DEBT HELP SYSTEM USER GUIDE Author: NATIONAL CREDIT REGULATOR Date: 31 July 2011 Version: 2.2.5
CONTENTS 1. WELCOME 3 2. HOW TO LOGIN TO THE DEBT HELP SYSTEM 4 3. HOW TO ADD A DEBT CONSUMER 8 4. HOW TO UPDATE A CONSUMER STATUS 12 5. HOW TO UPDATE THE STATUS FOR A CONSUMER WHOSE ASSESSMENT HAS RESULTED IN A REJECTION 13 6. HOW TO UPDATE THE STATUS FOR A CONSUMER WHOSE ASSESSMENT HAS RESULTED IN A DECISION THAT THE CONSUMER IS OVER-INDEBTED 15 7. HOW TO MAKE A MINOR STATUS UPDATE 16 8. HOW TO UPDATE THE STATUS FOR A CONSUMER WHO HAS STARTED THE FORMAL DEBT RE-STRUCTURING PROCESS 18 9. HOW TO UPDATE THE STATUS FOR A CONSUMER WHO HAS COMPLETED THE FORMAL DEBT RE-STRUCTURING PROCESS 20 10. HOW TO WITHDRAW A CONSUMER FROM THE DEBT COUNSELLING PROCESS 22 11. HOW TO GET A LISTING OF CONSUMER RECORDS 24 12. HOW TO PRINT THE DEBT COUNSELLOR REPORT 26 13. HOW TO SHOW STATUS CODE HELP 27 14. HOW TO UPDATE YOUR INFORMATION AS A DEBT COUNSELLOR 29 P 2
1. WELCOME This debt help system user guide is a step by step instruction manual on how to use the National Credit Regulator (NCR) Debt Help System. The Debt Help System is used for registering and updating information for consumers who have entered the debt counseling process. P 3
2. HOW TO LOGIN TO THE DEBT HELP SYSTEM To use the NCR Debt Help System you need to have a valid debt counselor number and a password. To login, follow these steps: 1. Start your Web Browser (e.g. Microsoft Internet Explorer) 2. Type http://www.ncrdebthelp.co.za in the website address at the top of the browser 3. Fig. 1 shows the welcome screen that will appear when you have typed in the website address correctly. Fig.1. Welcome screen 4. Click the sign in link, located at the top left of the welcome screen 5. Fig. 2 shows the login screen that will appear when you click the sign in link P 4
Fig. 2. Login in screen 6. Type in your Debt Counselor Registration number in the Debt Counsellor Registration Number text box and your password in the Password text box and click on the Login link/button. Your Debt Counselor Registration number is used as your login id. Please contact the NCR help desk if you have not received your login credentials. 7. If you enter an invalid login id and password combination, the system will show a screen depicted in Fig 3. Fig 3. Invalid login credentials P 5
8. If you do not enter a login id and password, the system will display a screen depicted in Fig 4. Fig. 4 Login without entering credentials 9. In the event that you have typed incorrect login credentials (step 7 above) or you have not entered any credentials (step 8 above), the system will allow you to re-enter valid login credentials 10. On successful login, the system will take you to the home screen, which is depicted in Fig. 5. P 6
Fig. 5. Successful login screen 11. When you see the screen illustrated in Fig.5 above, it means that your login was successful. From here, you can navigate the system using the menu at the top of the screen. P 7
3. HOW TO ADD A DEBT CONSUMER To add a debt consumer, follow these steps: 1. From the main menu, click on Register/Update Consumers and the system will show the Register/Update Consumers screen as indicated in Fig. 6 Fig 6. Register/Update Consumers 2. Click on Register a person. The system will display the following screen: P 8
Fig. 7. Register a person 3. Enter all the details for the person whom you are registering as a debt consumer. 4. When you have completed capturing all the details for the debt consumer, click the submit button ensure that the system saves the details you entered 5. NOTE: that the following fields are mandatory and the system will require you to capture information in respect of the debt consumer 1. ID Number or Passport Number 2. Surname 3. Name 1 4. Date of Birth 5. Physical Address 6. Province 7. Gender 8. Marital Status 9. Marriage Contract (if married) 6. When the debt consumer is married in community of property, the system will also require that you capture the following information for the spouse: P 9
1. ID Number or Passport Number 2. Surname 3. Name 1 4. Date of Birth 5. Contact Number 7. In the event that you do not capture the required information or you enter information that is invalid, the system will respond with an appropriate error message such as the one indicated in fig. 8. Fig. 8 Sample input error message 8. When you have registered a person successfully, the system will respond by displaying the current status of the debt consumer that you have just created as indicated in Fig. 9. P 10
Fig. 9. Debt consumer initial status P 11
