Document text
BY E-MAIL AND BY REGISTERED POST
Date: [DD/MM/YYYY]
From:
[YOUR FULL NAME]
ID number: [ID NUMBER]
[POSTAL ADDRESS]
[E-MAIL] · [MOBILE]
To:
[NAME OF CREDIT PROVIDER / DEBT COLLECTOR / ATTORNEYS]
Attention: Collections / Legal Department
[ADDRESS]
[E-MAIL]
Copy to: [ORIGINAL CREDIT PROVIDER, IF THE LETTER IS SENT TO A DEBT COLLECTOR OR A BUYER OF THE DEBT]
Re: Notice of prescription — Account / reference number [ACCOUNT OR REFERENCE NUMBER]
Dear Sir / Madam,
1. I refer to your [LETTER / SMS / E-MAIL / CALL] dated [DD/MM/YYYY] in which you demand payment of R[AMOUNT CLAIMED] in respect of the account below:
Item Details
Original credit provider [NAME, E.G. STORE, BANK OR NETWORK]
Type of account [STORE CARD / PERSONAL LOAN / CREDIT CARD / CELLPHONE ACCOUNT / OTHER]
Account or reference number [NUMBER]
Amount you claim R[AMOUNT]
Date the debt became due [DD/MM/YYYY, IF KNOWN]
My last payment on this account [DD/MM/YYYY / "I MADE NO PAYMENT"]
2. The debt has prescribed. More than three years have passed since the debt became due and since my last payment on the account. During that time I have not acknowledged liability for the debt, and no summons or other legal process claiming payment of the debt has been served on me.
3. In terms of section 10(1) read with section 11(d) of the Prescription Act 68 of 1969, the debt has been extinguished by prescription. I hereby raise the defence of prescription.
4. Because this debt arises from a credit agreement to which the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 applies, section 126B of that Act provides that no person may continue the collection of, or re-activate, a debt that has been extinguished by prescription where the consumer raises the defence of prescription, and that no person may sell such a debt. Regulation 19(5) of the National Credit Regulations, 2006 provides that information on a debt that has prescribed may not be submitted to a credit bureau.
5. I therefore require you to:
(a) stop all collection activity on this account immediately, including calls, SMSs, e-mails, letters and visits, to me, my family and my employer;
(b) confirm in writing, within [10 (TEN)] business days of receiving this letter, that the account has been closed as prescribed and that no further collection will take place;
(c) not sell, cede or hand over the debt to any other person, and inform any person to whom it has already been handed over;
(d) correct any listing of this account with any credit bureau, and confirm to me which bureau(s) you have informed;
(e) if you allege that prescription was interrupted, send me, within the same period, written proof of the date and nature of the interruption (a signed acknowledgement, a payment, or the return of service of a summons).
6. Nothing in this letter is an acknowledgement of liability, an admission that any amount is owed, or an offer to pay. It must not be read as such.
7. If you continue to collect this debt, I will, without further notice, lodge a complaint with the National Credit Regulator and dispute the information with the credit bureaux under section 72 of the National Credit Act, and take any other step available to me in law.
Yours faithfully,
______________________________
[YOUR FULL NAME]
Enclosures (copies):
1. Your letter / message dated [DD/MM/YYYY]
2. [MY CREDIT REPORT OR LAST STATEMENT SHOWING THE DATE OF LAST PAYMENT, IF AVAILABLE]
NOTES BEFORE SENDING — delete this part
Check the period first. Three years applies to most consumer debts: store cards, personal loans, credit cards, cellphone and other accounts (Prescription Act, s.11(d)). It does not apply to a home loan secured by a mortgage bond, a judgment debt or tax (30 years, s.11(a)), a debt owed to the State for a loan or sale or lease of land (15 years, s.11(b)), or a cheque, other negotiable instrument or notarial contract (6 years, s.11(c)).
The clock restarts if you acknowledge the debt, expressly or tacitly (s.14). A payment, even a small one, or a written promise to pay may be treated as an acknowledgement. Do not pay anything and do not sign anything before you are sure the debt has prescribed.
A summons interrupts prescription (s.15). If you have been served with a summons or there is a judgment against you, this letter is not the right step — get advice at once.
You must raise prescription yourself. A court will not raise it on your behalf (s.17(1)).
Do not admit the debt in phone calls with collectors. Communicate in writing and keep copies.
Paying a prescribed debt counts as a valid payment, so you cannot claim it back later (s.10(3)).
Credit bureau: you can also challenge a listing directly with the bureau. The bureau must deal with the challenge within 20 business days (National Credit Act, s.72(3) read with regulation 20(2)).
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