Beware of claims on prescribed debt

It’s unwise not to pay your debts or to ignore your creditors, but sometimes life happens and you miss a payment or two. Next thing you know, you’ve stopped paying the debt altogether. It’s possible that a creditor decides it’s not worth the trouble, writes off your debt, reports you to the credit bureaus and never contacts you again. However, sometimes you receive calls years later asking you to pay the debt. What now? What are your rights and what can you do? Scorpion answers.

Does debt expire?

If you have not made a payment towards a debt or the creditor has not made any efforts to collect the debt after a certain number of years, that debt will prescribe, or expire. This means that after a certain period of time, you are no longer obliged to repay it. It is against the law for creditors or debt collectors to try and collect on a prescribed debt, but this doesn’t mean they won’t try. If they make contact with you, they will try to get you to admit indebtedness or persuade you to pay. If you do, you interrupt the prescription and must continue to pay for the debt.

Remember: Different debts have different prescription periods, for example, a store account or personal loan will prescribe after 3 years, and a TV licence or a mortgage bond will prescribe after 30 years.

What should you?

you do if debt collectors contact

• If you are harassed or asked to pay a debt that you believe has prescribed, check with the credit bureau on inception date, then you can challenge this.

• Document your communications with the debt collector, and keep the emails or letters as proof.

• If they continue to harass you for a debt that is prescribed, report them to the National Credit Regulator.

If you are a Scorpion member wondering if your debt has prescribed, or worse, if a debt collector is harassing you, visit one of our branches or contact us through our 24-hour Legal Contact Centre (0861 333 333), Facebook, LiveChat, or WhatsApp (011 842 7890) for advice and assistance.

This is only basic legal advice and cannot be relied on solely. The information is correct at the time of being sent to publishing.