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South Africa has been graced with a new credit act- an act that is supposedly trying to help consumers to stop buying everything on credit.
Interesting, because everything is getting so expensive that the only way we can actually afford certain things is by buying it on credit.
The petrol price is skyrocketing, the interest rate is going up so much that some people are paying thousands more per month for their houses.
And then of course, there’s the whole thing about the new act and getting finance. Yes, it’s much more difficult today. Not only that, it seems that our credit records are being flanged and smothered in red for trivial amounts under R1000 and this is of course influencing our chances of getting credit.
Now, I know of someone who got blacklisted by a cell phone company (think red and a sultry sexy voice) for a measly amount. Now obviously she paid the amount in full as soon as she found out they sent her name to the lawyers. Ironically, they never let her know that she actually owed the amount. Obviously when the lawyers contacted her- she was already blacklisted for the amount.
Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but shouldn’t the lawyers try to get the money out of you before you get blacklisted? And when you pay it, everything will be resolved and your name will be taken off?
Obviously, it doesn’t work like that these days. You get blacklisted and even if you pay the money, this means nothing. My poor friend needed finance for the house she was about to buy, but alas, even after contacting the cell phone company and begging them to take her name off, they said “Cell C does not remove names on ITC, however we only update your status”.

How nice is that? It’s a slap in the face – saying thanks that you paid the measly amount, but now that you have paid we really don’t care anymore. So even though this girl has paid, she still can’t get finance anywhere else because the cell phone company won’t take her name off.
Its sad, we are all suffering because of the interest rates that’s going up, the petrol prices that are reaching ridiculous amounts which of course means we all have to cut out all good things since our salaries can’t cope with the prices of the needed.

So my question now is, what is this world coming to and how can we fix it?