The issue of historical debt


The municipalities of (especially but not limited to) EKHURULENI AND TSWANE are the main culprits and are now making their backs stuff and declaring "We will not pay refunds"  

Thinking they are untouchable I have a surprise for them :  Nobody or no entity is bigger than Concourt!. Their actions were illegal and amounts to theft !

Major class actions can be expected !

The Sharks and Bullies in the Debt scene

As most of the over 52000 readers of my blog know by now I am on the warpath with Debt collectors and especially the Banks about their unethical methods when it comes to debt and debt collecting - This video so correctly reflects my feelings on this -  Watch it to the end and you will understand and probably echo my feelings !

Court orders - Fake or not ?

So your local sheriff pitches up at your door with a COURT ORDER.  Is it genuine or not? Here is the Truth, the whole truth and nothing but the Truth:

2 February 2017

Media Statement
FRAUDULENT COURT ORDERS

The Office of the Chief Justice has noted with concern media reports alleging the use of fraudulent eviction orders in Rosettenville, Johannesburg. We also note that the use of fraudulent court orders extends beyond just eviction orders and that court orders have been falsified to achieve many other criminal ends. When confronted with an alleged court order, members of the public are urged always to verify its authenticity with the court from which it is allegedly issued. Should any individual be unsure about the legitimacy of any court order they should contact the Chief Registrar or Registrar’s office of the particular court where the order is said to have been issued.
However, there are a number of things that an individual can look out for that can help ascertain the authenticity of a court order.
  The order will have the emblem of the office of the Chief Justice affixed to the top of it, older orders will have the Coat of Arms emblem affixed to it;  ( A PICTURE OF THE EMBLEM IS AT THE TOP OF THIS POST
  It will state in which Division the order was made e.g. “In the High Court of South Africa, North West Division, Mafikeng”;
 It will have the date it was issued;  It will state the name of the Judge as per the following example: “Before the Honourable Mr. Justice Mamogale”;
 It will state the names of the Plaintiff and Defendant
 It will state the order given;
 The date stamp of the court will be affixed;
 The order will be signed by the Registrar; and
 The court seal will be affixed to the order.

The Office of the Chief Justice is exploring a number of further options aimed at improving the security of court orders. These will be communicated once implemented. If it is determined that the court order in an individual’s possession is not a legitimate, the fraudulent court order must be reported to the Registrar’s office at the court of the issue and the matter must be reported to the nearest South African Police Service station for further investigation. It is a criminal offense for anyone to issue a document that purports to be a court order if it was not issued at court by a judge.

Media inquiries may be directed to:
Mr Nathi Mncube
Chief Director: Court Administration Spokesperson of the RSA Judiciary
T: 0104932500 C: 0848148364 E:
NMncube@judiciary.org.za
Ends. Issued by the Office of the Chief Justice

Financial survival of the fittest

Being physically fit helps one survive all sorts of situations. But there are other things that go with it. Eating correctly, staying away from junk food and drinks, making sure of your environment in terms of security, having a support system, doing regular medical checkups etc, etc, helps in creating your physical environment to survive and thrive.

The exact same is true about Financially surviving in tough times.  You have to be financially fit and know when to duck and how to dive to survive the present uneasy future.

Here are my own 10 most important rules and take on this.
This is not the end of it - just the beginnin - add onto this once you are getting in to the habit of applying these basics.  

Before reading on the two most important things to do to survive is to make changes

One:   Take stock of your Habits   And change them  
Two:   Take stock of your Discipline.  And apply it

"If you do not chance course you will end up where you are headed"

About food and Groceries

1.  Buy Food and groceries from a list.   One of the biggest money spending problems is the frequency of visiting a supermarket. Probably 90% of people go there at least 3-5 times per week with no idea what they really want.    The economy is also going to hit the supermarkets square between the eyes and SPECIALS are going to abound.    Spending some time on compiling a list of purchases with all the latest specials at hand can easily save you 20-30% on your monthly grocery purchase.   Make a fun day of buying groceries and only with a list.  All the well-known supermarkets have websites and all their specials are on there!

2  Buy your basics in Bulk.   -  Going to the shop frequently are normally to just"buy bread and milk"   Bread and milk and a lot of consumables can be frozen - cutting out the need to visit the stores so frequently.

3.  Stop buying pre-packed veggies and the likes - This has been packed for your convenience but it is also the foodstuffs with the highest markup.  Be lazy at your peril.

About debt  

3.  Debt IS A FOUR LETTER SWEAR word.  Accept that - The ones you have you will have to manage.  Do not make NEW ONES.   If you absolutely have to make new debt see my previous sentence. And believe me, you can live without it.  Renewing a cell phone contract is DEBT. You do not need the latest new Phone.  The latest ones cost in excess of R10 000 whilst you can get a very good one brand new for around 20% of that price - Cash.  And you cannot run up big cellphone bills on a pre-paid phone.  You do not need a new car - not in the next 2 years anyway. Accept that the disaster that was created by the downgrading of the country's finances is going to hit you between the eyes.

