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 …

The Department of Trade and Industry has published a draft set of regulations to govern aspects of the debt re-arrangement application to court by both debt counsellors and debtors themselves, as well as applications to court for an order declaring credit agreements reckless agreement in terms of Section 86(7)(c).
A copy of the draft regulations is downloadable at polity.org.za , amongst other and submissions on the draft have to reach the DTI on or before the 25th February 2010.

Previously we had commented on the in duplum rule and its connection to the NCA and also reported on the judgment of Judge du Plessis on the declaratory order brought by the National Credit Regulator which dealt with procedural and other legal issues relating to the debt rearrangement process, but also dealt with the issue of the so-called statutory “in duplum” in terms of Section 103(5) of the National Credit Act.
Now Maureen Marud, a Consumer Editor at Independent Newspapers, reports on IOL that:
“Two of the four major banks are challenging …

Section 127 of the National Credit Act gives the consumer an extraordinary right, namely to rid themselves of their credit agreement when goods are involved, by unilaterally deciding to return the goods to the credit provider so that they can be sold by the credit provider in order for the agreement amount to be settled.
This right and procedure relates only to instalment agreements, secured loans and leases as defined in the NCA.

The long-awaited High Court declaratory Order sought by the National Credit Regulator, attempting to resolve numerous problems arising from the vagueness of the National Credit Act, particularly relating to the process of debt counselling applications and debt relief, was handed down on 21st August 2009.
A copy of the judgment can be found at the Southern African Legal Information Institute website.
The Court granted 11 Orders regarding the interpretation of the National Credit Act, 10 relating to over indebtedness and debt review practical procedures and one relating to the charging of interest …

Sanchia Temkin in Business Report:
“New company laws dealing with schemes of compromise could create further inroads into the rights of creditors.
Companies no longer have to apply to the high court before a compromise is proposed to creditors. The new law is an attempt by the legislature to bring business rescue and compromises closer to US and UK bankruptcy law with “pre-packaged” arrangements, said company lawyers.
Under the new Companies Act the board or liquidator of a company will merely have to propose the arrangement by delivering a copy of the proposal …

The Consumer Protection Bill has become the Consumer Protection Act. The Department of Trade and Industry has released a press statement:
“President Kgalema Motlanthe has signed into law the Consumer Protection Bill. The primary purpose of the new Act is to prevent exploitation or harm on consumers and to promote the social well being of consumers. The Act seeks to create and promote an economic environment that supports and strengthens a culture of consumer rights and responsibilities, whilst through the measures adopted therein; it seeks to promote fair, efficient and transparent …

With effect from the beginning of March 2009, the names of the High Courts in South Africa. The High Courts (previously Supreme Courts) are the courts in which generally matters exceeding the magistrates court jurisdictional limit of R 100 000.00, are sued out of. In addition the High courts have jurisdiction over certain other matters, such as sequestrations, which the magistrates court do not have jurisdiction over.
For businesses that use commercial agreements that refer to a specific High court they will now have to describe the court in which the …