At a Trade and Industry Portfolio Committee meeting held last Wednesday 27 February 2013, the banking sector rejected the proposed credit amnesty for certain indebted people.  The department proposed expunging poor credit records of people earning less than R15 000 a month and who have debts of less than R10 000, on the basis that it would stimulate economic growth and job creation.
The banking sector rejected the proposal on the basis that such an amnesty could create risk in lending and would have little positive impact on economic growth and job creation.
The …

 
Mario Oriano-Ambrosini MP , fought all the way to the Constitutional Court for his right to bring a Private Member’s Bill – the National Credit Act Amendment Bill. This in itself was an important development in the administrative law of the country.
Unfortunately the bill that was so hard fought for itself leaves a lot to be desired.
The Bill was ultimately rejected by parliament and Brett Bentley submissions to parliament on the bill were:
“It is respectfully submitted that the proposed changes to the National Credit Act No 34 of 2007 (“the Act) contained in the National …

Bentley Credit Control had a successful commercial credit management seminar on Friday the 22nd February 2013 in Midrand with a excellent group of credit managers and credit controllers. It is apparent that with the ever increasing amount of new legislation and other developments that we will in future have to expand this ever popular seminar into a full day event. Thank you to all who attended for your questions , input , positive feedback  and support.
The next Commercial Credit Management seminars coming up on our calendar are the 7th June …

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 …

Linda Ensor in Business Day Live reported on the future:
“Amendments to the National Credit Act were in the pipeline to streamline the process of debt review and counselling and to address issues raised in a number of court judgments, Parliament’s trade and industry committee heard last week.
The amendments flow from a holistic review of consumer credit policy undertaken by the University of Pretoria and will be submitted to Parliament during the 2013 -14 financial year.
In the meantime, Inkatha Freedom Party MP Mario Oriani-Ambrosini introduced a private member’s bill which proposes …

Good to see the DTI and NCR focusing on the consumer side of the credit/debt coin with this campaign:
 

 
 
 
Two centuries ago the Anglo-Irish political philosopher Edmund Burke said:
“Society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere, and the less of it there is within, the more there is without.” The converse is true too – the “more there is without the less there has to be within”. In other words the more laws we have governing people’s behaviour, the less they have to their own …

This is an article by Brett Bentley , which appeared in the August 2012 edition of the SA Attorneys Journal – De Rebus.
It has been over five years since the full implementation of the well-intentioned National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (NCA). However, despite its good intentions, some debtors may feel frustrated by the outcome after pursuing debt relief in terms of the provisions of ss 86 to 88 of the Act.
For the past five years the National Credit Regulator (NCR) has tried – to borrow from an old proverb – …

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 …

The Credit Ombud, the office created to deal with complaints from consumers and businesses that are negatively impacted by credit bureau information or when a consumer has a dispute with a credit provider, debt counsellor or payment distribution agent has released its report for 2011. A copy of the full report can be downloaded here.
A summary of the statistics contained in the report :
Complaints and enquiries received                                        14 167
calls received by the …

 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 Cape Town on the 21st October 2011 aimed at commercial creditors (businesses who supply …