Secondary Debt Prevention Measures in Terms of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005

Abstract

This dissertation discusses in general, a historical overview of progressive development of consumer credit legislation that laid the foundation for the National Credit Act. It constitutes of an overview of consumer credit legislation that governed credit agreements prior to the National Credit Act. It investigates secondary debt prevention measures as stipulated in the National Credit Act that influence a consumer’s decision in regards to credit spending and over-indebtedness, more specifically debt prevention measures such as advertising, credit marketing practices and the disclosure of information by the credit provider. The rationale being that if a consumer is provided with understandable information in regards to credit agreements and he can compare one credit provider’s services with another, and he will be put in a position to make a better decision when it comes to credit spending and thereby reducing or eliminating careless credit spending and subsequently over-indebtedness.