I recently dealt with a client who was so mentally traumatized and suffered from major mental issues, as a result of the constant hounding by debt collectors, that it necessitated intervention by myself.

While consulting with the client, I realized that various debt collectors have not only been phoning, emailing or leaving short messages to the client, but have visited him personally or by way of big men in leather jackets demanding money from him. These messages and visits were constant and at all hours of the night. In these messages threats of violence and even arrest were made, that if the client does not settle his debt timeously, he will experience the full wrath of the law.

Now given that the client’s financial situation was in total disarray and that the client made various loans just to sustain the minimum repayments on his accounts, which cause the whole situation, there is still a duty on the debt collectors to collect debt in an ethical manner.

Debt collection is regulated by various acts and rules including the Legal Practice Act, the rules of the Legal practice council and the debt collection act, which prevents the debt collection from inter alia the following:

1. Debt collectors are only allowed to contact customers at certain times and are not allowed to contact you on a Sunday between 9 pm and 6 am on any day.
2. No debt collector may threaten you with legal proceedings if there is no true intention to carry out that threat or if they threaten you with a laundry list of actions if you do not pay.
3. You can only be listed with ITC or any other credit bureau if the service provider has sent the consumer a notice advising the consumer that if he does not pay within a period of 28 business days, that the consumer will be listed on ITC and must this letter comply with the provisions of the National Credit Act.
4. Harassment and Intimidation are specifically prohibited in terms of the debt collection act as well as the common law and can be reported to either the debt collector’s council or the legal practice council.
5. The same applies to extortion, in the event that the debt collector uses unlawful behavior to pressure a consumer into making payment or signing acknowledgement of debt.

I have realized that one must be very careful when having a discussion regarding debt repayment over the phone as in most instances the calls are recorded. I have also discovered that in some instances debt collectors attempt to collect debt which have prescribed and co-hurst the client into making payments or settling the debt on a far lesser amount full knowingly that the debt has prescribed.

I know that most of the clients in this situation does not have the funds to approach an attorney, but it is very important that the client obtains clear legal advice before settling or making agreement relating to debts.