As a newby I am enjoying reading all the articles on the topic of Debt Counselling, and am finding some sort of comfort. My husband was retrenched almost 4 years ago (and still unemployed), we had to dig into our savings account in order to pay the bills, but after a year of using our savings it finally ran out and our back-up plan was gone. Our only other option was DC. So here we are just over 3 years on, and still no "order of the court" received. It is both humiliating and embarassing to find yourself at this point in your life where you should have some sort of financial freedom but instead have to resort to being on DC. We never defaulted on any of our financial obligations, we have always paid our dues on time and were considered low risk lenders.

Although the DC company we are using are reasonable, I just find that the whole emotion of being on DC gets to you eventually! I was wondering if there are support groups out there where experiences can be shared? I am hoping that this forum will provide some comfort on this, as I am quite impressed by the positive responses from those who posted replies to folk in the same situation.

I can tell you that being on DC affects your work performance, it affects your emotional stability, your relationships, your whole being. You stress everytime someone parks outside your house, or when the doorbell rings, and when you received "blocked" calls on your cell phone in the office. It is all definately extremely stressfull. Added to this you have "love letters" (better known as summonses) thrown into your driveway awaiting your return home. When I drive up my street in the evenings I get nervous if I see other cars or vehicles parked nearby..... all this and we still have to be mindful of crime!!

On the practical side, I am thankful that we have the DC process. From this experience I have learnt a lot. I have made a vow to never ever again possess a credit card with credit facilities (if you cant pay cash, you simply cannot affort it). I will never ever again want a store card or apply for a loan of any sort. In 5 years time I will be completely debt free (including the bond), and the money I would have been paying for debt will go straight back into a savings / investment account. Our outlook and lifestyle has already changed; it has become more simple, less complicated and hopefully soon way less stressful. Our court date is scheduled for 20th February - lets hope that it will not be postponed again!