Prepare for Your First Debt Review Session: Documents Needed

If you’ve taken the first steps to beginning the debt review process, you may wonder about the documents you’ll need to present for your assessment process. Usually, you’ll need a copy of your credit report, bank statements, a completed Form 16, and copies of your credit agreement.

Read on to discover what you should bring to your first debt review session to help your debt counsellor properly assess whether you’re over-indebted.

What to Bring to Your First Debt Review Session

Before your first debt review session, your debt counsellor will provide you with a Form 16 to fill out. This will help them assess your finances and whether you’re over-indebted. Form 16 asks you to list debts, expenses, and income. If your debt exceeds your income, you can’t afford to pay expenses because of repayments, or are taking out more loans to make repayments, you’re likely over-indebted.

Your debt counsellor could also ask you to bring a credit report. This is so your debt counsellor understands your exact monthly repayments, balances, and whether any accounts are in collections. This will also help them know if you’ve had any legal action, such as a judgment taken against you. Debt counsellors can’t remove or protect you from existing debt-related legal action.

Why Your Debt Counsellor Needs These Documents

Your debt counsellor needs the details of your debts, income, and expenses to assess whether you’re over-indebted. If you’re not over-indebted, you’re not eligible for debt review and may have to use a debt mediator instead.

We ask for your credit report so we can precisely understand how much you owe on each balance, your monthly repayments, and interest rates. This way, your debt counsellor can create a proposal to reduce interest rates and repayments, reducing your overall indebtedness and freeing up room in your budget.

Your debt counsellor may also ask for payslips as proof of income (you must have a job to make monthly repayments), bank statements as proof of your expenses and repayments, and credit agreements. If you’re married in community of property, your partner should prepare the same documents, as they will be under debt review with you.

What Happens After Your First Debt Review Session?

After your initial assessment, your debt counsellor will compile a certificate of balance (COB), which is mandated by the National Credit Regulator’s debt review application guidelines. They and an attorney will submit this to the court, alongside a proposal outlining how your interest rates and repayments might be reduced, as well as whether your due dates and repayment periods might be extended. If the court agrees to the proposal and that you’re over-indebted, you’ll be formally under debt review.

Once you’re formally under debt review, you’ll make monthly repayments to a payment distribution agency (PDA), which will distribute your payments fairly among your creditors and ensure they’re paid on time.

Let Credit Rehab Provide Your First Debt Review Session

Are you ready to restructure your debt? Let a Credit Rehab debt counsellor negotiate for lower interest rates, reduced repayments, extended repayment periods, and postponed due dates. Contact us today!