Consumer Protection in South Africa
Debt Review under the National Credit Act, Act has become extremely contentious for numerous reasons.
Since 2006 the credit industry has been dominated by the National Credit Regulator NCR, the courts an numerous commentators have criticised the way the drafters wrote and put the Act together, leaving many issues up in the air.
There have been numerous interventions by the NCR to correct and clarify, but unfortunately the end result has been a disappointment. Not least of all the consumers who the act was designed to assist.
The NCA act is one of two consumer protection act introduced under the 1994. Consumers have been left out in the cold for many years as vulnerable economic partners who remain vulnerable to arbitrary treatment from credit providers, especially the commercial banks.
At the heart of the Act is the requirement for detailed AFFORDABILITY ASSESSMENT, where the assessment process provides protection for both credit providers and the underdog consumer.
Mitigation of risk is a guiding principal which credit providers must adhere to and apply consistently when offering credit. The requirements as set out in the NCA is based on these common law principals.
The Act prescribes that the credit providers must adopt protocols and procedures to assess and ensure that the consumer is not one indebted in any way.
Section 81 NCA has three provisions which will be used by any person tasked to determine reckless lending
The first question is whether a affordability assessment was done.
The first issue which was created by the NCR at the time of implementing the Act in 2005 was the use of advisors. These so-called advisors can be identified as individuals who exercised undue influence over the first CEO Appointed at the NCR, by the government.
By 2009 the NCR realized that there is a need to interpret the Act and Regulations. Unfortunately, the CEO at the time did not have sufficient legal and other knowledge to deal with a complex set of new industry regulations in an industry dominated by the major commercial banks and other money lenders who could exert power and other instruments of cohesion over a weak personality.
The NCA became clouded with contentious interventions, including a TASK TEAM, report which actually was deemed to be part of the Act and Regulations. The industry and courts lost perspective and lost sight of the fact that the RULE OF LAW, remained in force even under a CONSTITUTIONAL DISPENSATION
The NCR decided apply for a so-called declaration from the High Court in 2009/10. The Pretoria High Court decided incorrectly to hear the application and grant relief by answering a list of predetermined questions from the NCR and argued by respondents, such as the banks and DTi.
The manor fault with the declaration of rights was that CONSUMERS were not represented and we must state that the High Court made a decision outside of their jurisdiction because the entities in who's favour the law was to operate was not represented.
The matters should have been referred back to the legislator in the form of a amendment.
Amendments to the NCA and the Regulations has been considered on a number of occasions and we have also noted that even this has failed to correct.
George Smith has been a distractor for many years and reprimanded the NCR CEO and his cronies plus the powerful banking lobby not to continue tampering with the NCA.
In recent cases in general, including Zuma -cases the Constitutional Court warned and restated the the RULE OF LAW applies in South Africa and must be the guiding principals.
The Rule of Law has it's origin in the Common Law and is not a set of rules discovered in text books. The common law remains in place under the Constitutional Law until specifically recalled by a new law.
The basic principal stated is that every person, court or government agency is subject to the written laws and common law principals not recalled in a Act of Parliament. The courts are also bound by the rules and one of the most interesting common law principals indicate that even the judge's may not legislate from the bench and attempt to change basic rules.
The courts when deciding certain issues may only suspend a principal at law until the parliament has decoded and amended the issue. The set rules must be adhered to for change no matter how slow and labourious the process is. The parliament is sovereign and expresses the wishes of the people.
The NCA has created the opportunity for masses of litigation in all the courts and the Tribunal. The cases are in the region of 1800 in the High Court alone. Billions of Rands have been lost by consumers.
In a nutshell the Rule of Law started id that is the Act, Regulations or Ministerial Proclomations do not refer to the matter it stands as in the Act until amended and proclaimed.
In cases where consumers have been wronged these cases must be reviewed if the Act was not followed strictly
Subjects will be discussed in detail and the WRING DONE TO CONSUMERS WILL BE CORRECTED
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Your credit record is used for many purposes including granting of credit, employment applications and insurance premium determination.
Whatsapp0726237118 message CLEAR
Your good credit record is worth Gold to you and keeping it clear and reflecting a good standing is critical for surviving economically in the 21st CENTURY
ALL THE CREDIT BUREAUX AGENCIES MUST BE REGISTERED WITH THE National Credit Regulator NCR, all the credit providers must report to the credit bureau through established data links.
The credit provider may not grant any credit if your record indicates adverse entries.
BEFORE APPLYING FOR CREDIT ENSURE THAT YOUR RECORD IS IN GOOD STANDING. You are entitled to one free credit report once a year which is used to detect errors and commission on your record.
The NCA ACT provides that only legal practitioners may intervene to clear bad records
The following entries may be challenged and removed:
1. PRESCRIBED DEBT
2. RESCINDED COURT ORDERS
3. INCORRECT ENTRIES
4. BLACK LISTINGS
5. DEBT REVIEW MARKERS
6. INSOLVENCY AND REHABILITATION ORDERS
Each of the listed adverse entries requires different legal interventions and steps to be taken to clear your record as soon as possible or to obtain relief from a court to re
GSA Attorneys are legal experts and highly experienced in removing adverse records in 2006 when the NCA became effective. We understand and know how to improve your credit score.
Our fee is R3000 for a comprehensive assessment and recommendations on clearance and we will clear all the adverse records which qualify Whatsapp0726237118 message CLEAR
We require you to draw a FREE CREDIT REPORT FROM www.TransUnion.co.za/free
The R3000 fee must be deposited to our Attorney Trust account and in most cases, the adjustments will show within 7 days. The trust account information is below certified by ABSA BANK
Absa account number 4092318647
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Absa Bank Limited Reg No 1986/004794/06 Absa 5187 EX (Non-Individual) (17/09/2019) Authorised Financial Services Provider Registered Credit Provider Reg No NCRCP7
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The NCA Act has been highly criticised by the courts, practitioners and credit industry sources. The main complaint may be that the drafters failed to appreciate that South Africa has a well-developed debt collecting industry and that many practices are well established and should not be tampered with unnecessarily
The need for consumer protection is overdue, and in 2003, formal investigations commenced to assess the credit industry and specifically the common law and legal Act, which found application before 2005 whether NCA Act was promulgated
The first two years were spent implementing structures and making appointments of key industry players, including registration of credit providers, debt counsellors and credit bureaux
GSA Attorneys will be commenting on the NCA Act as expert attorneys and associates where the basis of our comment will always be based on the most fundamental legal principle --- THE RULE OF LAW
The RULE OF LAW STATED is that we are bound by the Constitution and the Acts of parliament
GSA ATTORNEYS
The golden rule is if it is not in the Act, Regulations or ministerial proclamations. A court may interpret the law with jurisdictional power.
Any other interpretations may be ignored or used with the greatest caution and could only create confusion in the specific industry, in this instance, the Credit Industry
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