4. HOW TO UPDATE A CONSUMER STATUS When a consumer enters the debt counseling process, they go through various stages in the process. The initial status for all consumers is Applied for debt counseling and being assessed, Thereafter, you must manually update the status of the consumer as they enter a different stage of the counseling process. To update the status of a consumer, select Register/Update Consumers from the main menu. You can search for the consumer by entering any or a combination of the following information in the fields provided on the screen: (a) ID number (b) First name (c) Surname Once you have entered the search criteria, click search and the system will display the matching records. If more records are found than can fit in the search results table, the system will display a row with page numbers under the search results table which allow you to navigate the results until you see your particular record. Click on the update button to activate the consumer record. P 12
5. HOW TO UPDATE THE STATUS FOR A CONSUMER WHOSE ASSESSMENT HAS RESULTED IN A REJECTION 1. Follow the instructions in the section HOW TO UPDATE A CONSUMER STATUS to navigate to the consumer record 2. Click on the status option assessment has resulted in a rejection as indicated in Fig. 10 Fig. 10. Assessment resulted in a rejection 3. Click the submit button for the system to move the person from the current status to the new status. The system will respond by displaying the new status of the debt consumer as indicated in Fig. 11. P 13
Fig. 11. Debt Consumer with a rejected status P 14
6. HOW TO UPDATE THE STATUS FOR A CONSUMER WHOSE ASSESSMENT HAS RESULTED IN A DECISION THAT THE CONSUMER IS OVER-INDEBTED 1. Follow the instructions in the section HOW TO UPDATE A CONSUMER STATUS to navigate to the consumer record 2. Click on the status option assessment Assessment has resulted in a decision that the consumer is over-indebted as indicated in Fig. 12. Fig, 12. Setting status to consumer is over-indebted P 15
7. HOW TO MAKE A MINOR STATUS UPDATE Once the consumer has been assessed as being over-indebted, you will need to indicate every month whether or not payments for the consumer made through the payments distribution system (PDA) are up to date or not for each consumer on your file. These updates which you will perform on a monthly basis result in a minor status update to the consumer file. To make a minor status update on a monthly basis, follow these steps: 1. Follow the instructions in the section HOW TO UPDATE A CONSUMER STATUS to navigate to the consumer record 2. The current status of the consumer will be displayed. A sample indication of current status is shown in Fig. 13. Fig. 13. Current status sample 3. Click on the status option Payments are up to date to confirm that the payments for the consumer are up to date or click on the option Payments are not up to date if the payments for the consumer are not up to date 4. Click submit to save the minor status for the consumer. 5. The system will display the updated status codes for the consumer (both major status and minor status) as indicated in Fig. 14 P 16
Fig. 14. Major and minor status codes update 6. If you had selected the option Payments are not up to date, the screen shown in Fig. 14 would display E2 as the payment status code and Payments are not up to date as the payment status description P 17
8. HOW TO UPDATE THE STATUS FOR A CONSUMER WHO HAS STARTED THE FORMAL DEBT RE-STRUCTURING PROCESS 1. Follow the instructions in the section HOW TO UPDATE A CONSUMER STATUS to navigate to the consumer record 2. The current status of the consumer will be displayed. Fig. 15 shows a sample active status for a consumer. Fig. 15. Sample active status 3. Click on the status option formal debt re-structuring through the courts has commenced as shown in Fig. 15 above and the click the submit button 4. The system will display the new status of the consumer which will have a status code of D3 with a status description of Formal debt re-structuring through the courts has commenced P 18
Fig. 16. Formal debt restructuring status 5. You can now update the minor status codes for the payments distribution system on a monthly basis until the consumer has completed the debt counseling process. P 19
9. HOW TO UPDATE THE STATUS FOR A CONSUMER WHO HAS COMPLETED THE FORMAL DEBT RE-STRUCTURING PROCESS 1. Follow the instructions in the section HOW TO UPDATE A CONSUMER STATUS to navigate to the consumer record 2. The current status of the consumer will be displayed as indicated in Fig. 16. 3. Click on the option Formal debt re-structuring is completed, and a court order granted 4. The system will display the new status of the consumer as indicated in Fig. 17 Fig. 17. Debt counseling process completed status 5. You must now indicate whether or not payments are up to date for the consumer. The consumer file will not be closed until the payments are indicated as being up to date. 6. To confirm payment are up to date, click the option Payments are up to date and then click the submit button. 7. The system will now enable the option DC declares that the person is no longer overindebted 8. Click the option DC declares that the person is no longer over-indebted and the click the submit button. 9. The system will display the final status for the consumer which is shown in Fig. 18 P 20
