“Our core purpose is to fulfill our constitutional mandate and, in doing so, have a meaningful impact on the lives of poor and vulnerable persons and ultimately on society. I am satisfied that we have used our resources efficiently and effectively to achieve this,” Legal Aid SA CEO Vidhu Vedalankar said in a statement.

“We are also pleased that we managed to deliver our programmes within our budget.”

The organisation spent 98.1% of its R1.638 billion budget allocated for the past year according to Vedelankar.

So, Just How Many People Has Legal Aid SA Assisted?

According to the organisation, they have assisted almost four million people in the last five years.

In light of a tough economic climate, Legal Aid SA said they recorded high performance within a good governance framework. Ensuring the poor and vulnerable in South African continue to receive access to justice.

Legal Aid SA Stats For 2014/2015

• 769 436 provided with criminal and civil legal aid services.
• 88% for criminal matters.
• 12% for civil legal matters.

What Are The Criminal Matters?

1. Abduction
2. Arson
3. Bigamy
4. Fraud
5. Incest
6. Housebreaking
7. Indecent assault
8. Public Violence
9. Murder
10. Rape
11. Robbery
12. Sedition
13. Treason
14. Administration of justice
15. Animal and nature conservation
16. Children
17. Corruption
18. Counterfeiting currency
19. Dealing in unwrought precious metals and uncut gemstones
20. Escaping from custody and/or obstructing the police
21. Vehicle theft
22. Witchcraft
23. And any attempt to commit the above.
24. Administering poison or other noxious substances
25. Assault (including common assault)
26. Bribery
27. Compounding
28. Defeating and/or obstructing the ends of justice
29. Extortion
30. Forgery and/or uttering
31. Kidnapping
32. Malicious injury to property
33. Receiving stolen property
34. Theft (including shoplifting)
35. Trespass
36. Unnatural sexual offences (including bestiality)
37. Persons with mental disabilities
38. Any attempt to commit any of these listed statutory offences

Legal Aid SA Success

During the year under review, the organisation dealt with a total of 30 criminal appeals in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein and achieved successful outcomes for 23 clients, about 77% in these appeals.

The Impact Litigation Unit of Legal Aid SA handled 52 impact matters and recorded a success rate of 89%. With eight of the nine matters finalised in the year under review.

“The nature of the impact matters ensure that, despite the low volumes, the outcomes impact is more broadl than just the specific clients assisted. These matters ensure that clients’ constitutional rights are enforced or protected and legal precedents, impacting widely on our clients’ rights, have been achieved.”

Legal Aid SA has continued to work within a framework of rigorous financial management and good governance, resulting in its 14th unqualified audit.

“We are very proud of an award from the Office of the Auditor-General of South Africa commending the organisation’s clean audit status,” said Vedalankar.

The post Legal Aid SA Helped 800 000 People in 2014/2015 appeared first on Insurance Quotes 24.

Nothing has revolutionised the word of computers and communications like the invention of the internet.  A large percentage of the world’s entire population uses the internet every single day, without realising the sheer magnitude of its networking structure, or the amount of data that gets processed every second. To put it into perspective, here are some mind blowing facts about the internet today.

•   40% of the world’s population, that is almost 3 billion people, are internet users.

•   Google estimates the internet at about 5 million terabytes of data.

•   247 billion emails are sent every day.

•   There are 234 million websites, and 126 million blogs.

•    An internet surfing session lasts, on average, just under an hour for most people – 51 minutes to be exact.

•   Every second, 28 258 internet users are watching pornography.

•   Facebook has more than 400 million active users. Twitter has 105 million.

•   20 hours of videos are uploaded to YouTube every minute, and 12.2 billion videos are viewed each month.

•   50 million tweets are sent every day. That’s about 600 tweets per second.

•   People who use social networks will spend 10% of their entire life time on these sites.

•   Over 8.7 billion machines are currently connected to the internet.

The post Mind-Blowing Facts About The Internet appeared first on Insurance Quotes 24.

