department conceded that they will look into creating an email for only DC Renewals to streamline all the request in one inbox and to start the process earlier to ensure there is more time for the DC’s to receive their certificates.
DCASA will set up a meeting with them early next year to assist in communicating the process to our members.
Unfortunately, at this stage they are not able to build in an automated online platform, as it will require additional resources which they do not have now.
We do appreciate that they took the time to consult with the Associations to come to a solution.
We then raised the issue of their Complaints Process and the lack of education within their department on the NCR Guidelines and Circulars, as well as their failure in sending outcomes or closure letters to the Debt Counsellors.
The NCR has undertaken to educate their staff to not make decision in contravention of said guidelines and circulars.
The NCR has also invited the complaints department to our quarterly meetings with the NCR to ensure they can identify and pick up the trends that we notice in the industry and issues encountered to assist the industry going forward.
At present the NCR’s greatest frustration is dealing with unscrupulous DC’s who are taking up a lot of time and resources from their Debt Review department, and with the help of the associations we can work together to identify and also assist in eliminating the rogue DC’s bringing the Industry in disrupt.
The NCR, is in support of Debt Counsellors belonging to Associations and will be inviting us to their quarterly new DC Webinars to introduce ourselves and explain the benefits of belonging to an association. (Mentoring programmes, free advice etc.)
Finally:
Keep an eye out for our CIM Meeting feedback which was held on the 1st of November 2022. The industry surprised us by joining and being willing to be apart of a new movement in the Industry to communicate continuously to elevate the Industry, and turn around how Debt Review is being perceived. This has also helped expressing the urgency in restarting CIF.