Ndima and Another v Nedbank Limited and Another (NCT/121761/2018/141(1)) [2020] ZANCT 15 (12 October 2020)

Ndima and Another v Nedbank Limited and Another (NCT/121761/2018/141(1)) [2020] ZANCT 15 (12 October 2020)

The Tribunal found that Nedbank Limited failed to comply with Regulation 23A(4) by not using the latest three salary deposits to validate the first applicant's income and by including an unverified once-off deposit in the income calculation. This resulted in an inaccurate affordability assessment for the credit card. For the personal loan, Nedbank did not take reasonable steps to confirm all existing debt obligations, making unilateral decisions about which debts to include. The Tribunal held that these failures meant Nedbank did not conduct proper affordability assessments as required by sections 80, 81, and 82 of the National Credit Act. The Tribunal concluded that both the credit card...

Citation
[2020] ZANCT 15
Parties
Applicant: Nomathemba Beauty Ndima; Applicant: Myrlene Pieterse; Respondent: Nedbank Limited; Respondent: National Credit Regulator
Court
National Consumer Tribunal
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
12 October 2020
Case Number
NCT/121761/2018/141(1)
Procedural Posture
Review Application / Merits Determination After Leave to Refer Granted
Outcome
The Tribunal declared both the credit card and personal loan agreements reckless and set aside all the first applicant's future rights and obligations under those agreements.
Judges
M Nkomo, L Best, D Terblanche
Legal Topics
Reckless Lending, Affordability Assessment, National Credit Act, Consumer Protection, Credit Agreement, Regulation 23a
Banking and Finance Civil Procedure Reckless Lending Affordability Assessment National Credit Act Consumer Protection Credit Agreement Regulation 23a

Case Brief

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Parties

Nomathemba Beauty Ndima

Applicant

Myrlene Pieterse

Applicant

Nedbank Limited

Respondent

National Credit Regulator

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Review Application / Merits Determination After Leave to Refer Granted

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether Nedbank Limited entered into reckless credit agreements with the first applicant contrary to the National Credit Act.
  2. 2 Whether the first applicant is entitled to relief under section 83 of the National Credit Act.

Ratio Decidendi

The Tribunal found that Nedbank Limited failed to comply with Regulation 23A(4) by not using the latest three salary deposits to validate the first applicant's income and by including an unverified once-off deposit in the income calculation. This resulted in an inaccurate affordability assessment for the credit card. For the personal loan, Nedbank did not take reasonable steps to confirm all existing debt obligations, making unilateral decisions about which debts to include. The Tribunal held that these failures meant Nedbank did not conduct proper affordability assessments as required by sections 80, 81, and 82 of the National Credit Act. The Tribunal concluded that both the credit card...

Court Disposition

The Tribunal declared both the credit card and personal loan agreements reckless and set aside all the first applicant's future rights and obligations under those agreements.

Orders

  • Credit agreement number 5898460978295301 and credit agreement number 8002892175301 are declared reckless and set aside.
  • All the first applicant's future rights and obligations under the above credit agreements are set aside.