Reporting complaints to the National Credit Regulator

“Many Credit Providers as well as Consumers are not quite sure where there credit agreements fall that have been engaged into before the promulgation of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005.

The situation is as follows:

Note that although the Usury Act, the Credit Agreements Act and the Exemption Notice Act has been repealed, all the agreements entered into under these pieces of legislation will remain applicable to the agreements and the National Credit Regulator will be responsible for complaint handling in respect of these agreements as well as to ensure that compliance with these legislations are maintained.

To report any complaint to the National Credit Regulator complainants must fill in a NCR Form 29 which can be found under the National Credit Regulations 2006, and send this completed form through to the NCR who will then attend to the complaint.

*ACLA would also like to congratulations Liezl, Marlene and Huretha on passing their Debt Councillors exams on the 29th of this month. Well done and best of luck to these individuals for their future endeavours!*

Refunding deposits: The consumer protection bill

I have recently being asked by a Product and Service Provider when should they refund a deposit paid on a cash purchase of a vehicle and if indeed they are obligated to adhere to such an request from a Consumer.

The Consumer Protection Bill sets out the position as follows:

RIGHT TO CANCEL

A consumer has the right to rescind a transaction or agreement or renewal of an agreement-

Within 10 business days of delivery, if:

1. the agreement et al. is a result of direct, distance or electronic marketing
2. any other circumstance where the goods were not able to be examined.

Within 5 business days of entering into that agreement, if:

1. the agreement et al. arises from direct marketing etc.
2. it concerns the purchase of time-share

An agreement can be cancelled without penalty by the consumer if that consumer gives 1 month notice to the supplier. 

Therefore it is of the utmost importance that Consumers as well as Service Renderers take note of these legalistic enforcements lest they land themselves in trouble.

This yet again emphasises the fact that all businesses should consider:

• training their personnel accordingly; 
• have all their business documents reviewed and brought in line with, among others, the Company’s Act, the National Credit Act and the Consumer Protection Bill.

There is a new company act!

The Company Act 71 of 2008 has replaced the old act in its totality, but retaining a lot of the old clauses.

What does this mean?!

ACLA will facilitate training in the following fields of the new act: 

• to provide for the incorporation,
• registration, organization and management of companies,
• the capitalization of profit companies,
• and the registration of offices of foreign companies carrying on business within the Republic;
• to define the relationships between companies and their respective shareholders or members and directors;
• to provide for equitable and efficient amalgamations,
• mergers and takeovers of companies;
• to provide for efficient rescue of financially distressed companies;
• to provide appropriate legal redress for investors and third parties with respect to companies;
• to establish a Companies and Intellectual Property Commission and a Takeover Regulation Panel to administer the requirements of the Act with respect to companies, to establish a Companies Tribunal to facilitate alternative dispute resolution and to review decisions of the Commission;
• to establish a Financial Reporting Standards Council to advise on requirements for financial record-keeping and reporting by companies;
• to repeal the Companies Act, 1973 (Act No. 61 of 1973) and make amendments to the Close Corporations Act, 1984 (Act No. 69 of 1984),
• as necessary to provide for a consistent and harmonious regime of business incorporation and regulation;
• and to provide for matters connected therewith.

ACLA will facilitate training in three levels working through the act in three independent one day seminars on specific dates allocated for such training as well as individual dates requested by specific businesses for in-house training.

The National Credit Act 34 of 2005

The National Credit Act 34 of 2005 is a piece of legislation that touches all of our lives whether we like it or not.

Anything we buy on credit, with a few exceptions, will fall within the ambit of this act. It is therefore imperative that all of us must have an basic understanding of precisely how the act impacts on our individual and unique circumstances.

This will include our capacities as consumers and whether we are natural or juristic persons as well as in our capacities as credit providers also whether we are natural or juristic persons.

The act reads very difficult and is bulky in its nature. Therefore it is of the outmost importance that all legal entities, whether natural or juristic, must be trained in the act in order to establish a basic understanding of the legalistic operation of the act.

ACLA facilitates one day seminars for economic convenience on the act and has three independent levels of training in the act to enable an optimal process of grasping the content of the act without overburdening the seminar attendee with too much legal jargon in one day.

The first level of training deals with the Act itself, the second level with the National Regulations of 2006 and the third level with the National Consumer Tribunal. Each level receives its own independent certificate of attendance.

Issues to be addressed in these seminars will include, among others:

• what is a natural and juristic person; the application of the act to these entities
• over-indebtedness
• reckless credit
• consumer rights
• credit provider rights
• the official documents under the regulations that brings the act into operation
• the procedures of the National Consumer Tribunal
• as well as what is required from the consumer and credit provider in terms of the NCT.

Want to find out about your status?

Do you want to find out your status?

Your ID, Passport and/or Marital status, that is!

Here's a handy little link to the South African Department of Home Affairs website: Click here to get your status!

You can do enquires on:
* Your ID book application status
* Your Passport book application status
You can get verifications on:
* Your marital status online
* ID status online(Alive/Deceased)

You can even do your query via SMS!

SMS keyword (ID, P, M, L) ID number to 32551

The message of the SMS should be as follows:
* ID Book Application Status: ID ID_Number e.g. ID 5001010050080
* Passport Application Status: P ID_Number e.g. P 5001010050080
* Marital Status: M ID_Number e.g. M 5001010050080
* ID Status (Deceased/Alive): L ID_Number e.g. L 5001010050080
and you will receive the status sent directly to your cellphone via SMS.