Question:
My name is on the so-called ‘black list’, but I have no idea why. It’s a source of great frustration if I want to buy something or take out a loan. What do I do to get my name off the black list?
Answer:
Your concern is a frustration for many consumers and although the intent behind ‘black listing’ is to protect the consumer, often against themselves, understanding this does not reduce the frustration experienced when you realise that you have been black listed.
The first step in finding out if the black listing can be removed is to find out which creditor made the negative listing at the credit agency and for which debt. In terms of the National Credit Act, you (as a consumer) have a right to access your credit report and to challenge the accuracy of your credit information.
Your attorney can also help you do this or any one of the many companies that provide this service to consumers.
You must also establish not only the identity of the creditor and the debt but also under which type of listing you have been listed. The general types of listings that you will encounter are defaults, notices and judgments:
– A default listing will be based on information a creditor has supplied to a credit bureau such as TransUnion. Where the default listing relates to late payments made or an account that hasn’t been paid, such a listing will stay on your credit report for one year. If the listing relates to bad debt handed over for collection or recovery, debt that has been written off, repossession of property due to non-payment or a credit card that has been revoked, the listing will remain for two years.
– A notice listing on the other hand is the result of legal action that has been taken after a person did not pay a debt or outstanding account. Notice listings include administration orders, provisional sequestrations, and sequestration and rehabilitation orders. The listing of administration orders will remain for ten years, rehabilitation orders for five years and sequestrations for ten years unless a rehabilitation order is granted.
– When a person falls behind in the payment of his account and fails to make a payment arrangement with the creditor, the creditor can apply to court for judgment against the defaulter. Where a court then orders a person to make payment on the outstanding debt, this judgment will be listed against the person’s name and will remain for a period of five years, or until the judgment is rescinded by a court or abandoned by the credit provider.
The most general listing is a default listing, which can only be removed before the required period if the listing was made by mistake. If this is your type of listing and you believe the listing to be incorrect, you may need to solicit the help of an attorney who can help find out if the listing is correct and whether the payment default really happened.
Additionally, the attorney can help check whether the correct procedures in terms of the National Credit Act was followed before the listing was made.
Once a mistake has been established, the credit bureau should be contacted and informed of the incorrect listing with a request to remove the listing. If this does not work, a court can also be approached for assistance.
The other frequently encountered listing is a judgment listing. Only the court which granted the judgment against you can rescind the judgment.
Accordingly, this court must again be approached to have the judgment rescinded. The assistance of an attorney can here also be beneficial to apply for the rescission of the judgment and the removal of the judgment listing.
Once the judgment is rescinded, the rescission order must be sent to the credit bureau to remove the judgment listing against your name.
If you have been listed with a credit bureau, contact an attorney or specialist dealing in the removal of credit listings to help you clear your name. But understand that if you still owe money and the listing is correct, you may have to live with the consequences of a valid listing.
Charmaine Walker – DBM Attorneys
