Since defaulting on his microloan, Marikana mineworker Lebogang Victor Mokate has paid R17,600 towards a principal debt of R5,000 - and debt-collecting attorneys acting for his creditor claim he still owes R8,557. But he has already paid R7,600 more than what he can legally be charged in terms of the National Credit Act (NCA), according to court papers filed in the high court in Cape Town this month. Mokate is one of 10 debtors, supported by the Stellenbosch University Law Clinic and employee wellness company Summit Financial Partners, who have applied to the court for an order declaring that a "proper interpretation" of the NCA means that all legal costs charged before, during and after litigation and passed on to you to enforce a credit agreement are covered by the definition of "collection costs" in the act. The NCA puts a limit on the total interest and costs that can be added to your debt, but many creditors and debt-collecting attorneys argue that "collection costs" do not inc...
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