Unwanted marketing calls require a firm reaction – a quick ‘no thank you’. End of discussion.
But I was expecting a particular call, my phone rang, and I answered. It was an agent from Outdebt Advisors called Jason, calling from +27 21 206 8347.
He’s quick to tell me he’s calling on behalf of the National Credit Regulator (NCR), with “good news” as one of the consumers the consumer watchdog would like to reward for having a great credit record.
This isn’t the call I was waiting for, but I’m on the line now.
Opportunity to lower interest rate payments
Jason says the NCR has asked that Outdebt offer me an opportunity to lower my interest rate payments and save me a whole lot of money.
I ask what the catch is, and he says “none”, describing it as a token of appreciation from the NCR for honouring all payments to my creditors.
He says he has my credit profile in front of him, allegedly courtesy of the NCR.
That was alarming as I have not give anyone or any company consent to access my records recently.
To my surprise, it’s awfully detailed, including what should be confidential information. He reads it back to me, including my identity number, physical address, contact details (the least of my worries because he already has me on the call), what I pay, and to whom.
To address my concern about the access he has to information he shouldn’t, Jason is again quick to dismiss it as the NCR’s directive to get a hold of me and offer me this fleeting “opportunity”.
His reassurance is that the call is being recorded.
Requirements?
Curious but cautious, I ask how the process works and what the requirements are.
He says he would get in touch with my bank to restructure the cumulative interest I pay in a month and negotiate to have it lowered.
All he would need to do is an assessment to establish my net pay, my expenses and debt repayments.
From there, the system would calculate the reduction I qualify for and ensure that all is above board (what are the chances?).
I am fully aware of what he is ‘offering’. I have interviewed many experts about the lack of consumer awareness about debt review, especially scams that put consumers under debt review without their consent or under false pretences.
Debt review in black and white
Debt review is a legal process that was introduced by the National Credit Act to assist with the rehabilitation of financially distressed consumers.
The process is facilitated by a registered debt counsellor who will assess a consumer’s finances and develop a repayment plan to present to credit providers. It’s a measure reserved for over-indebted consumers who need assistance in upholding their payment obligations.
Once you’re in debt review (which can last a few years):
- You can’t access or apply for new credit;
- You’ll be listed at the credit bureau as being under debt review;
- You’ll be liable for paying any debt counselling fees due to your debt counsellor;
- You’ll still need to pay monthly instalments for your credit agreements; and
- Your debt counsellor will facilitate the debt counselling process for you with your credit providers.
But has Jason mentioned, explicitly, the term ‘debt review’, the process or what it really entails? Not at all.
In fact, he purports to be over the moon about how much I would get to save at the end of each month and the “extra money” I would have, thanks to Outdebt Advisors and the NCR.
The promise of paying less
I give him figures to work with (mostly fudged).
He crunches the numbers and says I qualify for at least a 20% reduction on my interest spending (this is far less than the 60% he suggested at the start of the call).
“How do you feel about this?”
Still playing along, I say “I’m happy to save every dime”.
I ask if he can send all the documentation he has on record to me as I would like to review it. He says “of course” and that he will need my signature anyway to finalise the process.
What followed was a process that attempted to cancel all debit order mandates through my primary bank.
This is where I drew the line in this drawn-out, 25-minute-long exercise.
Enough
On the record, I ask him to scrap all of my details from his system and dispose of my personal information.
I explicitly tell him I have no intention of signing up for debt review and have no reason to because I am not over-indebted. (To be fair, he did say it was a reward and not because I was in over my head.)
Seemingly unhappy now, he asks why and I go on to tell him what I suspect he already knows; that it’s against the law to try to dupe consumers into a debt review process.
The call should have ended here It didn’t.
Jason asks if he can transfer me to his supervisor, apparently the only person who has the authority to backtrack the process.
He puts me through to an impolite “manager” who does not identify himself and whose voice I can barely separate from the call centre noise in the background – only to be told I have been “aggressive the entire time”.
My response: “You have my personal details, and this is unsolicited. I think I am well within reason.”
The supervisor/manager hangs up.
Next steps
Now irate, I try to call back on the same number, but no luck. I go to the company’s website (www.outdebt.co.za). I try the landline listed on the landing page (+27 21 753 9304); it doesn’t go through.
I try the WhatsApp number (084 859 0557), also listed on the landing page; there’s no existing account on the social media platform.
My last-ditch attempt to get a hold of the company is to send an email to the admin detailing the interaction.
Picture: Author-supplied
What we know about Outdebt Advisors
According to the public NCR database, the company trades under the name Outdebt, with NCR registration NCRDC4476. It operates out of 21 Dreyer Street, Claremont, in Cape Town.
The listed debt counsellor is Layla Jacobs.
It’s also registered under the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), with a second active director named on the system.
This second director, a 20-year-old woman, is also possibly linked to a company called Cyber Automation, a “cutting-edge communication solutions” used by call centres.
Two former directors, appointed when the company was registered in 2024, have since resigned.
This includes a resignation less than two weeks after the CIPC registration and another four months after. At least one of them is still registered as a debt counsellor under NCR, but is running a different company.
There are a number of similar complaints about Outdebt online.
I have attempted a number of times and via different means to get hold of Layla Jacobs for her response on what seems may not be an isolated situation.
I forwarded, to her private email address, the official enquiry initially sent to the company with questions about the recourse to potential consumers who may already be locked into debt review as a result of possible trickery.
Finally, a response … then silence
Following another email, dated 20 April 2026, I received a call from Michelle at the company’s headquarters, who said she wanted to chat about my questions before giving a written response, as part of a fact-finding mission.
I politely referred her to the recording Jason insisted was available and further asked that the company track Jason’s other calls to establish if there was a pattern.
Reluctant to give me any further information, Michelle hinted at a possible internal process to investigate the matter and that she would respond on behalf of the company by the close of business. That was more than a week ago.
Another follow up, an email again sent directly to Layla Jacobs and the legal department, has also gone unanswered. Direct calls to her have also not been returned.
NCR brick wall
After the call from Michelle, I went onto the NCR website, looking for details to lay a complaint against Outdebt Advisors.
The NCR website was down, but I eventually managed to find an email address that seemed relevant.
My email to the NCR with the details of my concerns has still not been responded to, almost a month later.
I followed it up with an official enquiry about Outdebt and the certified debt counsellor on their site.
The NCR is yet to respond.
Issues
There are a number of major issues for me in all of this:
- How my details became available to Outdebt Advisors;
- Its response to what I termed an attempt at scamming/defrauding me by their agent Jason; and
- The NCR’s role as an oversight body for the debt counsellors registered on their database.
I will answer at least one of these for now (I have given the NCR and Outdebt the right of reply).
Benay Sager, executive head of DebtBusters and chair of the National Debt Counsellors’ Association, says he’s worried that a few bad apples risk casting the entire industry in a bad light.
“The National Credit Regulator does a great job but needs a lot more resources, if you think of how sophisticated the credit landscape is in the country. They probably need five to 10 times the resources that they have to deal with this effectively.”
He says government institutions also need to be proactive in public education about debt counselling.
“Debt counselling is an important commitment, it’s a multi-year commitment, so if you’re going to go into it, you definitely want to know that the other person you’re talking to on the line or by email, is a legitimate entity.”
He adds that consumers need to research the company that has approached them, and cross-check all the available data on the company before agreeing to anything.
This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
