The original version of Brett Bentley cover article appearing in the March 2013 De Rebus, the official SA Attorneys journal.
 
Background
The term “garnishee order” is commonly but mistakenly applied to an emoluments attachment order (“EAO”).
An EAO is granted in terms of Section 65J of the Magistrates’ Courts Act (“MCA”), ordering an employer (referred to as a garnishee, hence the confusion) to make deductions from a debtor’s salary or wages and pay this across to the creditor or it’s attorneys. A Garnishee order is in terms of Section 72 of the MCA, and …

With the continuing effects of the economic downturn being felt by businesses, the importance of good credit management has been magnified and all companies credit management policies need to be reviewed and upgraded in order to avoid your company becoming a statistic of the poor economy. In addition credit management is also being impacted by the new legislation such as the National Credit Act, the Consumer Protection Act and the new Companies Act.
This is a half day seminar in Midrand on the 22nd of February 2013 aimed at commercial creditors (businesses who …

 
Bentley Credit Control this month launched a new office in Centurion, Gauteng to better service its existing and prospective clients in South Africa’s commercial heartland, Gauteng.
2012 is the year in which Bentley Credit Control continues its growth and development, with the new office in Centurion being one of many new and exciting developments for the company.
Brett Bentley, CEO of Bentley Credit Control, said:
“The growth of existing business in Gauteng, coupled with our goals for improved operational performance and new opportunities in the region, has resulted in our new premises in …

Just when creditors had thought that the issue of how to send S 129(1)(a) notices to debtors in terms of the National Credit Act had been resolved (Clarity on Sending of NCA S129 Notices), the Constitutional Court has now added to the obligations in sending these notices, in the judgment handed down today in the case of Sebola and Another v Standard Bank of South Africa and Another CCT98/11.
S 129(a)(a) Notices are meant (what purpose they actually serve is material for another article) to in the words of Wallis J (as he …

Emoluments attachment orders, commonly referred to as garnishee orders, are governed by Section 65J of Magistrates Court Act 32 of 1944.
The provisions of Section 65J define an emoluments attachment order as – an order issued by the court which entitles a judgment creditor to attach the emoluments which are at present or in future owing to the judgment debtor by the garnishee (the employer).
 
What this essentially means is that the employee is in effect replaced by his employer who now becomes obliged to pay to the judgment creditor a determined …

Marc Ashton on Fin24.com reports  :
“Rapid expansion is coming at a cost for the affordable banker Capitec Bank Holdings which on Wednesday posted a substantial rise in interim headline earnings, but also saw impairments balloon.
Reporting results for the six months end-August, the R12.45bn group reported a 58% rise in headline earnings per share to 340c, and a return on equity of 34%. Income from banking operations was up 46% to R1.7bn
Impairments, effectively bad debts written off by the bank, and the cost of expansion were higher in the period as the group …

The issue of how far an estate agent or sectional managing agent could go in the collection of outstanding rentals and section title levies has been a vexed question.
Thuli Zungu in the Sowetan reports on the decision that was made by the Council for Debt Collectors on the issue:
“….Bernard Irvine won a case involving people who stay in sectional title apartments and who were subjected to exorbitant charges for letters and telephone calls reminding them (occupants) to pay their debt arrears.
In a landmark ruling on June 6 last month a …

The issue of how far an estate agent or sectional managing agent could go in the collection of outstanding rentals and section title levies has been a vexed question.
Thuli Zungu in the Sowetan reports on the decision that was made by the Council for Debt Collectors on the issue:
“….Bernard Irvine won a case involving people who stay in sectional title apartments and who were subjected to exorbitant charges for letters and telephone calls reminding them (occupants) to pay their debt arrears.
In a landmark ruling on June 6 last month a …

A number of debt collectors are still advising clients that they, the debt collectors, can recover the entire collection commission and debt collection costs from the client’s debtors – this is, simply put, illegal.
Prior to the enactment of the Debt Collectors Act, the only persons or companies able to legally collect the costs of debt recovery from debtors were attorneys. However with the enactment of the Debt Collectors Act in 1998, the law was changed to enable properly registered debt collectors to collect certain fees and commissions from debtors. …

The common law in duplum rule holds that “interest stops running when the unpaid interest equals the outstanding capital.”
Confirmation that this ancient Roman doctrine was part of our law was eventually settled in the case of LTA Construction Bpk v Administrateur, Transvaal 1992 (1) SA 473 (A).
The NCA enacts the in duplum rule into legislation in Section 103(5) but the NCA takes the definition further than the common law definition of the in duplum rule, specifying that not only interest stops running when the unpaid interest equals the outstanding capital, …