What is the NCR, and how do you lodge a complaint about a credit provider?

What is the NCR?

The NCR is the National Credit Regulator, the body that enforces the National Credit Act (NCA). It registers credit providers, credit bureaus, debt counsellors and payment distribution agencies, and it investigates complaints about them. If you want to know whether a lender is on its register, the guide to checking NCR registration covers the search step by step, so this page stays with the complaints side.

What are the NCR contact details?

These are the details listed on the NCR's own complaints page as we read it on 29 October 2026. The NCR's site also carried a notice that it was the victim of a cyber-attack, dated 12 December 2025, so phone the call centre to confirm the channel before you send personal documents.

What can you complain to the NCR about?

The NCR lists the complaints it can assist with, and the list is wide. On cost and conduct it includes overcharged interest or fees, reckless lending, and a refusal to cancel an agreement during the 5-day cooling-off period. On paperwork it covers a failure to issue statements or documents for an existing agreement, and a debt counsellor's refusal to issue a clearance certificate.

It also covers legal action or repossession without the steps required by sections 127 and 129 of the NCA, collection on prescribed debt, and non-adherence to the in duplum rule in section 103(5). For credit bureaus, the NCR says you must first raise the issue with the bureau itself. A problem with a debt counsellor or a payment distribution agent that does not pay out your money also falls in scope. If you are in a debt review, debt review explained describes how the process should run.

Who can lodge a complaint?

Any person can complain where the consumer is a natural person, and in some cases a company or partnership can as well, according to the NCR's frequently asked questions. Someone acting for you needs your written consent. Under regulation 50 that consent must carry the third party's name, the credit provider's name, your full name and signature, the date the agreement was signed and details of the complaint. Phone and email complaints must come from you personally.

How do you lodge a complaint with the NCR?

You can do it in writing with a completed Form 29, sent by fax, post or email, or you can contact the NCR by phone; regulation 50 sets out both routes. The NCR says the complaint form and the consent form are available from its office or website. Before you contact it, write to the credit provider and keep copies, so you have a paper trail to show what was raised and when.

Gather the credit agreement, statements, the dates of the events and any messages, as the form asks for your details, the provider's name, the agreement date and a description of the problem. Keep a note of the reference you are given, whether you phone or write.

Is there a time limit?

Yes. The NCR's FAQ says that if three years or more have passed since the conduct, it may be unable to refer the matter to the National Consumer Tribunal or a consumer court, although it may still try informal resolution against a credit provider or credit bureau. The same applies where the provider was already referred to the Tribunal over a substantially similar complaint. Do not wait if you suspect you were overcharged.

What happens after you complain?

The NCR's pages do not set out the steps in detail, so read what you are sent and ask the call centre where your case stands. The NCA itself provides that after an investigation the regulator either issues a notice of non-referral or refers the matter to the Tribunal (sections 139 to 141 of the National Credit Act). A complainant whose matter is not referred may apply to refer it directly to a consumer court, or to the Tribunal with its leave. A lawyer or consumer-law adviser can help with that stage.

What if the lender is not registered?

Do not pay it anything, and tell the NCR on 0860 627 627 or at complaints@ncr.org.za. Keep the messages, receipts and account numbers. For the signs of an illegal lender, see the registration check guide, and compare costs with the registered lenders in the directory before you borrow from anyone else.