There is a report on News24 that magistrates are to be trained in “debt counselling on Sunday as part of efforts to clear up bottlenecks in the debt review system, the National Credit Regulator (NCR).”
The report goes on to quote Paul Slot, Octogen director and debt counsellor and member of the Debt Review Task Team, saying:
“….a methodology and standard is needed to guide the process. He cited the necessity for a rapport based on trust between parties involved in the debt review as crucial. ‘We need a methodology where the credit …

David Carte reports on Moneyweb :
“Banks and credit providers have R30bn of money owed to them by 180 000 debtors frozen under debt counseling arrangements under the National Credit Act.
The number of people under debt counseling rises by 7 500 a month, says outgoing National Credit Regulator CEO Gabriel Davel.
The positive angle is that banks and credit providers are receiving R180m a month or R2.2bn a year from these debtors under debt review.
Once a debt counselor is appointed in terms of the National Credit Act, the banks cannot move against …

In the  the previous article on the report by the Debt Review Task Team, the National Credit Regulator, Mr Davel commented that, “We also found many cases where debt counsellors promote the debt review process as a payment holiday, with no realistic intention of effective rehabilitation”.
This is a sentiment that has been experienced by the writer and seen in a recent matter our law firm dealt with where the Debt Counsellor set down the application of debt rearrangment for the 22 November 2010. We check with the clerk of the court in …

We previously reported on the appointment and interim report of the Debt Review Task Team appointed by the National Credit Regulator.
The Task Team has now released a report which has been commented on firstly by the Business Report we it was written that:
“The National Credit Regulator’s Debt Review Task Team admitted on Tuesday it has had heated debates with big banks around the final resolution to delays in the debt review process.
Johan de Ridder, a banker and member of the task team, says the big tussle within the banks is …

We previously reported on the uncertainty and problems created by the National Credit Act “in duplum” ruling in the NCR declaratory order granted by Judge Du Plessis on the 21st August 2009 in the North Gauteng High Court.
The major banks involved in the application shortly thereafter indicated their intention to appeal this aspect of the judgment, which seemed to drastically curtail the rights of credit providers to charge interest on defaulting debt. Now eventually the slow wheels of justice have begun turning on this issue when Judge Du Plessis on the …

The most recent significant case impacting on the National Credit Act is the currently unreported decision in the case of African Bank Limited v Additional Magistrate Myambo NO and Others (34793/2008) [2010] ZAGPPHC 60 (9 July 2010), in which Judge Du Plessis gave another declaratory judgment on various provisions of the NCA, this time in regard to the application of Section 58 of the Magistrates Court.
Section 58 is a provision of the Magistrates Court Act which allows a debtor who has received either a summons or an appropriate letter of …

In a previous article we looked at the various different forms of security that a  commercial creditor providing credit to legal entities with limited liability can use to secure their debt. To view the article click here.
One of the more common forms of security used by commercial creditors is the cession of book debts.

A cession is the act by which a person/entity (known as the cedent) transfers their personal right to another (known as the cessionary). By signing a cession of book debts a debtor therefore agrees to transfer to …

The National Credit Regulator responded  to the drafting debacle of the National Credit Act, in particular in relation to its debt counselling provisions, by firstly bringing the High Court application for declaratory order. Subsequent to the order being made the National Credit Regulator has been proactive in December 2009 appointing a Debt Counselling Task Team headed up by former advocate and banking ombudsman and consisting of players from both sides of the fence in Peter Setou, Paul Slot,  Johan de Ridder and Rob Easton-Berry.
The mandate of the task team was to:
• Identify the primary causes for the current …

We have in previous articles pointed out the importance of a suretyship as security to a creditor, given that with the limited liability of companies and close corporations creditors can often find themselves in an undesirable position when it comes to debt recovery.
To recap, a ‘suretyship’ is an accessory contract whereby a person (know as the surety) undertakes to the creditor to perform the principal debtors obligation should the principal debtor fail to perform. In most instances the person signing on behalf of the close corporation or company can be …

We have in previous articles pointed out the importance of a suretyship as security to a creditor, given that with the limited liability of companies and close corporations creditors can often find themselves in an undesirable position when it comes to debt recovery.
To recap, a ‘suretyship’ is an accessory contract whereby a person (know as the surety) undertakes to the creditor to perform the principal debtors obligation should the principal debtor fail to perform. In most instances the person signing on behalf of the close corporation or company can be …