The Debt Counsellor must issues a clearance certificate if the consumer has fully satisfied all the obligations under each and every credit agreement that was subject to the debt rearrangement agreement (whether formally or informally agreed).

The Debt Counsellor has an important function in so far as clearing the records concerning debt rearrangement/review. If the consumer wants to be rehabilitated, he/she can apply to a Debt Counsellor at any time for a clearance certificate.

The consumer does not have to apply to the same Debt Counsellor that facilitated the debt arrangement or who made a recommendation to the magistrate’s court.

Any Debt Counsellor that receives an application for a clearance certificate must investigate the circumstances of the debt rearrangement and if he is satisfied that the obligations of the credit agreements that were under the debt rearrangement or the court order have been complied with, he is required to issue a clearance certificate by using Form 19.

The Debt Counsellor must also update the consumers status to “F” on the NCR debthelp website.

A credit bureau that receives a clearance certificate is requried to expunce the following records (section 71(5)) and has 20 business days to do so:

• the fact that the consumer was subject to the relevant debt re-arrangement order or agreement;
• any information relating to any default by the consumer that may have precipitated the debt re-arrangement or been considered in making the debt re-arrangement order and;
• any record that a particular credit agreement was subject to the relevant debt re-arrangement order or agreement

The Tribunal can, on application by the consumer, compel a Debt Counsellor to issue a clearance certificate if the Debt Counsellor wrongly refused to give one.

Most importantly, the Debt Counsellor should check that the credit bureaus clear the consumers recod within 5 days of receipt of Form 19.

Hope this helped..

To your financial independence André Misrole