Can a Creditor Sell the Home of a Debtor to Recover Outstanding Debt?

Most South Africans today, are overburdened and overwhelmed with debt and are struggling to repay creditors. According to recent statistics, a third of people in South Africa with credit are struggling to repay their debts. This means, there are approximately 10 million people who are three months or more behind on debt repayments. This article […]

Do I still need to pay my debt after all this time?

What is prescription? As a general rule, prescription occurs when a debtor’s liability to pay a specific debt is extinguished as a result of the passing of a prescribed time period. As soon as a debt prescribes, a debtor is no longer under any obligation to pay it. It is still legal for the creditor to demand payment or even sue for a […]

Understanding the debt review process

In these difficult economic circumstances, you may find yourself in a position where you are unable to pay your debt. The National Credit Act makes provision for debt management in the form of debt review by making an application to the court to restructure the payment schemes of all your creditors. It may be a […]

AM I STILL LIABLE FOR MY SPOUSE’S DEBT AFTER DIVORCE?

A husband and wife buy a house together. Their marriage takes a tumble, along with their ­finances, and they have to sell their home and are left with an outstanding mortgage bond. They subsequently got divorced. The couple is concerned about what will happen to the debts and who will be ­responsible for paying them. […]

DO DEBTS LAST FOREVER?

Prescription was introduced as means of protecting South African consumers from dishonest credit providers, who are responsible for recklessly lending credit and have contributed to the detrimental debt crisis many South Africans face today. What does prescription mean? The Prescription Act 68 of 1969 (PA) says that a debt (payment of money) is extinguished/expired after […]

STANDARD ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OF DEBT AND THE NATIONAL CREDIT ACT (NCA)

The new NCA does not only regulate instalment sale agreements and lease agreements in respect of movables as was done by its predecessor, the repealed Credit Agreements Act 75 of 1980. The NCA also applies to a much wider variety of credit agreements and has no monetary cap. Instead of instituting legal action a creditor […]