Fig. 18. Final consumer status P 21
10. HOW TO WITHDRAW A CONSUMER FROM THE DEBT COUNSELLING PROCESS You can withdraw a consumer from the debt counselling process. The withdrawal of a consumer from the debt counselling process can either be initiated by (a) The consumer or (b) the debt counselor. To withdraw the consumer from the debt counseling process, follow these steps: 1. select Manage Consumers from the main menu. You can search for the consumer by entering any or a combination of the following information in the fields provided on the screen: (a) ID number (b) First name (c) Surname 2. Once you have entered the search criteria, click the search button and the system will display the matching records. If more records are found than can fit in the search results table, the system will display a row with page numbers under the search results table which allow you to navigate the results until you see your particular record. 3. Click on the Manage Consumer button to activate the consumer record. The system will make the consumer record active as indicated in Fig. 19, Fig. 19. Manage consumers P 22
4. If the withdrawal is initiated by the consumer, click on the button Withdrawal by Consumer The system will then display a message indicating The consumer was successfuly withdrawen from the programe. 5. If the withdrawal is initiated by the debt counselor, click on the button Withdrawal by Debt Counsellor The system will then display a message indicating The consumers application was successfuly terminated by you. P 23
11. HOW TO GET A LISTING OF CONSUMER RECORDS The system allows you to display a listing of consumer records in such a way that you can see the information that was captured when the consumer record was created. Additionally, you can export this listing to Microsoft Excel for further analysis or if you want to print this information. To get a listing of consumer records, follow these steps: 1. Select Search from the main menu 2. The system will display the search web page as indicated in Fig. 20 Fig. 20. Search web page 3. Enter you search criteria to filter the records that you want displayed in the search fields and then click the search button. 4. The system will display the search results as indicated in Fig. 21. P 24
Fig. 21. Search results 5. You can review the details of the search results by scrolling to the right of the search results table and paging through the page numbers indicated at the bottom of the search results table. 6. You can export the search results by clicking on the Export to Excel button and then follow the instructions presented by your web browser to either open or save the Microsoft Excel file that is generated by the system. P 25
12. HOW TO PRINT THE DEBT COUNSELLOR REPORT You can view a consumer status summary report to which shows the number of consumers who are in a certain status of the debt counseling process. Once the report is displayed, you will have an option to export the report as a PDF file, which will make it easier for printing. To display the summary report, follow these steps: 1. Select Reports on the main menu. 2. The system will display the summary report as indicated in Fig. 22. P 26
Fig. 22. Consumer status summary report 3. To export the report to PDF, click on Export to PDF button and then follow the instructions presented by your web browser to either open or save the file that is generated by the system as a PDF. 13. HOW TO SHOW STATUS CODE HELP To get help on understanding the meaning of the status codes used in the system, follow these steps: 1. Select Help on the main menu 2. The system will display the status code help web page as indicated in Fig. 24. P 27
Fig. 24. Status code help 3. You can scroll down the web page to see more information. 14. HOW TO UPDATE YOUR INFORMATION The system allows you to update your own information as a Debt Counsellor. You can also change the username and password that you use to login to the system as well as your contact details. To update your details as a Debt Counsellor, follow these steps: 1. Select Update Your Information on the main menu. 2. The system will display the debt counsellor information update page as indicated in Fig. 23. P 28
Fig. 23. Debt Counsellor information update 3. Enter your details that you wish to update and then click the submit button to save this information P 29