If your monthly expenses exceed your monthly income or earnings you are over-indebted. Should you find yourself not being able to honor your repayment commitments monthly or should you have the need to obtain payday loans to get through the month you are over-indebted. The following are indicators of over-indebtedness

• YOU BORROW MONEY TO PAY YOUR DEBTS
• YOU MAKE USE OF CREDIT CARDS AND OVERDRAFT FACILITIES TO PAY DEBTS OR BUY FOOD AND NECESSITIES
• YOU SKIP PAYMENTS ON SOME ACCOUNTS IN ORDER TO PAY OTHERS
• YOU ARE RECEIVING LETTERS OF DEMAND FROM CREDIT PROVIDERS OR LAWYERS

Debt counseling is a rehabilitation program introduced by the National Credit Act in 2007. Oxygen Debt Solutions assists clients with debt problems through the process of debt review. The process helps clients who are struggling to make debt payments, by entering them into a newly structured debt repayment plan, in order to ensure they take control of their financial situation and eventually settle all of their debt.

You may apply for debt review/debt counseling if you are a South African citizen and you are employed or if you have a proven income that can be used to make a suitable repayment offer to all your creditors.

• One single monthly payment to all your creditors. You will need to be committed to becoming debt-free and ensure your new single installment is paid in full monthly
• Relief from creditor harassment as creditors now deal with your debt counselor
• Immediate financial relief
• No more sleepless nights over unpaid bills
• Protection of your assets. You get to keep the assets you have worked so hard for
• You will benefit from a reduced installment and interest rates from your credit providers
• No more payday stress over debit orders
• No more being turned away from stores due to short or no payment
• Free assessment and credit report

• Your accounts are blocked, you may not access credit or any unused credit on your existing accounts while under debt review
• You may not open new credit agreements while receiving assistance through the debt counseling program
• By paying a smaller installment the repayment term is usually extended.
• If you are married in community of property a joint application has to be made to repay your debt.
• You will need to repay your debt to the end. There will be no creditor write-offs.
• A debt review flagging is loaded on your name with the credit bureaus until your debt obligations have been settled in full.

All credit agreements where no legal action has commenced are covered under debt review. Credit agreements like credit cards, personal loans, clothing and furniture accounts, home loans and vehicle finance are covered under debt review.

The initial consultation and assessment with Oxygen Debt Solutions are free of charge. This includes a free credit report. No risk no obligation. You will be responsible for Debt counseling fees in your first month equivalent to your new restructured installment capped at a maximum of R8000.00 for single applications & capped at R9000.00 for joint applications.

You will also pay Legal fees in your second month of the process. These fees are equivalent to your new restructured installment capped at a maximum of R8000.00 for single applications & capped at R9000.00 for joint applications. Your creditors are aware that they will not receive any payment during a 60 days period to enable you to cover the costs attached to your debt counseling process.

Fees are not a separate payment and you start paying the new installment from the first month. Creditors start receiving payment from your 3rd installment onward. Please refer to fees attachment from the national credit regulator on this website.

A PDA (payment distribution agency) is a nominated company that deals with the money paid towards your debt review. Deb counselors do not access these funds directly. Fees and creditor payments are receipted by the PDA monthly on your behalf and all your creditors receive payment according to the arrangement put in place by your debt counselor for the duration of your debt counseling process.

On average a person can become debt free within 6-60 months. This term is specific to each individual and depends on how much debt you have and how much you have available to pay towards this debt monthly. Remember that by lowering your installments the repayment term is extended. This means the more you are able to pay towards this debt will reduce the term. Paying more towards your debts means to come out of debt review sooner.

Not everyone qualifies for debt consolidation. The process of consolidation is a new credit agreement/loan. You need to qualify for this loan and the interest rates are usually high and result in a new 60-84 months repayment period. You will have temporary relief from creditors and you may find yourself struggling to repay the new loan. Creditors will start offering you new credit agreements since old accounts have been paid which does not break the credit cycle.

A registered debt counselor is the only individual that is qualified and certified to extend payment plans and reduce interest rates. By doing this Oxygen is able to make your debt more manageable. Creditors do offer relief of a lowered installment for a short period of time however they do not adjust interest rates when this is offered to you. You may find yourself paying only interest towards your account keeping the debt alive and not actually paying it off.

The debt counseling process is a legal process. Oxygen Debt Solutions has a panel of attorneys that will attend to your application and will make court appearances on your behalf. In certain areas should the magistrate require your presence in court our team will accompany you and attend to all legal requirements of the court?

Not at all, taking a step toward getting your financial affairs in order is a great indication that you are able responsible and able to manage your financial affairs. Most employers conduct credit checks on potential employees. A report with judgments against you and unpaid debt could harm your chances of employment. Seeking assistance is a responsible thing to do.

No, this process is designed to protect your assets while you make a monthly payment toward what is owed on these assets. Remember that by leaving arrears and ignoring these assets and any legal action that has commenced before getting help from a debt counselor can result in a negative outcome with your assets while under debt counseling. Please don’t delay in getting assistance. It could save your hard-earned home or vehicle.

No, creditors cannot blacklist you while you are under debt review. If you are listed by a creditor prior to getting assistance Oxygen Debt Solutions can still help you. The blacklisting will remain on your credit profile until the debt has been paid off. This is another reason why applying for debt review is best.

We encourage you to contact us. The debt counselor will advise you on the best suited methods of clearing this debt.

No. Debt review is designed to get you debt free. Your accounts will be blocked in an attempt to pay the debt off. Once all your debt obligations have been paid off a clearance certificate will be issued by your debt counselor and the credit bureaus are updated allowing you to apply for credit should you choose.

You will need to notify your debt counselor of the situation. A notice advising of a change of circumstances will be sent out to your credit providers. This will allow you a 3 month grace period in order for new employment to be found. The creditor will require proof of retrenchment in order to grant this grace period.

Not at all. If you are in the Pietermaritzburg area we welcome any office visits. We do however assist clients across South Africa as we are registered with the National Credit Regulator. We are able to assist you via email, telephone, fax and our company whatsapp no matter where you are in the country.

No, your creditors are notified of your application for debt counseling and they must by law communicate with your debt counselor and not with you directly. System generated sms’s are sent out from time to time by credit providers and you are encouraged to inform your debt counselor of any correspondence with creditor providers.

No, we never contact your employer unless you have asked or instructed us to do so.

No, in order to be placed under debt review you will need to have some sort of income as your debt counselor will need to make a reasonable offer to credit providers for the monthly repayment of your debt. If you are receiving monthly rental income or a work pension we might be in a position to assist you. Please contact us.

Insurance is not a credit agreement. Provisions are made in your budget to pay for these policies. Vehicle and home loans require insurance in order to provide repayment options to you. All policies remain in place as you will need to have cover should the need arise. We do not reduce any policy installments.

The restructure amount worked out by our debt counselor is the minimum amount payable by yourself towards your debt monthly. All additional payments made by you will assist in reducing the repayment term of your debt counseling and will be beneficial to you. The more you pay the sooner you will come off debt review and gain back your financial freedom.