4. You absolutely have to have a debt payment plan.  And this can only be achieved if you have a Budget.   You have to know exactly how much goes into your bank account and how much goes out.  AND you have to know where on your budget you are at any given time in the month.  There is no sense in having a budget for the sake of one and you do not know how it is used.

5.  The buying of a new car should have at least a 12-month planning period.  You have to do a budget with the new payment featured in it and you must be able to survive normal living with this payment shown as an expense for at least 6-12 months.  Just ask yourself exactly WHY YOU THINK YOU NEED A NEW CAR

6.  The same goes for buying smaller items like a tv, a new laptop etc.  If you cannot buy it cash do not buy it.  Buying any household item on debt is lunacy.  Interest rates on these things easily go to 30% and then there is a handling fee, admin fee, all sorts of other "compulsory items" - like insurance etc.  At the en, your R5000 tv will cost you in excess of  R10.000

Day to day living

7.  Car expenses - do you really have to drive your car to work every day - consider a drive share club.    Do you really have to do that Sunday outing - Try doing some fun stuff with the family at home at least twice a month when you normally "went out"    Do you know how many kilometers you drive every month.  Try cutting out at least 20% of that per month and suddenly you have cut your petrol price effectively by 20% - eliminating the last 20% price hikes of fuel!

8.   Holidays    Again take stock of your habits.   Get rid of timeshare - Yes you can. You have to accept that you have to be brutal to yourself to get eventual benefits of discipline. Plan you holiday - no impulse decisions - they come and bite you in the arse in two month's time - or sooner

9.   Beware the Specials Trap.  You must be able to distinguish between needs and wants.  Buying something you need on special is brilliant.  Buying something you want on special is stupidity.  This goes for everything.  Restaurant specials are great - once a month - not weekly.   Coffee shops are disasters.  Paying R19.50 for a coffee and then the same for a refill whilst you can get a bottomless one around the corner for R3 more?  

10.  I am going to stop here for now with the last  two but most important  of all : 

One:   Take stock of your Habits   And change them    Two:   Take stock of your Discipline.  And apply it 

Bought debt and a template that can be used

Most if not all debt that was bought by Attorneys or Debt collectors has prescribed and is thus illegal.

Here is a template that can be copied and used by consumers whenever you receive a call or SMS from any debt collector - Make sure you get the correct email address and make sure you get a read receipt.

CALL THEIR BLUFF

DO NOT BE BULLIED !

HERE IS THE TEMPLATE:

Please confirm receipt hereof 

Dear sir/Madam,

I refer to your recent SMS regarding an alleged bought (fill in bank) account with your reference nr (Fill in reference number on SMS ) apparently now owed to yourself.

In terms of the amendment of the National credit act that came into force on the 13^th day of March 2015 the following now applies:

(Whether you act on behalf of the original creditor or as the new owner of the debt in terms of a purchase agreement with the original creditor)

“The following section is hereby inserted in the principal Act after section 126A:
‘‘Application of prescription of debt - 126B. (1) (a)

"No person may sell a debt under a credit agreement to which this Act applies and that has been extinguished by prescription under the Prescription Act, 1969 (Act No. 68 of 1969).
(b) No person may continue the collection of, or re-activate a debt under a credit agreement to which this Act applies— (i) which debt has been extinguished by prescription under the Prescription Act, 1969 (Act No. 68 of 1969); and (ii) where the consumer raises the defence of prescription, or would reasonably have raised the defence of prescription had the consumer been aware of such a defence, in response to a demand, whether as part of legal proceedings or otherwise.’’.

You are hereby formally informed that the alleged debt (if it existed) has prescribed and any attempt at collecting on this is thus illegal. Point b – Highlighted for your attention- is very clear on this point –

No person (that will include your good selves) may continue the collection of a credit agreement to which this act applies which debt has been extinguished by prescription under the Prescription act 68 of 1969

. In terms of (b1) above I hereby raise the defense of prescription as per my right in terms of the prescription act.

If you allege that a judgment has been taken on this debt please supply me with a copy of the judgment.

If you allege that you are now the owners of this alleged debt and that it has not prescribed please supply me with the following:

      Your legal standing in this. If you allege that it was an (Insert bank name) account and you are now the owners of this alleged debt please supply me with documentary proof of this ownership.

1.         A copy of the original signed application for the alleged debt.
2.         A complete and up to date statement of the account from inception to date hereof.
3.        This in terms of NCA 65(4)a & b

    Once I have received your answer and proof of everything I have asked for I or my legal advisors will respond to that.

   In the mean time I would appreciate you stop contacting me in this regard, as it  

   constitutes harassment in terms of the  Protection from Harassment Act, 2010.

    Yours faithfully,

   (your name)

   This message is sent without prejudice and with all rights reserved in as far as

   might be applicable:  

   Nothing contained in this message constitutes an offer,  warranty or representation

   from me. 

