Here are three reasons why your PDA and creditor statements may differ in their balances:
- Balances are Estimates: Balances on statements that the debt counsellor issues, which he/she gets from the Payments Distribution Agency (PDA), are estimates. First and foremost, the account information that the debt counsellor captures on the PDA's system has to be correct. Otherwise, the balances would differ.
- Different Processing Times: the balances differ because payments are processed by the PDA and the credit providers at different times. Credit providers apply payments to your account a few days after payments are made from the PDA and this affects the interest calculated on the account resulting in differences in the outstanding balance. The debt counsellor has to call the credit provider to get the latest balances and update the system balances regularly. You can have up to three months of payment differences; this is normal.
- Unknown Charges: It is possible that the credit providers may also be adding charges that the PDA is not aware of and may need to be manually added or removed. Therefore, the balances on PDA statements should be taken as estimates.
In terms of debt review regulations, it should be noted that the debt counsellor does not pay the credit providers directly, neither is he/she allowed to receive any money directly from the consumer. The debt counsellor uses a PDA (e.g Hyphen, DC Partner) and instructs the PDA which credit provider to pay and how much. The PDA statement shows how this distribution between the various stakeholders was done.
If you want to know the balances on your accounts under debt review, please feel free to contact our experts. Our consultants will contact your credit providers on your behalf.