Zero Debt is a debt management company that is registered with the National Credit Regulator. The company is one of the leading debt solution providers in South Africa. It offers debt counselling and debt consolidation services to South Africans.

Zero Debt has developed relationships with South African financial service providers, which it has used to streamline its debt review process. The organization safeguards its customers’ assets through court orders and legally binding agreements between the creditor and the debtor.

What is Zero Debt? 

Zero Debt is a debt settlement company based in Bellville, Cape Town, South Africa, that was founded in 2009. The company focuses on debt review, debt counselling, and debt consolidation. Zero Debt has about 50 advisors and debt counsellors. The company is owned by Chris Craven.

Zero Debt can be found on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Customers can use the company’s website to help them find the best debt solution for them. Zero Debt benefits customers in the following ways:

• By protecting their assets from repossession by credit providers, 
• With the Consolidation of debt into one single payment that is paid on a monthly basis,
• To pay an amount that they can afford. Thus, restructuring of debt takes place,
• By reducing all customers’ current interest rates. 
• The company’s website provides a number of contact alternatives. Customers can request a callback, talk on WhatsApp, or contact the service provider directly. Customers can use the Debt Calculator on the website for free to determine whether or not they are over-indebted.

Services Offered By Zero Debt

Zero Debt offers 3 services to customers across South Africa that aim at helping them with their debt. Services that are offered by Zero Debt are discussed below. 

What is Debt Counselling?

Debt Counselling is for people who are deeply in debt. This method assists those who are behind on their debt or who have a debt premium that consumes a significant portion of their income. The system also safeguards clients’ valuables from repossession.

To assist clients in getting out of debt, Zero Debt appoints one of their debt counsellors to deal with Debt counselling difficulties. By the completion of the process, the consumer should have a good credit score and a clearance certificate, which will be sent to credit bureaus.

Zero Debt safeguards customers from having to pay exorbitant costs. Clients’ debts are completely renegotiated, with a new number agreed upon. Typically, the agreed-upon figure is lower than the prior one. This is accomplished by renegotiating loan interest rates so that customers can pay less.

Debt Counselling begins with a free debt assessment. A debt assessment is performed to determine whether or not a person is eligible for debt counselling services. Zero Debt has a five-step process to ensure that its clients become debt-free.

Debt Review

Zero Debt’s Debt review solution helps customers to know whether they are over-indebted or not and helps find solutions that will help them become debt-free if they are over-indebted. 

Debt Review is a process and comes with detailed steps. 

The process starts with a free non-obligatory debt assessment to become debt-free. The process is described below. 

5 steps that Zero Debt uses include:

1. Completion of an online debt assessment form that will provide Zero Debt with information on the customer’s specific financial situation. 
2. The customer’s information is reviewed after step 1, which confirms whether or not a customer qualifies for debt counselling services. 
3. Credit providers are notified by a Zero Debt that a customer is under debt counselling if they qualified. This protects a client from being harassed by creditors.
4. Client debt is negotiated with the credit provider and a new debt repayment plan is structured based on the client’s living expenses. 
5. Debt specialist attorneys apply to the court to restructure the plan. Payments will then be received and paid to creditors accordingly until the debt is fully paid. 

What is Debt Consolidation? 

Zero Debt’s debt consolidation solution is there to help those that are over-indebted and behind on payments to restructure their payments so that they could fit into their living expenses budget. Debt consolidation solution also helps with protecting customer assets from being repossessed by arranging a structured and affordable repayment plan. 

Zero Debt consolidates all customer debt into one monthly payment that is affordable to the customer. Furthermore, the company helps reduce interest rates on loans by engaging with Creditors, therefore, customers end up paying fewer instalments on a month to month basis than before. 

You will be charged fees if you use Zero Debt’s Debt Consolidation service. Administrative and legal fees may be included. The monthly payback amount will include legal fees. Please keep in mind that Zero Debt will appoint attorneys to represent you in any court hearings.

Advantages of Zero Debt

• The company is fully compliant with the National Credit Act. 
• Zero Debt is registered with the National Credit Regulator. 
• There is a free debt calculator that clients can use before subscribing to the company’s services. 
• Assets are protected from repossession when going under debt review. 
• Debt review process can help decrease interest rates and help pay less instalments. 

Disadvantages of Zero Debt

• Debt review process comes with a fee. 
• Missing new negotiated terms of repayment can lead to risk of forfeiting the contract. 

Conclusion 

Zero Debt offers services that are expected to come from a debt management company. With many years of experience, the company can be trusted when it comes to debt review and debt consolidation services. However, the company has not been able to outgrow its competitors in the market. We can, therefore, deem the company as a medium debt management company that it’s still yet to penetrate more into the debt management industry. 

Zero Debt doesn’t offer any insurance products to its clients which can be seen as a setback since it’s a new norm for big players such as the National Debt Advisors and the Debt Busters to have insurance products for individuals that are under debt review. Adding insurance products could do Zero Debt better. There is no doubt that Zero Debt is a company to reckon with and has proven itself time and again that it can offer quality services to customers.