"Well this is another fine mess you have got us into!" We are all familier with the cartoon character Laurel & Hardy, who made these words famous and I hear something similar all around me - "look what the Government is doing to us - look how they are killing our business!"

Well if the truth be told, we have no one to blame but ourselves! Not one single person, we have gotten outselves into our own debt, we have manipulated the banks and financial institutions into lending us more and more money and we have followed the prompting on TV and media on how we ca't do without some or other gadget, smadget, widgit or whatever else you want to call it.

Borrowing money was always easy, paying it back is the challenge and yet now when the Government (in the form of the National Credit Act) steps in to save us from our own folly, we all cry 'fowl'! I am amazed!

Perhaps is we had all practiced a little 'restraint' things would be a whole lot different.

Wise up on the National Credit Act
21 May 2007 at 04h00

Reckless lending, over-indebtedness and unlawful credit agreements are some of the topics of a workshop on May 25 which is designed for retailers involved in the extension of credit, micro-lenders, banks, SMEs and those involved in advising credit providers.

The one-day workshop, offered by the Professional Education Project of the faculty of law at the University of Cape Town, will consider the impact of the National Credit Act which became law in June 2006 and set a framework for every type of credit transaction, introduced new rights for consumers and placed a greater responsibility on credit providers.

Some of the provisions of the act are already in effect and in the final phase of implementation, while all the remaining provisions will come into effect on June 1. The workshop, facilitated by Professor Angela Itzikowitz, will recap how the act affects the credit industry and the way in which credit is granted. It will deal extensively with the provisions coming into effect next month.Topics will include:

Reckless lending and over-indebtedness.
Unlawful credit agreements and unlawful credit terms.
Confidentiality issues and marketing strategies.
Implications for the credit industry, including criteria for registration, categories of credit agreements including developmental credit and pre-agreements.
The regulatory bodies - the National Credit Regulator, the National Consumer Tribunal and the National Register of credit agreements and their relationships.

Contact Irèna Wasserfall on 021 650 5621 for more details.