D
Legal
Debt Review
Same thing as debt counselling — it's the official term. Once you apply, you're flagged at every credit bureau. You can't take new credit until you've completed the process or a court removes the flag. Takes years, but it's survival when you're completely overwhelmed.
Usage Examples
"Mpho registered for debt review and immediately got flagged at TransUnion, Experian, and Compuscan. For three years, he couldn't access new credit — no new loans, no store cards, nothing. But his repayments dropped to half what they were."
"Zanele completed her debt review after 48 months. Her counsellor got the last R2,000 outstanding written off through a court process. She applied to have the debt review flag removed from her credit file — took another two months, but she was finally clear."
"Andile's mate warned him: 'Once you go into debt review, you're flagged for life.' That was kak — Andile finished his review after 42 months and the flag came off. Within a year he had a store card from Takealot. The flag doesn't last forever."