Remove Old Accounts.
Watch Your Credit Score Climb.
Under South Africa's Prescription Act of 1969, most unsecured debts older than three years can be legally extinguished. Every listing we remove is an adverse mark off your bureau — and adverse marks are the heaviest drag on your credit score.
Free · No obligation · Takes 60 seconds
Average movement reported by clients after adverse listings were removed. Results vary.
Credit Score Impact
Removing A Listing Is The Fastest Way To Lift Your Credit Score.
You cannot outrun an adverse listing by paying other accounts on time. While a default, judgment or prescribed debt sits on your bureau, your credit score stays anchored to it. Take it off and the score moves.
Defaults & judgments weigh heaviest
Adverse listings are the single largest negative factor in South African credit-scoring models. Remove one and the score model recalculates without it.
Score updates on the next cycle
Bureaus recalculate monthly. Once a listing is removed, the improved credit score usually shows within one reporting cycle — not years.
Lower risk band, better rates
Moving out of the high-risk band changes what lenders offer you: approvals go up, deposits and interest rates come down.
The free assessment tells you which of your accounts qualify for removal — and what that is likely to mean for your credit score.
Free · No bureau check · 60 seconds
The Honest Truth
Old Debt Doesn't Live Forever — But Most People Are Never Told When It's Already Dead.
Section 11(d) of the Prescription Act, 68 of 1969, is one of the most powerful — and least understood — pieces of consumer law in South Africa. Most unsecured debts prescribe (legally die) after three years if the creditor has not taken correct legal steps. Yet thousands of prescribed debts are still listed on bureaus, quietly suppressing credit scores every month.
- An old store account from years ago is still sitting on your bureau, dragging your credit score down and killing every application you make.
- A personal loan you stopped paying long ago suddenly reappears — a new collector says you owe double what you originally borrowed.
- Cellphone contracts and gym memberships from a previous chapter of your life are still listed against your name.
- You have been told for years that the only way to fix your credit score is to 'pay it off' — when the law has actually already extinguished the debt.
If a debt has prescribed, it is gone — the listing can be challenged, removed, and your credit score recalculated without it.
How It Works
Five Steps From Old Listings To A Cleaner Profile And A Higher Score.
- 01
Free 60-Second Assessment
Tell us roughly how old your accounts are and what kind of debts they were. You'll get an instant indication of whether any are likely to have prescribed.
- 02
Full Credit Profile & Score Audit
We pull your credit report, note your current credit score, and check every listed account against the three-year prescription rule, acknowledgement records and required collector documentation.
- 03
Formal Challenge Lodged
For every account that fails the legal tests, a written challenge goes to the credit bureau and the alleged creditor demanding proof of an enforceable debt.
- 04
Listings Removed From Bureau
If the creditor cannot lawfully prove the debt is still alive, the bureau is obliged to remove the listing — usually within 20 business days.
- 05
Score Recalculated, Progress Tracked
Once the listings are off, your credit score is recalculated on the next reporting cycle. We check the updated score with you and confirm in writing what came off and why.
Free · No obligation · Takes 60 seconds
You Are In The Right Place If…
Four Signs Your Old Accounts Are Likely To Qualify.
Accounts older than 3 years
Section 11(d) of the Prescription Act extinguishes most unsecured debts (credit cards, store cards, personal loans, cellphone contracts, gym fees) three years after they last became due — unless the creditor took proper legal steps. Age is the single biggest qualifier.
A credit score stuck by old listings
A single prescribed account can hold your credit score in the high-risk band and stop a home loan, vehicle finance or even a phone contract. Removing it lifts that block without you paying a cent of the alleged amount.
Chased for a debt you barely remember
When a collection agency buys old debt in bulk, they often have no proof the debt is still legally enforceable. A formal Prescription Act challenge forces them to either prove it or leave you alone.
No written acknowledgement in 3 years
Prescription is interrupted by a written acknowledgement of debt or by formal legal action. If neither happened in the last three years, the debt almost certainly qualifies to be removed.
About DCSA Credit Clear
A Specialist Practice Built On One Idea: Prove The Debt Or Remove It.
