Nu Debt Management is a legitimate, registered debt collection company in South Africa.
They are not a “scam” in the sense of being a fake business, but like many large debt collection agencies, they have a reputation for aggressive tactics that can lead people to question their legitimacy.
Here is the breakdown of why they are considered legitimate and how to handle them:
Proof of Legitimacy
Registration: Nu Debt is a registered member of the Council for Debt Collectors (CFDC), which is the statutory body regulating the industry in South Africa.
SARS Partnership: They are one of the external third-party debt collectors officially appointed by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to collect outstanding tax debt.
Affiliations: They are also typically affiliated with the Association of Debt Recovery Agents (ADRA)
Why People Often Think They are a Scam Many consumers report negative experiences with Nu Debt on platforms like HelloPeter and Reddit for the following reasons:
Aggressive Communication: They use automated “robocalls,” frequent SMS messages, and emails that can feel like harassment.
Old or Error-Ridden Debt: They often buy “debt books” from retailers or service providers. Sometimes these books contain outdated information, leading them to pursue people for debts that were already settled or are prescribed (older than 3 years).
Scare Tactics: Their messages often mention “legal action” or “blacklisting,” which are standard collection tactics but can be very intimidating.
How to Protect Yourself If Nu Debt is contacting you, do not ignore them entirely, but do not pay immediately without verification:
Request a Statement of Account: Legally, you have the right to see a detailed breakdown of the debt, including the original creditor and how interest/fees were calculated.
Check for Prescription: In South Africa, most consumer debt “prescribes” (expires) after 3 years if you haven’t acknowledged it or made a payment. If the debt is older than 3 years, they cannot legally force you to pay it.
Verify with the Council: You can verify their current registration status directly on the Council for Debt Collectors website.
Don’t click SMS links: If you receive an SMS with a link to pay, it is safer to go directly to their official website or call their verified office number to confirm the details. Are you being contacted about a specific bill, or did you receive a suspicious SMS? I can help you figure out the next steps if you have more details.
Cloud computing is more expensive than initially anticipated, adding more to the bottom line than expected. The US dollar and fluctuating exchange rates exacerbate this, especially in certain regions.
Security Concerns
Cloud environments introduce security risks that are causing some companies to reconsider their cloud strategies.
Underperformance of Cloud Services
Cloud services aren’t always performing to expectations, leading to dissatisfaction and a reevaluation of on-premises solutions.
Lack of Cost-Effective Workloads
Not all workloads are more cost-effective in the cloud; some companies find on-premises solutions to be more efficient for specific tasks.
Inadequate Strategy and Planning
Companies are returning to on-prem due to a lack of proper planning and strategy in their initial cloud adoption. Without a clearly defined strategy outlining workload demands, costs, efficiencies, and use cases, organizations risk incurring unexpected expenses and operational inefficiencies.
Unmet Expectations
Amorphous promises about cost savings and unfulfilled expectations are contributing factors to companies reconsidering their cloud investments.
MICROSOFT OFFICE PROFESSIONAL PLUS 2019 FOR WINDOWS
Microsoft Office 2019 Professional Plus includes classic 2019 versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access, Publisher, Skype for Business.
Office 2019 professional plus is a powerful tool that serves us as end-users almost on a daily basis. For work, as a student, for notes and for emailing. Office 2019 pro plus provides new design and new features that will make our life even easier!
Even though it is completely legit, this key is NOT officially sourced from Microsoft. Therefore you cannot expect product support from Microsoft. Buyers are expected to understand this. Buy at your own risk. No refunds.
MICROSOFT OFFICE PROFESSIONAL PLUS 2019 FOR WINDOWS
Take your writing to the next level with Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word, a word processor is a perfect tool for bloggers, writers, students or journalists working on professional documents. Use custom templates and added features to take your writing that one step further.
Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program. Create professional spreadsheets for financial reports using custom-built templates or create your own using modern formulas and calculations.
Create, neat presentations with Microsoft PowerPoint to make you stand out from the rest. Use animations and pre-made templates to improve your presentations. Perfect for students and business owners.
Microsoft Publisher, whilst similar to Word is a basic level publishing tool designed to create books, flyers or a variety of promotional documents.
Outlook is Microsoft’s easy to use email service. The desktop application offers more in-depth features than the online outlook service. The perfect tool for all your email needs.
Access is a database management software. If you need to build and create a database or web app to work more efficiently then this is for you. With pre-built templates create web apps that work through the browser or databases with no coding required.
