sa’s scary schools
26 February 2008

Question:
Is a government school allowed to take us to debt collectors? If they are, is it legal for them to arrange a garnishee order against my salary?
Can they then come back and charge me for a SMS they sent afterwards as well as add more interest and stamp duties on a monthly basis?
At the rate that they are charging me I am paying twice the amount.

Answer:
Yes, the school can hand over the account to debt collectors, but the debt collectors’ charges are limited to the amounts provided for in the Schedule to the Debt Collectors Act.   The debt collectors or the school can issue a summons and should you fail to defend the matter they can take a default judgment and request the court to issue a garnishee order.

It’s very common for legal costs to add up to more than the amount of the original debt. Remember that the legal costs must be in accordance with the Magistrates Court Act and other applicable legislation. You can have the attorney's legal bill checked by the Clerk of the Court while the Council for Debt Collectors can examine the debt collector's bill for overcharging.

It is worthwhile to make the paying off of these debts a high priority to reduce the cost. The longer you take to pay the more it will cost you as the monthly collection fees accumulate.

Iona Minton,  http://mymoney.iafrica.com