A third of South Africans do not know how much debt they have in total against their name. That’s one of the “unsettling insights” that emerged from Debtsafe’s recent survey entitled “Facing your debt head-on”‚ which sought “to gain a better understanding of consumers’ financial experiences”.“One finding stood out in particular‚” says the debt review agency’s Wikus Oliver. “Just under half of respondents indicated that they are not aware of the state of their credit profile – with 9% having no idea what a credit profile is it all.”And‚ about a third of respondents stated that they don’t know how much debt they are in.This‚ Oliver says‚ is of concern as recent amendments to the National Credit Act (NCA) will make it more difficult for cash-strapped consumers to turn to unsecured lenders – as affordability assessments will be more strict - in times of need. “There is an undeniable issue of over-indebtedness in South Africa‚” says Olivier.“57.8% of the population categorised as delinquent in their debt payment behaviour‚ which can have serious consequences on an individual’s financial wellbeing and access to financial resources.“Considering the stricter structures now in place through the NCA amendments‚ borrowing cash will become more difficult for consumers‚ but keeping up with your payments - which just under half of respondents claim to do - will act in your favour‚” says Olivier...