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A Fin24 user who has loan accounts with African Bank wants to know if she's still liable for the debt after five years.
She writes: "I would like to know. I had 2 loan accounts with African Bank. One starting on 2011/02/22 and the other one 2010/11/17. I'm still outstanding with them as the company I worked for went under liquidation. I want to clear my name so need to know: Do I still have to pay them or does it fall away as I heard it takes five years then they clear your name? How do I go about this, please help me... I need advice.
I went online to see what is still outstanding but if I want to make payment it says 'You have no accounts that are eligible for payment arrangement'. I really would like to get my credit back to normal."
Wikus Olivier, Debt Management Expert from DebtSafe responds:
Unfortunately you are still liable to pay the debt with African Bank. The five years that you heard about, could be a reference to the retention periods on your credit profile. This has also changed in the meantime. If you have a judgment against your name on a specific debt account, and you settle the debt, the information must be cleared immediately.
In the past, it usually stayed on your record for five years or until you get the judgment rescinded. If you want to get your credit profile sorted, it is very important that you make payments on time, each and every single month.
Unsecured loans are very expensive. You could consider consolidating your two loans into one facility that has more preferential terms, such as an overdraft. If you own property, and have an access bond or something similar, you could consolidate those loans into your bond.
Whatever you do, it is very important to draw up a budget first to make sure that you will be able to afford the instalment. Negotiate with the credit provider to structure the consolidation in such a way that it will suit your budget.
Hope that helps!
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