Ian Wason, CEO of Debt Busters, South Africa's largest debt-counselling business, said the number of people seeking help is about triple what it was at the same time last year. He expected the figures to increase later in January as people who have not been paid for about six weeks receive their credit card statements and school fees need to be paid.

Roger Brown, owner of Credit Matters, said his company has been "bombarded" with queries. He believed people held off getting help during the December period, but have taken the leap now that the year has begun.

Brown said more people are looking for help this year because they felt financially confident at the beginning of 2011. But, as the year wore on, prices went up while salaries barely budged and many did not get a bonus or a 13th cheque.

Wason said, although the number of applications for debt counselling have decreased steadily over the past couple of years, a steady uptick is anticipated now.

He said the amount of unsecured lending has "gone through the roof" in the last 18 months, especially from second-tier lenders African Bank and Capitec.

The National Credit Act requires credit providers to do an affordability assessment on potential clients, but it does not specify what that assessment must be.

Many unsecured credit providers still place an emphasis on clients' payment history. So if they are up to date with repayments they can access more money, regardless of where the money for those repayments is coming from, said Wason.

Many people who seek debt counselling are clients of the "big four" banks, but have reached their credit limit with them and so approach second-tier lenders for loans at escalating credit rates. He said that with the income outlook being so bleak this year, many people are coming to terms with the fact that they cannot sustain their increasing debt.

Credit providers are also starting to use debt counselling to cut their losses and avoid having to repossess houses and cars, which then have to be resold, usually at a loss. Debt- counsellors using the debt counselling rules system have effectively been given mandates from the credit providers to extend loan periods and reduce interest rates to zero if necessary to get clients debt free in 60 months.

Wason said about 11 million of the 18 million credit-active consumers in South Africa are in arrears.