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On an overdue / in arrears account that has been handed over to a lawyer for collection. Is the debt collection company allowed: a. Request you to sign documents to acknowledge debt with them before they give you bank account details in order to pay the overdue account? And b. Can you request for a different debt collection company to be assigned to your account if the current debt collector refuses to give you banking details on where to pay the same account? Thanks.
Optional Information: Province: Gauteng Already Tried: Sent through requests on email to the lawyer for banking details so I can pay the account. They have not provided the information for about 2 years now and insist on signed documentation with a verified copy of my ID which I am not happy in sending over fax. Talking gets nowhere. Lawyer is always unavailable and yet is the one that apparently has to make the decision on the matter.
Good day. a) They can request you to sign anything, but the cannot force you to sign anything. Further to this, the bank is obligated to, upon request, furnish you with a statement of whatever account they claim you owe them on. If they sue you for the debt, they have to provide you with that in any case, so, there really is no reason to refuse. b) In this case, you can request it, but this time that bank is not obligated to listen. Additionally, if the debt is older than three years and they have not served you with summons yet, or obtained judgment, the debt would have become prescribed and signing anything would mean that the prescription would be lifted. When a debt becomes prescribed, it means that the bank cannot collect from you the money any more.
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Thank you. Very informative. This has helped tremendously. Referring to point A. Are they justified in not providing me with the bank account details so I can actually pay the account or not?And on point B. If a debt is older than 5 years, what happens to that debt with your profile? Will it adversely affect if I had to apply for as an example a home loan, etc?
a) meaning, providing you with an account where you can pay the money into, or telling you that we are claiming for this account of yours with this number? I got the impression you meant the second one, but inform me if I am mistaken, please.b) I will answer this question together with the first one, once I get clarification.
I have been asking for their bank account details, in order to pay the debt. They are refusing to provide it to me on the basis that I refuse to sign documentation.
And you have not been summonsed for this debt and there is no judgment and it is older than three years?
The debt collector has claimed that they have summonsed me. I received no such summons.There is no judgment, only an ITC listing, checked on ITC in Feb 2012.The account is almost three years old at this stage. I have been trying to pay the debt for about two years now but am being denied the bank account details so I can pay the debt by the debt collector, the bank simply says contact the debt collector for further information.
How far away are you from that three year period?
Give or take 3 months
a) I say continue to refuse to sign and let the debt prescribed. If they have issued summons, the attorneys for the bank would have continued to act on that summons and would have gotten a judgment. The fact that there is no judgment tells me that there is no summons. If you do receive a summons, then you know where to pay. You pay the sheriff.b) A debt that has become prescribed may not be listed on any credit bureaux. If the listing remains after the debt has become prescribed, you can ask the credit bureaux to remove the listing from their website. If they do not do so, you can ask the credit ombudsman to assist you in forcing them to do so. They are at www.creditombud.org.za
Experience: L.LB, Civil and criminal litigation, contracts, labour and family law
Excellent! Thank you.I will be going this route to make a point. Once the bank see's there mess up I still intend on paying it.Wish you could have helped me on my family law question as I find your responses brilliant! Again thank you for your time!
Another question that cropped up on the prescribed debt point.Will I be able to use the company in the future once the debt is gone? It is a bank, and I am worried that if I apply for something that I will get declined based on having prescribed debt even if I apply for credit at another bank.
You must remember that you are not entitled to credit. It is the choice of the company you wish to initiate a credit transaction with whether they are going to extend a loan to you or not. So, if they do not want to contract with you anymore, then they are within their rights not to do so, unless it is because of one prohibit grounds (sex, gender, race, ethnicity etc(.With regards XXXXX XXXXX banks, the issue is the same, however, there is no listing for a prescribed event on the credit listings. Listing prescribed debt is specifically prohibited by the National Credit Act.