Why credit retailers are set to soar again
Court judgment makes it possible for people who want credit to apply without submitting three recent pay slips
Reason seems to have triumphed: a ruling by Cape Town high court judge Keith Engers has set aside a deeply flawed credit regulation requirement. The ruling by Engers was a victory for The Foschini Group (TFG), Mr Price and Truworths, which had brought an action against the national credit regulator and the minister of trade & industry. The retailers had asked the court to set aside an amendment to the National Credit Act (NCA) that required applicants for credit to produce their three latest pay slips, claiming it disadvantaged consumers who were self-employed or employed in the informal sector. "We felt it was a very unjust regulation," says TFG CFO and CEO designate Anthony Thunström. "It meant that about 15% of consumers could not have access to credit or build up a credit record." In force since March 13 2015, the amendment to the NCA also cost credit retailers dearly. "It cost our group hundreds of millions of rand in lost sales every year," says Thunström. The court action bro...
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