What are your rights in South Africa if you are blacklisted?
It is very important to find out as many people have been blacklisted illegally.
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This is being done in spite of legislation against such acts. For example, many people are put on a blacklist for money that is outstanding from three years ago.
This is illegal as claims for money older than three years prescribe or expire and therefore the creditor has no legal claim against that debt.
What is a frequent occurrence in this country unfortunately is that debt collectors frequently ignore the law. Therefore force people who do not know their rights to pay back money that has expired.
The credit information ombud is clear and states that any creditor or collection agency can list a default record on the debtors account once. And that this amount will expire after a period of three years.
This is important to know, as you cannot be black listed twice for the same debt.
So if you have been blacklisted and want to know what your rights are then do some online research.
Resources that Offer Help for Rights of Blacklisted People
There are a number of sites which can help you if you have been blacklisted and are not sure of why.
The majority of these sites will obtain your credit report from the Credit Bureaus for a small fee.
However what many people do not know is that you are entitled for one free credit report annually. From each of the credit bureaus in the month of your birth.
Read More: Use Free Blacklist Credit Checks to see if you’re Creditworthy
This will allow you to keep up to date with where you stand in the eyes of creditors. And will keep you informed of any judgements against your name.
So what happens if you receive your credit report and there is a listing that is questionable?
This is what to do…
- Firstly you should request a statement from the creditor who has blacklisted you.
- Determine when the account went in to default.
- Should the account have gone in to arrears over three years ago, then this debt cannot be listed against your name. As it will have expired.
- Another issue that could arise is that a creditor is trying their luck and they are re-listing debt. Then you can query the listing with the credit bureau concerned.
Lastly, should you feel that the response that you have received from the credit bureau concerned is not right… Then you can contact the credit information ombud in South Africa.
Visit the Credit Ombud website
People That Have Been Blacklisted in South Africa
Unfortunately in South Africa, millions of people are taking credit and are unable to pay back the re-payments.
This leaves them with a terrible credit history. What is more is that the majority of South Africans are not aware of their rights if they have been blacklisted. Creditors try and take advantage of them.
This means that these creditors are abusing these consumers, simply because of their lack of knowledge.
However, the advent of the Consumer Protection Act should hopefully curb any further abuse from creditors. As this act has made it law that any agreement entered in to between a consumer and another party, has to be written in layman’s terms. In order for them to fully comprehend what they are agreeing to.
What is more is that another act has been put in place to protect consumers against debt collectors hounding their debtors.
That is the “Prescription Act”.
Which means that every credit default listing on any of the credit bureaus has to comply with the above mentioned rules regarding the expiry date of default listings.