Debt counselling is a process whereby an over-indebted (i.e. a person whose expenses exceed their income) person, working with a debt counsellor, is permitted to restructure (i.e. to revise their contractual obligations under credit agreements) their debts, thereby maintaining the agreements albeit on less financially onerous terms. Debt counselling is the only process, through which an over-indebted person may be able to maintain (i.e. prevent repossession) their financed assets.

Debt counselling is a process that involves several steps, these include:

Debt review - which includes determining whether you are over-indebted and liaising with your creditors and credit bureau;

Debt restructuring - if you are over-indebted, a debt counsellor can then restructure your debts and compile a debt restructure proposal that they will propose to your creditors; 

Creditor negotiations -  this involves negotiations with each of your creditors in an attempt to get then to accept the debt restructure proposal; 

Legal action - if the debt restructure proposal is accepted by your creditors the proposal will have to be made an order of court. Alternatively, if your creditors refuse to accept the proposal, we will have to approach a court to have the proposal made an order of court; Implementation and management – once the debt restructure proposal is made an order of court, we will have to appoint a payment distribution agency and manage your compliance with the terms of the proposal.

Our qualified financial advisors have a broad range of experience and will be capable of guiding you on a wide range of financial topics.

These may include aspects like Personal budgeting, Financial management and Wealth creation.

This personal and confidential counselling rendered by qualified psychologists and/ or social-workers, on any emotional and/ or behavioural need you may have. You will receive guidance on how to deal with your personal circumstances, and professionals will provide you with the tools to better manage your psychological, mental and emotional wellbeing.

You may access the services for any of the following types of challenges that you may face, such as Trauma’s e.g. a hijacking or robbery; Conflicts e.g. with a spouse, or child, or employer and Relationship counselling e.g. marital or family etc.

No, the psycho-social counselling services is limited to providing you with:

Telephonic: Multilingual telephonic psychological counselling;

Support: Information, therapeutic assistance and support on an extensive range of psychological, social and wellbeing related issues;

Referrals: Referral to a psychologist or psychiatrist, on LUCID’s pre-qualified panel, with whom LUCID has negotiated favourable discounted rates for you benefit. These costs fall outside of the LUCID living™ subscription and you will be liable to the practitioner for the relevant fees. The psychologist or psychiatrist to whom you will be referred to, will meet with you in person and determine the appropriate support for you, as the circumstances may require.

All referrals will be facilitated by our multidisciplinary team of professionals including social workers, psychologists, and medical practitioners and cognizance is taken of the unique requirements of each case (e.g. location, financial circumstances, gender, etc).

No, the legal services are limited to providing you with:

Telephonic: Multilingual telephonic advice and guidance on any consumer rights related matter; 

Templates: Electronic template documents, forms, letters, notices and contracts – none of which will be customised for your specific circumstances; 

Referrals: Referral to an attorney, on LUCID’s pre-qualified panel, with whom LUCID has negotiated favourable discounted rates for you benefit. The attorney to whom you will be referred to, will assist you in drafting any relevant legal correspondence or document, as the circumstances may require. These costs fall outside of the LUCID living™ subscription and you will be liable to the practitioner for the relevant fees.

No, the legal services are limited to providing you with:

Telephonic: Multilingual telephonic advice and guidance on any consumer rights related matter;

Templates: Electronic template documents, forms, letters, notices and contracts – none of which will be customized for your specific circumstances; 

Referrals: Referral to an attorney, on LUCID’s pre-qualified panel, with whom LUCID has negotiated favourable discounted rates for you benefit. The attorney to whom you will be referred to, will assist you in representing you with any third party, as the circumstances may require. These costs fall outside of the LUCID living™ subscription and you will be liable to the practitioner for the relevant fees.

It will be accessible on the LUCID Living website - www.lucidliving.co.za

Yes, all representatives of LUCID Living™ are qualified professionals, registered with their respective associations, councils and regulatory bodies.

The credit industry is regulated by the National Credit Regulator (NCR), who is responsible, under the National Credit Act 34 of 2005, for the regulation of the South African credit industry. The NCR is also tasked with the registration of credit grantors, credit bureaus and debt counselors, including the enforcement of compliance to the Act. TransUnion is a registered credit bureau with the NCR.

The credit/service provider has the following obligations:

Assessments: Do a proper assessment on your ability to meet the repayments. This requires full disclosure by you of your total monthly income, expenditure and current credit obligations.  

Evaluate: Evaluate your understanding and appreciation of the risks, costs and obligations of the agreement that you enter into.

Affordability Assessment: Assess your ability to meet the repayments on time by looking at the way you currently repay your debt as well as your debt repayment history. If you are declined, the credit/service provider must give you a reason for declining your application.

Consent: Request your consent to market other products to you; get your spouse’s written consent if you are married in community of property; get your consernt to report all new credit agreements as well as submit a monthly report on the conduct of your account to a credit bureau (this helps ensure that your information is factually correct). 

Quotes: Provide you with a quotation of all the costs, by way of a pre-agreement. This quote is valid for five business days and gives you the opportunity to consider the offer.

Free Credit Report: TransUnion offers you a free credit report once during a 12-month period. You can access your TransUnion Credit Report and check that your personal information is correct and up to date.

Query Resolution: You have the right to access and query your credit report held by a credit bureau and to be notified before negative information is reported by a credit/service provider to the bureau. You have the right to resolve a complaint through a dispute resolution process. To do so, contact TransUnion to obtain a copy of your credit report and confirm your complaint. You have the option to log a dispute with us or query us about the information submitted to us by the credit/service provider. 

Note: You have the right to be informed by the credit/service provider that negative information will be submitted to the credit bureaus. You will receive at least 20 business days notice before a credit/service provider submits your information.

Permissable purposes include tracing related to a credit agreement by a credit provider; fraud prevention or protection services; credit scorecard development; investigations by South African Police (or any other statutory enforcement agency) of fraud or theft; assessing the debtors book of a business for a potential sale of the business or debtors book of   the business, or any other transaction that is dependent upon determining the value of the business or debtors book of the business; assessing an application for insurance and obtaining consumer information to distribute unclaimed funds (including pension and insurance claims).