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Fin24 user CS says he has been "jailed" for 30 years, because he has become unable to repay his debt. He writes:
As many directors of smaller companies are regularly asked to do, I had to on several occasions stand personal surety for financial matters concerning the companies I was involved in over the years.
Without these sureties, the companies would not have been able to function and operate in the business world and economy as we all know it today. I had to stand personal surety for equipment leases, personal surety for rental contracts, personal surety for bank overdrafts, personal surety for every bit of credit ever provided to any of these companies. This was considered "standard practice and requirement" by banks and services providers.
The companies I am referring to had been in existence and operating in excess of 20 years. They provided work and income to close to 150 families. Unfortunately because of the worldwide recession that peaked in 2008, the companies could no longer sustain themselves and had to be placed into voluntary liquidation by myself.
Now, five years later, I am still being haunted and harassed by debt collectors. Judgments totalling millions of rands have been taken against me and also some against my wife; we were married in community of property, so she had to co-sign many sureties given by me over the years.
The chances of me (us) ever being able to repay or settle these debt, is basically zero.
Personal sequestration is also not an option available to us, because there is nothing we can offer creditors, not even the so-called 10c or 20c in the rand.
I am not sure if the proposed legislation is going to offer us any relief, but I do not wish what my wife and I had to endure the last six years on any honest business person or individual.
As a good Muslim friend of mine once told me, they (the Muslims) are not allowed to make debt because their prophet Mohammed has warned them that DEBT will steal their smile. So, so true... just look what happens if you ever find yourself in the unfortunate predicament of no longer being able to service and honour your debt... :-( Gone!
Providing debt has its risks and lenders know that, that is why they are supposed to do repayment and affordability checks with the borrower.
It is a "business deal" between borrower and lender. It can fail. What happens if you invest on the stock market and the shares you invested in do not perform as expected, or they lose 80% of their value overnight?
Do you sue the broker or company you invested in and keep them responsible for your losses into infinity? No, you cut your losses and you move on.
I think that if it can be proven that a person was honestly unable to settle or repay a judgment within five years and all other legal procedures failed to prove that person was or is actually in a position to do so, those judgments and debt should be written off and removed from that person's record, so that they can start afresh.
In no way do I wish to avoid responsibility or accountability, but I would like to think that after five years of being unable to make any payments towards the judgments and having appeared in court several times to prove that my current income does not allow for it, the message should be clear.
The chances of those judgments ever being settled is most probably zero. Why therefore aggravate the situation, by "crippling" me for the rest of my life, by black-listing me into infinity? I believe that these judgments stand for 30 years!
That is longer than most convicted murderers in this country get! So the message is... you can murder, you can steal and you can even smoke for that matter, just do not skip a debt payment. Eish!!
* Any constructive advice for CS? Leave a message in the comments box below or send us an email.
- Fin24
Help us help you by taking our second annual Debt survey and you could win R3 000, or add your voice by sharing your debt experiences, debt-busting tips and insights. Have a question? Ask our experts.
As many directors of smaller companies are regularly asked to do, I had to on several occasions stand personal surety for financial matters concerning the companies I was involved in over the years.
Without these sureties, the companies would not have been able to function and operate in the business world and economy as we all know it today. I had to stand personal surety for equipment leases, personal surety for rental contracts, personal surety for bank overdrafts, personal surety for every bit of credit ever provided to any of these companies. This was considered "standard practice and requirement" by banks and services providers.
The companies I am referring to had been in existence and operating in excess of 20 years. They provided work and income to close to 150 families. Unfortunately because of the worldwide recession that peaked in 2008, the companies could no longer sustain themselves and had to be placed into voluntary liquidation by myself.
Now, five years later, I am still being haunted and harassed by debt collectors. Judgments totalling millions of rands have been taken against me and also some against my wife; we were married in community of property, so she had to co-sign many sureties given by me over the years.
The chances of me (us) ever being able to repay or settle these debt, is basically zero.
Personal sequestration is also not an option available to us, because there is nothing we can offer creditors, not even the so-called 10c or 20c in the rand.
I am not sure if the proposed legislation is going to offer us any relief, but I do not wish what my wife and I had to endure the last six years on any honest business person or individual.
As a good Muslim friend of mine once told me, they (the Muslims) are not allowed to make debt because their prophet Mohammed has warned them that DEBT will steal their smile. So, so true... just look what happens if you ever find yourself in the unfortunate predicament of no longer being able to service and honour your debt... :-( Gone!
Providing debt has its risks and lenders know that, that is why they are supposed to do repayment and affordability checks with the borrower.
It is a "business deal" between borrower and lender. It can fail. What happens if you invest on the stock market and the shares you invested in do not perform as expected, or they lose 80% of their value overnight?
Do you sue the broker or company you invested in and keep them responsible for your losses into infinity? No, you cut your losses and you move on.
I think that if it can be proven that a person was honestly unable to settle or repay a judgment within five years and all other legal procedures failed to prove that person was or is actually in a position to do so, those judgments and debt should be written off and removed from that person's record, so that they can start afresh.
In no way do I wish to avoid responsibility or accountability, but I would like to think that after five years of being unable to make any payments towards the judgments and having appeared in court several times to prove that my current income does not allow for it, the message should be clear.
The chances of those judgments ever being settled is most probably zero. Why therefore aggravate the situation, by "crippling" me for the rest of my life, by black-listing me into infinity? I believe that these judgments stand for 30 years!
That is longer than most convicted murderers in this country get! So the message is... you can murder, you can steal and you can even smoke for that matter, just do not skip a debt payment. Eish!!
* Any constructive advice for CS? Leave a message in the comments box below or send us an email.
- Fin24
Help us help you by taking our second annual Debt survey and you could win R3 000, or add your voice by sharing your debt experiences, debt-busting tips and insights. Have a question? Ask our experts.
