Find a debt collection attorney in South Africa: letters of demand, summons and judgment, National Credit Act notices and prescription.
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A debt collection attorney recovers money owed to a business or a person: the letter of demand, the section 129 notice where the National Credit Act applies, summons and default judgment, and then execution through a warrant, an emoluments attachment order or the attachment of property. They also defend people who are being pursued for debts they dispute or that have prescribed.
Collection work is often charged on a tariff per step, with a collection commission on amounts recovered, and the costs of an undefended claim are largely recoverable from the debtor. Ask whether the attorney charges upfront, on success or both, and whether the debtor can realistically pay before you spend money on a judgment.
General information about South African law and practice, not advice on your matter. The practitioners listed on this page give that advice.
Yes. Most debts prescribe three years after they become due, and once prescribed they cannot be enforced, though the creditor may still ask for payment. The National Credit Act goes further for credit agreements and prohibits collecting a prescribed debt at all. A written acknowledgement of liability or service of summons interrupts prescription.
A notice the National Credit Act requires a credit provider to send a consumer in default before starting legal action, drawing the default to their attention and proposing that they refer the agreement to a debt counsellor, alternative dispute resolution agent, consumer court or ombud. Without a valid notice the summons is premature.
Only with an emoluments attachment order granted by a court, and since 2016 a magistrate must consider whether the deduction is just and equitable and leaves the debtor able to support themselves and their dependants. Orders signed only by a clerk of the court are no longer permitted.
Interest capped by the in duplum rule, the letter the debt actually needs, and the section 130 wait counted in business days.