Even though it is completely legit, this key is NOT officially sourced from Microsoft. Therefore you cannot expect product support from Microsoft. Buyers are expected to understand this. Buy at your own risk. No refunds.
POPI ACT – REGISTRATION OF DENTISTS AS INFORMATION OFFICERS AND WHAT ARE THE DUTIES OF INFORMATION OFFICERS
All Dentists are reminded that the provisions of The Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) will come into force on 1 July 2021.
SADA Members are referred to many previous bulletins explaining the provisions of the POPIA. In this bulletin, we are informing members to register as Information Officers with the Information Regulator. The Information Regulator has opened up the online registration process for Information Officers.
The Information Officer in respect of a private body like dental practices “means the head of a private body as contemplated in section 1 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act. This would be the owner of the dental practice.
In the case of a solo practitioner, it would be the practitioner carrying on that practice. In the case of a partnership, it would be any authorized by the partnership, or in the case of an incorporated company it would be CEO or Managing Director or equivalent.
What are the duties of the Information Officer?
They would encourage compliance by the practice with the conditions of lawful processing of personal information. For example, the practitioner owner may develop a policy on how employees in the practice should implement the 8-processing condition of personal information.
The Information Officer is also responsible for dealing with requests made to the practice. For example, an Information Officer will be expected to render such reasonable assistance, free of charge, as is necessary to enable the requester or data subject to comply with the prescribed process for submitting a request in terms of section 18 of PAIA and section 24 of POPIA
If the requester or data subject’s request does not comply with the requirements of PAIA or POPIA, the Information Officer concerned may not refuse the request because of that non-compliance, unless the Information Officer has-
notified the data subject or requester of his/her intention to refuse the request and stated in the notice, the reasons for the contemplated refusal, as well as his/her availability to assist that requester or data subject to remove the grounds for refusal;
given the requester or data subject a reasonable opportunity to seek such assistance;
as far as reasonably possible, furnished the requester or data subject with any information that would assist the making of the request in the prescribed form; and
given the requester a reasonable opportunity to confirm the requestor alter it to comply with section 18 of PAIA or 24 of POPIA.
The Information Officer must also work with the working with the Regulator in relation to investigations conducted pursuant to Chapter 6 of POPIA in relation to the body. For example
The practitioner as the responsible party must obtain prior authorization from the Regulator pertaining to the following
a) processing of any unique identifiers of data subjects
i for a purpose other than the one for which the identifier was specifically intended at the collection; and
ii. with the aim of linking the information together with information processed by other responsible parties;
b) processing of information on criminal behaviour or on unlawful or objectionable conduct on behalf of third parties;
c) processing of information for the purposes of credit reporting; and
d) transfer of special personal information or the personal information of children to the third party in a foreign country that does not provide an adequate level of protection for the processing of personal information.
Until authorization by Regulator, the practitioner may not carry out information processing and will have to be suspended.
Some additional duties and responsibilities of the Information Officers, to compile, implement and monitor compliance framework, impact assessment is done to ensure adequate measures and standards are in place, develop a manual as provided for in s 14 and 51 of the PAIAct, systems to process information or access, hold internal awareness sessions.
The Regulator may, annually, request an Information Officer of a private body, in terms of section 83 (4) of PAIA, to furnish to the Regulator with information about requests for access to records of that body.
In the case of health records, if the Information Officer is of the opinion that the disclosure of the record to the relevant person would be likely to cause serious harm to their physical or mental health, or well-being, the Information Officer may only give access to the record if the requester proves to the satisfaction of the information officer that adequate provision is made for such counseling or arrangements as are reasonably practicable before, during or after the disclosure of the record to limit, alleviate or avoid such harm to the relevant person.
Registration of Information Officers with the Regulator is not only the prerequisite for an Information Officer to take up their duties in terms of POPIA, but is compulsory.
Deputy Information Officers
The Act also allows for the appointment of a Deputy Information Officer. Only employee(s) of a body can be designated as a Deputy Information Officer.
The appointment of one or more Deputy Information Officer/s will depend on the structure and size of such bodies.
REGISTRATION OF PRACTITIONERS AS INFORMATION OFFICERS
The Information Regulator website has opened the online registration of Information Regulator.
As stated above in the case of dental practices, the information officer would be the practitioner owner.
The website of the Information Regulator (South Africa) can be accessed at https://www.justice.gov.za/inforeg/portal.html. If necessary, click on the recent notice of 17 May 2021 appearing on the opening page as copied below and follow the link to open the Online Registration Form
The Information Regulator’s contact details are Email: inforeg@justice.gov.za and attach the eForm for those members struggling with online registration.
