Tribunal fines Cape Town debt counsellor R1 million over 216 debt reviews nobody agreed to

A Cape Town debt counsellor was fined R1 million by the National Consumer Tribunal on 15 September 2026 and lost her registration. The Sowetan reported that 216 people were placed under debt review between 2023 and 2025 without saying yes. She has 60 days from the judgment to pay.

What did the Tribunal find?

The National Credit Regulator (NCR) took the counsellor to the Tribunal, and she did not show up. No answering affidavit, no appearance at the hearing, says a note from the Debt Counsellors Association of South Africa (DCASA). More than 200 complaints had reached the NCR. It pulled 20 files, and the Tribunal decided the same trick had been played over and over.

Clients, says the Sowetan, were told debt review would lower their interest rates. What followed was billing. In September 2025 alone the counsellor charged 1,164 consumers legal fees and collected roughly R3.06 million. Some of that was for referrals to a tribunal or magistrate's court that never happened, and she also levied cancellation fees that went against the fee guidelines. The Tribunal has told her to appoint an audit firm, at her cost, to go through every file and refund overcharged clients. Affected consumers will be transferred by the NCR to another registered counsellor.

Why does this matter if you are not a client?

Because people find out by accident. A Pretoria couple told the Sowetan on 19 October that a car dealership turned down the wife's finance application, and that was how they learnt of a debt review they say they never requested. About R13,800 a month was coming off their bank account and her salary. Absa said it simply applied the status once a registered counsellor told it the couple had been accepted, and it pointed them to the NCR, the only body that can look into such claims. We have only the couple's side of the story. The counsellor's side was not in the article.

The flag itself hurts. Under debt review you cannot take new credit, and lenders who see it mostly say no.

How do you check and what can you do?

Start with your credit report, which lists any debt review flag. Then work through these steps:

1. Ask the counsellor named on the listing for a copy of the signed consent and the contract.
2. Confirm that the counsellor is registered with the NCR. Ask for a full name, company name and physical office address.
3. Check that your monthly payment goes through a registered payment distribution agent, not into an account the counsellor controls.
4. If the answers do not add up, lodge a complaint with the NCR.

Be careful with anyone who promises to "remove your debt review flag" for a fee. DCASA says that once a court has made a debt rearrangement order the counsellor cannot simply withdraw the review. Our debt review guide explains what the process does and how it normally ends.