A collective debt settlement is a system to assist people with large structural debts in repaying them, while at the same time continuing to guarantee them a dignified existence. If a debtor’s application is approved, a certified debt mediator will manage his or her income for up to seven years, a repayment plan will be drawn up, there will be protection from creditors, and the debtor will receive a living wage to continue paying basic utilities.
This concerns almost 50,000 people in our country who cannot pay off their debts themselves
The entire procedure involves enormous administration and correspondence. Or rather, brought, because JustRestart keeps that mountain of paper to a minimum. Debtors can request a collective debt settlement on the platform and monitor their file. Creditors can report outstanding debts and also monitor all their files. Debt mediators and clerks can work in a completely different part of the application.
“Collective debt settlement is one of the most administratively burdensome types of files,” says Minister of Justice Paul Van Tigchelt (Open Vld). “By removing the administrative burden, debt mediators and judicial officers can free up more time to better guide debtors and creditors. Everything also becomes faster and more user-friendly, and of course less paper-consuming. This concerns almost 50,000 people in our country who cannot pay off their debts themselves.”
In terms of paper and postage costs alone, JustRestart should mean an annual saving of around four million euros, the Ministry of Justice says.