DCSA Credit Clear was founded around a simple observation: most South Africans being chased for "old" accounts no longer legally owe them — and their credit scores are paying the price.
Every file starts with a detailed credit-profile and score audit. Every listed account is checked against the three-year prescription period, acknowledgement-of-debt records, and the documentation a creditor must lawfully produce on demand.
When an account fails those tests, a formal challenge is lodged. If the creditor cannot prove the debt is still enforceable, the listing comes off — your score is recalculated without it, and the collection calls stop.
Verified Reviews
Real South Africans Whose Listings Came Off — And Whose Scores Went Up.
"I had three store accounts and a personal loan from 2017 still sitting on my bureau, all over R80,000 combined. Every one of them was prescribed. DCSA Credit Clear had them removed inside a month — my credit score moved up and I bought my first car on finance two months later."
"A collection agency had been phoning me for six years about an old African Bank loan. One letter from DCSA Credit Clear and the calls stopped, the listing came off the bureau, and my score recovered on the next update."
"My husband and I both had old retail accounts from before we were married. Five accounts between us — all gone, both our credit scores up. Our home-loan application went through the second time we applied."
"I phoned two other companies first. They both wanted me to 'settle' an account that the law had already extinguished. DCSA Credit Clear was the first to actually check the prescription dates before quoting me anything."
"Seven old listings. Two cellphone contracts, a gym membership, three store cards and a Wesbank account from 2015. Every single one removed within 23 days. I cried when I saw my clean report and my new score."
"I thought I'd be stuck with a 2014 personal loan on my name forever. Turns out it had prescribed years ago and nobody had ever told me. Removed in three weeks, credit score up in four."
"I had stopped opening collection letters years ago. DCSA Credit Clear audited every listing on my profile and identified four that no longer legally existed. All four came off and my score climbed out of the red band."
"Professional, straightforward and they did exactly what they promised. My credit score jumped 138 points after the old accounts were removed."
"Truworths, Edgars, Mr Price and an old Capitec loan — all from 2016 and 2017, all prescribed, all removed. I never had to pay a cent of those amounts and my score finally moved."
Why DCSA Credit Clear
DCSA Credit Clear vs. Paying The Collector vs. Doing Nothing.
| What matters | DCSA Credit Clear | Debt review | Doing nothing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free upfront assessment | Yes — before any commitment | Charged consultation fee | No assessment |
| Prescription check on every listing | Done on day one | Rarely performed | Never done |
| Monthly repayments required | None — old debt is removed, not paid | Yes — restructured monthly plan | Yes — paying debt you may not owe |
| Effect on credit score | Adverse listings removed, score recovers | Flagged under debt review for years | Score stays suppressed |
| Process length | Most listings removed in 3 weeks | 36–60 months | Indefinite |
| Collector calls on cleared accounts | Stop once listing is removed | Routed via counsellor for years | Continue indefinitely |
Free · No obligation · Takes 60 seconds
Every Conversation With A Collector Can Reset The Clock On Your Debt.
- A written acknowledgement — even a small payment or a signed arrangement — interrupts prescription and restarts the three-year clock.
- Collection agencies are trained to extract that acknowledgement before mentioning a settlement amount.
- Once prescription restarts, the debt is enforceable again — and a fresh listing can knock your credit score down further.
- Acting before you sign or pay anything is the difference between removing an old debt and reviving it.
Our Guarantee
Three Commitments Before You Commit To Anything.
Audit first, action second.
No challenge is lodged without first auditing every listed account against the Prescription Act and Credit Bureau Code.
One specialist, named, end to end.
From assessment to score update, you deal with one specialist — not a rotating call centre.
An honest answer, even if it is no.
If removal isn't the right tool for lifting your credit score, we'll say so up front.
Free · No obligation · Takes 60 seconds
FAQ
Questions People Ask Before They Start.
Most of them are about the credit score. Fair enough — that's the part that changes your life.
Find Out What Your Credit Score Could Be Without Those Listings.
One free 60-second assessment. No documents. No bureau check. No obligation to proceed.
Free · No obligation · Takes 60 seconds