Debt review costs and the NCR fee guidelines

How much does debt review cost?

Debt review is not free. The National Credit Act lets a registered debt counsellor charge an application fee up to a prescribed amount, and the National Credit Regulator (NCR) has published guideline fees for the rest of the process. The debt counsellor can tell you the current amounts, and the NCR says to ask for them up front.

Olvian is not a debt counsellor. It is a referral service: with a person's consent it passes a request to registered debt counsellors, who pay Olvian a fee, and they may contact the person. Olvian charges the person nothing for a request. Fees for debt review are paid to the debt counsellor, not to Olvian.

What does the National Credit Act say about fees?

Section 86(3) of the National Credit Act sets two rules for a debt counsellor:

• it "may require the consumer to pay an application fee, not exceeding the prescribed amount, before accepting an application"; and
• it "may not require or accept a fee from a credit provider in respect of an application".

The Act itself does not set out the later charges. The NCR therefore issues fee guidelines. Its Debt Counselling Fee Guidelines 2018 (Circular 001/2018, 22 February 2018) contain a fee structure table headed "excl. VAT". The copy Olvian could read did not give legible figures, so the amounts below are taken from the NCR's own later statement.

What fees did the NCR publish in 2021?

In a media release of August 2021 the NCR listed these debt counselling fees:

• Application fee: R50.00, payable before the assessment starts, paid up front and in full.
• Administration fee: R300.00 per debt counselling application, paid up front and in full.
• Attorney fees: to be agreed with the attorney and communicated to the consumer when applying.
• Restructuring fee: "either equal to the distributable amount or a maximum fee of eight thousand rand (R8 000.00) for a single applicant". For consumers married in community of property, the same with a maximum of R9 000.00. It is a once-off fee payable in month one after the debt counsellor has drafted and submitted the restructuring documents.
• Reckless lending fee: where, after the assessment, the consumer or debt counsellor strongly feels there is reckless lending, a once-off fee of R1 500.00.
• Aftercare fee: payable monthly after month two. It equals 5% of the distributable amount, up to a maximum of R450.00.
• National Consumer Tribunal submission fee: R500 (excluding the Tribunal's filing fee).

These are the figures as published in August 2021. Olvian has not found a later NCR statement that replaces them, but they may have changed and the guideline table is stated to exclude VAT. Ask the debt counsellor whether each amount includes VAT and for the current fee disclosure in writing. The release says the "distributable amount" is the amount payable to creditors under the initial re-arrangement plan.

When are the fees payable, in order?

Read together, the NCR's 2021 list puts the charges in this order:

1. The application fee comes first, before the assessment starts.
2. The administration fee is also paid up front, per application.
3. If, after the assessment, reckless lending is strongly suspected, the reckless lending fee is a once-off charge.
4. The restructuring fee is a once-off charge in month one, after the debt counsellor has drafted and submitted the restructuring documents.
5. The aftercare fee runs monthly after month two.
6. The Tribunal submission fee applies when a submission is made to the National Consumer Tribunal.

If a debt counsellor asks for a payment that does not fit this order, ask which line of the fee disclosure it belongs to. A fee you cannot match to a line is worth raising with the NCR.

Who can I pay, and who cannot take my money?

Three points from the sources:

1. Not the credit provider's fee. Section 86(3)(b) bars a debt counsellor from taking a fee from a credit provider for the application. The cost of the process is not shared with your creditor.
2. Not a debt counsellor holding your instalments. The NCR's release says debt counsellors are "prohibited from collecting and distributing debt counselling funds to credit providers". After restructuring, a consumer can make payments directly to the credit provider or through a registered payment distribution agent (PDA).
3. Ask for a receipt. The NCR says consumers should ask for a receipt from the debt counsellor when paying the application and administration fees.

What about "debt review removal" services?

Be careful here. The NCR's Circular 2 of 2025 says that certain companies and individuals offer "debt review removal" services, claiming that a consumer's debt review status will be removed from the credit bureaux for a large fee. It says consumers are in many instances required to pay fees "up to R10 000" up front, and in most cases the status is not removed as claimed. The NCR calls these practices contrary to the Act.

Section 126A(3) of the Act is the rule behind the warning. A person who offers or supplies a service to improve a consumer's credit record, history or rating, or to cause a credit bureau to remove credit information, "may not charge a consumer, or receive any payment from the consumer, for the credit repair service until that service has been fully performed", and must give a disclosure statement in the prescribed manner. The NCR asks consumers to report such businesses to it.

The Circular also says consumers have the right to be removed from debt review, but that there are circumstances in which they cannot be; it points to the NCR's Withdrawal Guidelines 01 of 2021. Our guide on leaving debt review explains the clearance certificate route in section 71 of the Act.

What does the NCR say about advertising?

The NCR's 2021 release cautions consumers to beware of misleading advertising which markets debt counselling by promising monthly reductions of about 60%. It also says that a consumer should only use a debt counsellor registered with the NCR, who will explain the terms, costs and fees and conduct a proper assessment.

What questions should I ask about money?

1. What is the application fee, and is VAT added?
2. Which fees are payable up front, which are payable later, and when?
3. What happens to the fees if the assessment finds I am not over-indebted?
4. What happens to the fees if I withdraw?
5. Do I pay my creditors directly, or through a registered payment distribution agent?
6. Will you give me all documents, including my application form, the restructuring proposal and any court order?

The last question tracks the NCR's own advice that, once signed up, consumers should request all debt counselling documents.

How do I complain about a fee?

Section 136(1) of the Act says any person may submit a complaint concerning an alleged contravention of the Act to the NCR in the prescribed manner and form. The NCR's number is 0860 627 627. Keep copies of what you paid, to whom and when, with every receipt.

Sources

Checked on 31 October 2026. Olvian is not a debt counsellor or a financial services provider and this guide is information, not advice.

• National Credit Act 34 of 2005, sections 86(3), 126A(3) and 136, consolidated text on LawLibrary (the copy Olvian read was consolidated to 13 March 2015).
• National Credit Regulator: media release, August 2021, "Debt counselling offers new lease of life for over-indebted consumers"
• National Credit Regulator: The Debt Counselling Fee Guidelines 2018, Circular 001/2018
• National Credit Regulator: Circular 2 of 2025, "Debt review removal"