Poor customer service

My last payment was deducted by Hyphen PDA in October 2020 and I have been on a payment plan for the last 5 years. I was under the impression that all accounts were paid up to date, I was told by a Client Service consultant that there was small amount due on one of the creditors which I paid and send proof of payment through, I was then copied in an e-mail where this same consultant advised his clearance department to proceed with my clearance certificate as the client has settled all accounts, and I was advised that the clearance certificate should take between 5-7 days.

This hasn't happened and now all off a sudden only when I started requesting my clearance certificate was I only advised that there is still thousands outstanding to creditors, how is this possible when Hyphen PDA was the ones collecting and distributing these funds accordingly. When asked what the way forward is I was told in an e-mail that if I settle these accounts or the balances should be added onto my payment plan, I want to know how this is possible when I have completed my payment plan.

I paid according to your schedule sent to Hyphen PDA.

All statements received from Hyphen PDA which reflect below|: Point 6 states that

With regard to the balance of your indebtedness with the individual Credit Providers, please take note that differences may be attributed to the following (a) your Credit Provider s system may not have been adjusted to take the impact of the agreed Consent or Court Order into account (b) Hyphen PDA received the initial indebtedness from your Debt Counsellor, which was based on a Certificate of Balance or a Contract. This should be rectified by your Debt Counsellor in your annual review, which is required in terms of the Act.

All statements received from Hyphen PDA reflect below|: You will receive a statement electronically from Hyphen PDA by the 9th day of every month for the duration of the Repayment Plan. You can now also access your new statement from the 9th day of every month via the Internet by using the following URL and inserting your identity number and the PIN code sent to you via SMS: https://www.hyphenpda.co.za/login The details of this plan were supp**** to Hyphen PDA by your Debt Counsellor for execution in terms of the National Credit Act (through either a Consent or Court Order). Your Debt Counsellor receives a copy of this statement and is thus fully informed on the status of the funds collected and distributed to Credit Providers. Your Debt Counsellor is your primary point of contact and should you not be in agreement or require further clarity on the detail of the statement, please contact your Debt Counsellor immediately. With regard to the balance of your indebtedness with the individual Credit Providers, please take note that differences may be attributed to the following (a) your Credit Provider s system may not have been adjusted to take the impact of the agreed Consent or Court Order into account (b) Hyphen PDA received the initial indebtedness from your Debt Counsellor, which was based on a Certificate of Balance or a Contract. This should be rectified by your Debt Counsellor in your annual review, which is required in terms of the Act. Should the email address in this communication be incorrect, please contact your Debt Counsellor directly to effect the change. If you are receiving this email and it is not intended for you, please advise ***

Now when sending e-mails trying to follow up and raising my concerns on how the above and looking for answers / way forward the only response I receive is below:

Good day I trust this email finds you well.

Please be advised that Debt consellors do not have access to the credit provider systems to know real time balance and systems debt consellors and credit providers are not linked. Therfore , balance provided on hyphen statements is an estimate { and it indicates so on the statements it self} based on original balance at entery point of debt conselling provided by credit providers, Anytime a balance is requested by a consumer , the debt counsellor has to consult the credit provider to receive actual balance on that day. Sometimes this takes several weeks , depending on the credit provider.

Kind regards, Spokazi Mangunjana | SmartSolutions Consultant

To date no other feedback other tgan the above email.

The service I have received since requesting my clearance certificate has been appalling and I will never recommend Debt Busters to anyone based on the service I have received the last month.