Take a look at the list below and see if any of these options resonant with your past failed business ventures;

Lack of capital

Probably the number one reason why companies go under is due to a lack of funds. There can be many reasons for this including expanding your company too soon, no business plan and heavy reliance on debt funding.

As we will mention in detail in, “Why You Should Be Crowd-Funding” the benefits of crowdfunding platforms are tremendous as not only do you accumulate capital without the pressure of having to deliver, you are also privy to a large crowd from which to bounce ideas off before you go into production.

No market need

If the market is simply not biting, there is little you can do except perhaps store the idea for another time or shelve it altogether.

Keep in mind, the market trend fluctuate as often as the weather, so if you truly believe in your idea, perhaps store it for a time “when the market is ready for it”.  Try to find out why no one is biting by listing your product or service on a crowdfunding site. Many online users are usually only too happy to let you know why they do not like what you are offering.

Not the right team

In “The Things You Didn’t Know About Being An Entrepreneur“ we mentioned how most entrepreneurs starting out will think that they are their own boss and we discussed how this is not necessarily true.  Your staff and the people who make your product or service ‘work’ are indeed the actual bosses of your corporation.

It is important to have a diversity of skill sets in your company from day one to ensure you are never left flat-footed.

If your business is failing, it be an internal issue you are unaware of so look inward to find the chink in the armour.

Outcompeted

Despite all best efforts to maintain a great work culture, cash flow and interest, you may find yourself outcompeted to another company selling the same product or service.

It is necessary to assess just how they are achieving this to further keep up in the playing field.  While the wise old advice of, “focusing on your thing and how you plan to succeed” is good advice, it is not necessarily something you should take on exclusivity in business.

If you have no idea what is happening with other companies, you may believe that your ‘great idea’ is the only one of its kind which can severally detriment your drive to be the best.

Serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist and billionaire, Peter Thiel, suggests asking yourself if you are doing what no one else is doing. And if you are, how are you doing it differently to win the market?

Not all failed start-ups need to be a bad thing. The worst thing you can do is not learn from your mistakes as this is in the holy grail of entrepreneurship.

Compare SA’s Leading Insurance Brands Side-by-Side Here. 

The post Why Do Start-Ups Fail? appeared first on Insurance Quotes 24.

Due to the speed of technological updates and new product releases, keeping up-to-date with everything can be overwhelming. This, in turn, makes keeping up-to-date with how to do things a bit on the impossible side.

While Apple’s iPhone is always a strong recommendation to anyone wanting a smartphone that’s easy to use, even the best of us struggle to know everything about our devices.

The 8 Most Commonly-Asked Questions Consumer Ask The iStore

In light of this, we reached out to the iStore to find out what some of the most commonly-asked questions are that they get asked on a daily basis:

1. What is iCloud?

A web-based storage service, of which each customer receives a free 5GB space for every iCloud account. The best thing about iCloud is that it is confidential and secure.

2. How can I transfer my content from my iPad? 

All content can be backed up to your iTunes library on your computer and transferred from there. You can also use iCloud to secure, store, or back-up content on your device.

3. What can I store on iCloud?

You can store any file via iCloud Drive, Contacts, Calendars, or Notes. Photos sync automatically between all your devices.

4. Does the Apple Pencil work on older generation iPads?

No, it only works with iPad Pro.

5. How long is your warranty on your devices?

We offer a 1 year warranty. 

6. What is iCare and iCare Plus?

iCare is an extended warranty which extends your Apple device’s warranty by 1 year.

iCare Plus Protection Plan extends your warranty coverage to two years, from the original purchase date of your iPhone or iPad, and adds one incident of accidental physical damage coverage. iCare for Mac is R1299, iCare Plus for iPhone is R1299, and iCare Plus for iPad is R699

7. What is an Apple ID?

An Apple ID is a personal account you use to access Apple services like the App Store, Apple Music, iTunes Store, etc. 

8. How do I get music off my iOS devices?

If you purchased the music through iTunes, it will appear under ‘Purchased’ on your iTunes account.

