Debt & Your Rights Guides
Know your rights as a borrower. Plain-English guides to the National Credit Act, debt review, garnishee orders, section 129 notices, prescribed debt, debt collectors, repossession and reckless lending. Learn what lenders and collectors are allowed to do, where to complain, and the lawful ways out when repayments become too much, including the Credit Ombud and registered debt counsellors.
20 guides
If you can't pay your debts, list everything you owe, protect essentials such as housing, food, transport and secured items first, then contact every creditor in writing with an amount you can pay.
Repossession happens when you fall behind on a secured agreement, such as vehicle finance, and the lender takes back the goods.
Before you sign a credit agreement in South Africa, check eight clauses: the amount you receive, the interest and fees, the total repayment, the repayment dates, insurance, what happens if you miss a payment and how to settle early.
The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) gives South African consumers rights to safe, good-quality goods, honest information, fair contracts and a remedy when goods or services are faulty.
An administration order is a magistrate's court order that lets you repay smaller debts, usually under R50,000 in total, in regular instalments through an administrator.
Sequestration is a court process in South Africa that declares a person insolvent.
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