THE FACTS
Zanele Mazanie from the Joburg CBD used her account to buy products from HomeChoice for her aunt.
Her aunt promised to settle the debt, but never did.
Zanele found out about this when she received a call from a debt collector.
In February, Zanele started paying monthly instalments of R300.
When she missed a payment, another debt collector came to her house.
He told her about the unsettled amounts on her account and she signed a document to acknowledge her debt.
Ever since July, R500 has been debited from her account every month.
Zanele has since stopped paying and has been receiving emails and SMSes from debt collectors.
She wants to know if the debt collectors will garnish her, since she has stopped paying.
WHAT I DID
I asked lawyers from SCORPION LEGAL PROTECTION SERVICESto provide professional advice.
SOLUTION
It’s very risky to use credit on someone else’s behalf.
If the person fails to settle the debt, you will be liable to pay for everything you purchased for them.
You can also ruin your credit rating as you might be listed as a defaulter.
It also wasn’t smart for Zanele to stop paying the debt as the credit provider might issue a summons and obtain judgment against her.
If that happens, the outstanding amount will be higher, as interest and other charges will be added.
HomeChoice can apply for an attachment order and start deducting money from Zanele’s salary.
She must ask the company whether the two debt collection companies are collecting for the same debt.
If that is the case, she must inform HomeChoice so they can reconcile the amounts collected and let her know how much she still owes.
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