MyCreditStatus Podcast

In our latest podcast, we discuss how your credit score can impact your rental application, how the eviction process works - your rental rights under lockdown. Plus some fantastic insider tips on how to negotiate with your landlord.

We were fortunate to interview Michelle Dickens. Michelle is the managing director and co-founder of Tenant Profile Network (TPN Credit Bureau). TPN is the largest credit bureau that tracks tenant payment behaviour in SA.

• Eviction and eviction orders, under the new lockdown level 1
• Various options available if you have a poor credit score
• How to negotiate with your landlord if you struggling to pay your rent

Our guest on our show is Jimmy Golele; Jimmy is the Senior Education and Communication Officer at the National Credit Regulator (NCR).

The National Credit Regulator is responsible for the regulation of the South African credit industry. 

In this podcast, we discuss the functions of the NCR and how it assists consumers.

If you are having issues with a credit provider, PDA or Debt Counsellor,  then you probably have thought about complaining but not sure who to address your complaint. The NCR can assist you with all these issues

We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to interview Lee Soobrathi, who is the Head Of Department, Case Management at the office of the Credit Ombud.

The Office of the Credit Ombudsman resolves complaints from consumers that are negatively impacted by credit bureau information or when a consumer has a dispute with a credit provider.

The most common cases that are handled by the Credit Ombudsman include incorrect statements of account, emolument attachment orders, fraud cases and alleged reckless lending cases.

In This Episode:

•     The different types of complaints the Credit Ombud deals with
•     Procedure for closing one’s account and making sure it is closed
•     How to dispute incorrect information on your credit report
•     How to lodge a complaint with the Credit Ombud

If you are looking for car finance, struggling with your repayments, then you cannot afford NOT to listen to this podcast!

On our show today we interviewed George Simitopoulos the MD of CarFin. 

(CarFin - South Africa’s #1 independent vehicle finance provider. Offering car financing and vehicle solutions along with vehicle refinancing)

These are some of the topics that were discussed:

1. To apply for vehicle finance, what are the essential criteria’s you look for before approving an application?
2. What if a consumer’s credit history is poor, what advice would you give them?
3. Can a consumer who has come out of debt review apply for vehicle finance?
4. What if a consumer is struggling to pay their car payments on time, especially with what’s happening at the moment with COVID19 what can they do?
5. Can a vehicle be repossessed during level 3 lockdown?
6. If a consumer does get declined, what options do they then have?

The current Covid-19 pandemic has cast a lot of panic and uncertainty, leaving many people with questions about their financial future and the resultant impact of this pandemic going forward.

In our latest podcast, we chat to Ryan McCaughey, a financial advisor at Hewett Wealth.  

These are some of the topics that we discussed;

• How much of a threat is it to South African investors and to retirement savings long term?
• What happens if consumers default on their RA payments, especially now with what’s going on?
• What is your opinion regarding a retirement annuity in the circumstances in which we find ourselves?
• What happens if consumers default on their RA payments, especially now with what’s going on?

In this episode, we go behind the scenes and interview one of the leading Credit Bureaus in South Africa. XDS is the largest locally owned credit information bureau in South Africa. 

Here are just some of the topics that we discussed in our podcast;

• Who can legally list negative information about a user?

• As South Africa is battling with the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, many consumers have been left with the inability to earn an income or they are receiving less income due to reduced working hours. What impact will this have on their credit scores?

• South Africa's major banks have introduced various measures to assist consumers impacted by the COVID-19 disaster. Most of the assistance comes in the form of a debt repayment holiday on all kinds of loans. Does this have an impact on a person's credit score?

• What advice would you give on how consumers can handle their credit score during this pandemic to minimise its impact on their credit score?

• How many disputes do get corrected, and can you explain the process that happens behind the scenes when a user disputes information with a credit bureau?

We have been working hard to provide you with the best user experience on our website. There are so many exciting developments happening at the moment. 

In this podcast, we interview David Bester who is the Chief Analytical Officer at MCS.  David has over 10 years of experience in the online field. One of his primary functions is to continually keep us up to date with the latest software, making sure that we remain one of the leading credit providers in South Africa.

These are some of the questions we asked David:

How can consumers fix their credit scores by making use of MCS?            

What advice do you have for people who have a terrible credit score?                                                                                                                        

Currently, there are 3 options to choose from when consumers are looking for their credit reports on MCS. Can you explain the difference between them?      

There are hundreds of credit reporting websites to choose from, what sets MCS aside from the rest?                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

In today’s social world, we generate more data and share more online information than ever before. But how safe is our personal information especially when we apply for a credit report?

On today’s show, we go behind the scenes of MyCreditStatus. To find out what safety measures are in place. Is our personal information actually safe?

We interview MCS’s Chief Technology Officer. We often refer to Chris as our gatekeeper,  with over 20 years of experience with systems we are definitely in good hands!

The National Credit Act (NCA) is aimed at protecting the consumer. To meet this objective, it affords consumers various rights.  The NCA provides a balance between the rights and responsibilities of credit providers and consumers.

In today’s episode, we will be discussing your Consumer’s Rights in terms of the NCA. Our guest today is Gerrit Viviers, who is the National Credit Act Specialist for Moonstone Compliance & Risk Management.

In our second Podcast, we discuss in detail Debt Counselling. We were extremely privileged to have Benay Sager the Chief Operating Officer at DebtBusters on our show. 

DebtBusters is South Africa’s largest and most trusted multi award-winning Debt Management company.  

Debt Counselling is a formal legal process that provides for a consumer to be declared over-indebted and for the Debt Counselor to negotiate a restructured payment plan and obtain a court order confirming the new repayment plan.

In our first Podcast we will be discussing how to fix your Credit Report and improve your creditworthiness. We interviewed one of the leading Consumer Law expert in South Africa, Nicky Campbell. Nicky has written extensively on both the National Credit Act and the Consumer Protection Act. Graduating from Rhodes University, she was awarded the Juta prize for the best law student in SA . In our interview she offers practical tips and advice from a legal prospective. Contact Nicky at legalrights.co.za