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Is it too late?

When a bank gets a summary judgment against you, it can feel like the end of the road. 

Many consumers assume there is nothing they can do once a court order has been granted. However, that is not always the case. 

A recent High Court ruling from Johannesburg is a good reminder that if something doesn’t seem right, it is worth asking questions. More than that, it is actually possible to take matters further with legal help even after a judgment is received.

The particular case involved a financed vehicle that was repossessed after the credit provider obtained a default judgment, claiming the consumer had fallen behind on his payments.

The consumer insisted he had never received the court papers and later challenged the judgment.  What happened next almost sounds like something from a comedy.

The sheriff’s return claimed the papers had been served on the consumer in the presence of his wife. There was just one rather important problem. His wife had passed away more than ten years earlier, and the credit provider’s own records listed him as a widower.

So, unless someone had mastered time travel, something clearly wasn’t right.

This was the basis of the consumer’s legal argument to get the summary judgment thrown out.

 

No Time Travel

The High Court agreed that a big mistake had been made and overturned the judgment, and ordered that the vehicle be returned.

The court was also unhappy that the credit provider continued fighting the case even after this glaring contradiction had been pointed out. Rather than stepping back and trying to resolve the matter, they pressed on with their opposition.

The judge found this conduct unreasonable and as a result even ordered the credit provider to pay the consumer’s legal costs on the punitive attorney and client scale.

All hope of setting the matter right seemed to have been lost. After all, a judgment had been granted, and the car was gone. But rather than just let the matter go, the consumer decided to insist on their legal rights, demanding that the bank play by the correct rules and do things properly.

‘Consumers have rights, but unfortunately sometimes they need to speak up and pay lawyers to protect them’

Consumers have rights, but unfortunately sometimes they need to speak up and pay lawyers to protect them. If you believe court papers were never properly served, your account has been affected by fraud, or a credit provider has acted unfairly, don’t simply shrug your shoulders and accept it. Speak to a Debt Counsellor or a legal professional.

Asking questions, keeping good records and standing your ground can make a big difference.