CREDIT ACT GIVES CONSUMERS MORE CONTROL

In many instances, this is going to make it harder for the SMME to collect outstanding money from your Debtors. Please remember that from 1st June, you cannot collect interest unless this is stipulated in your contract with your client - not just on your invoice, but on the contract that they have signed with you.

May 15 2007 at 12:38PM

Regulations coming into effect next month will protect consumers' rights in regard to their credit records, the National Credit Regulator (NCR) said on Tuesday. Credit bureaux, which compile consumer credit histories, will have to comply with new regulations in the National Credit Act, the NCR said in a press release. The bureaux will have to remove information about certain small debts and paid-up judgments by June 1. Debts of less than R500 or dormant accounts will not be recorded on consumer credit histories. However the dormancy exclusion applies only to accounts that had been unused for two years on September 1, 2006, that usually require monthly payments, and which do not have credit facilities.

Civil court judgments for sums between R500 and R50 000, depending on a variety of conditions, will also be removed from credit records. Registered credit bureaux will submit audit reports to the NCR in August this year and March next year, to ensure they have complied with the new regulations. Under the National Credit Act, consumers have the right to be informed if a credit provider is going to report adverse information about them to a credit bureau. Information about a consumer's race, political affiliation, medical status and history, religion and sexual orientation may not be released by credit bureaux. Consumers will have the right to inspect and challenge any bureau record concerning their credit history by contacting their credit bureau, the credit information ombud, or the NCR. - Sapa