The Spoils of DEBT

To explain the concept "The spoils of debt" I have to use the spoils of war as an example.  The spoils of war can best be described as "Any profits extracted as the result of winning a war or other military activity"  

Why would anyone winning a war take from the defeated what they- the defeated need to survive on?  - A good example to illustrate this is the spoils of the war in Iraq. The spoils of that war are the oil the United states are taking out of that country. I think most rational people will agree with me that this act is unethical, immoral, unprincipled and indefensible. A word that sums this up perfectly is unconscionable 

The spoils of debt are exactly the same:  People deep in debt loose everything when the banks go to war against them - They will use every weapon available to them to extract every cent a person have, to try and settle their debt. They will sell everything he has, his house, his car, attach his salary, attach his loose assets, drag him to court to explain why he is not paying etc,etc.

Then when everything has failed and they have judgments against the person and there is nowhere to extract any money from them anymore the creditor - or bank - will write the debt off against "bad debt" and then claim this off their profits against tax.   Nothing funny so far?

Normal run of the mill and accepted as the norm.  

Now, this is where the spoils of debt come in - There is a secondary industry that feeds on these debtors like leeches - it is the industry of buying bad debt and starting the spoils of debt cycle. 

These people created an industry where there are no conscience, no ethics, no morals, no principles and their actions are indefensible. It is driven by Unconscionable greed. They are living on the spoils of debt.  And they employ half trained, arrogant call center based staff to start haunting and harassing these victims of the financial war.  

And society again accept this as normal - 

Well, it is time to start the fight against this  -

So - to those in this industry - a new war has started and you just might not like it.

Everyone that wants to get involved please do. Watch this space as I am going to start drafting defense mechanisms on how to handle the situation when you are the victim of this. 

The first line of defense is Prescribed debt.  In terms of the latest changes to the NCA it is now illegal to even try and collect on prescribed debt. It is illegal to sell or buy Prescribed debt.  So the first thing when you get an SMS or call about a debt older than 3 years is to define the debt - If there is no judgment on the debt it most probably has prescribed and the would be collector is breaking the Law.  Report it to this forum - We will send you a template to handle the situation.

Here  is my guide on how to handle debt collectors calls 

I am also in the process of researching the legal standing of these types of debt - the ones where there are judgments and I will comment on this later. 
To continuously receive updates on this - sign up for email updates to the right of this post 

The Book

"THE BOOK" has had a long way in becoming a reality. This morning I read an article that was emailed to me - somehow confirming what I had already decided on last week. It is time.SETTING GOALS to eventually get the book published is not the answer .  The answer is to get into the habit of writing at least 500 words daily until the book is ready and I took the first action this morning . I WILL BE POSTING REGULARLY ABOUT THE BOOK   here - and any constructive comments will be appreciated.......................
The general public have a lot in common when it comes to debt and a lot of you out there can relate a lot to the following article: ( This is going to be in the preamble to the book)

People deep in debt has one thing in common...that dreaded feeling of helplessness - I am drowning and no one is even noticing.
Read the following carefully right to the end.

There are basically two parties to a debt: The creditor and the debtor - If you are the first party please leave as you are going to be offended and the intention is that you should.
The ones now left are the debtors deeply in debt and having a feeling of hopelessness. You are drowning in debt and there is not much you can do about it.

Take a deep breath and read on ( take your time - this is not a quick fix but if you skip paragraphs you are not going to get the message)

I am going to tell a story here and you are most probably going to be the main character of this story
I am going to call him Consumaris

The following quote comes from the Bible and just so vividly describes the position Consumaris eventually found himself in: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead"

I will explain the application of the above quote at the end

Consumaris was on top of the world- He was general manager of a specialist chain of jewelry shops around the country earning a pretty penny. He has worked his way up the corporate ladder one step at a time and now after 35 years of service is as high as he probably would be able to go in the company but he is feeling fine - He earns a 6 figure income per month and has a nice house and 2 grand cars and both his children is now nearing the end of their university adventures. He has recently bought a new house and have a home loan on this as well as some other debts amounting to about 40% of his income which still leaves him with a nice margin to live comfortably.

This morning his whole life fell apart - he was called in by the CEO informing him that an international company has recently become the major shareholder in the company and that they had evaluated the companies present strategies and have decided to make an a major player online and that certain staff will be retrenched with immediate effect, and that he was one of them. 

6 months down the line the crunch was getting to him - his cash flow was running low and he knew he would have to sell the house to keep his head above water. 

3 months later there were no more cash left and he knew he was seriously in trouble - so far no interested buyers for the house and he will not be able to make the end of the month repayment on the house.
The bank was very sympathetic but made no stories about what would happen if he started to default. 

"A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead"

THE BOOK IS GOING TO ADRESS THIS SITUATION AND QUITE A FEW OTHERS TO ENABLE PEOPLE TO LIFT THEIR HEAD, PREPARE FOR SITUATIONS LIKE THESE AND KNOW HOW TO HEAL AGAIN.