CLICK BELOW to read about 3 ways to tell if your Apple cable is the real deal.

The post iStore Reveals Their Most Commonly-Asked Questions appeared first on Insurance Quotes 24.

CompareGuru takes a look at and compares two mid-range Android phones released in South Africa over the past year: the Hisense C30 Rock and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (16GB version).

Xiaomi has been established for some time as a force to be reckoned with, offering extremely high quality compared to cost.

However, Hisense has started wading in the mid-range pool with recent releases such as the Infinity Faith and Elegance smartphones. Unfortunately, the South African market hasn’t seen a mid-range release for Xiaomi since the Redmi Note 3 – with the Note 4 only reaching certain markets.

So how do each manufacturer’s latest mid-range releases compare to each other?

We tested them to find out…

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Specifications

While specifications aren’t the be-all and end-all for phones, they can give you a good indicator of certain features.

Below is a table of each phone’s specs:

The phones are mostly on the same playing field, but the Redmi Note 3 pulls slightly ahead in terms of raw specifications.

The C30 Rock has the higher pixel density, but the Note 3’s battery and processor outrank it.

However, where Xiaomi offers premium-feel features like fingerprint recognition, Hisense is offering durability with its damage, dust and water-resistant smartphone.

But factors other than hardware affect the smartphone experience. We weighed up our experience with certain features to see which phone came out best in each category.

Design And Display

In terms of design, the C30 Rock is the smartphone which stands out. Mid-range phones are especially prone to looking very similar to each other but the C30 managed to differentiate itself significantly.

Xiaomi opted for a more standard appearance, which Hisense has replicated with other models. However, when it comes the C30 Rock, Hisense has managed to achieve something significant by creating a rugged smartphone that is also visually appealing.

Most rubberised smartphones are bulky and thick; but Hisense’s Kevlar effect for its rubber exterior, rose gold accents, and a slim design makes the C30 Rock a very good-looking piece of hardware by any standards.

The C30 Rock has a slightly smaller display and achieves a slightly higher pixel density, but the phones are mostly evenly matched in this respect. The Redmi Note 3 has ‘reading mode’ capabilities,  which might account for a small difference in brightness when compared to the C30 Rock.

Overall the colour intensity on the C30 Rock also appears better than the Redmi’s display, making the rugged phone a winner in both design and display.

Winner: C30 Rock

Performance And Battery Life

On paper, it’s clear which phone would be the assumed winner in this category. The Redmi Note 3 has superior hardware both in terms of processing power and battery capacity.

But do these raw specs translate to the hands-on experience? Yes,  mostly.

The Snapdragon 650 is the more powerful of the processors, accompanied by a better GPU. The Snapdragon 430, on the other hand, is designed with more energy efficiency in mind.

This shows when it comes to battery usage – despite a 1000mAh difference in the batteries, the C30 Rock does a noteworthy job while trying to keep up with the longevity of the Note 3’s battery.

When both phones were run through a 20% battery test with Antutu, the Note 3 naturally outperformed the C30 Rock. Hisense’s phone scored 9541 while Xiaomi’s scored 13 608. To put this in more practical terms, it took around 1.5 hours to consume 20% of the C30 Rock’s battery. However, the Note 3 lasted 2 hours for the same proportion of the battery charge.

This means that with heavy usage, the C30 Rock battery should last a total of about 7.5 hours while the Note 3 will last about 10 hours. While this may seem like a big difference, the 1000mAh gap would usually create a bigger divide. This means that the C30 Rock is actually quite energy efficient. It also has the benefit of quick-charging.

When it comes to games and general usage, there isn’t much of a noticeable difference between the phones. However, the Redmi Note 3 does have a smoother feel to it when it comes to changing tabs and loading the home screen.

Winner: Redmi Note 3

Smartphone Cameras

Both smartphones have 16MP main cameras and 5MP front-facing cameras, so relying on pixels solely will not give an accurate measure of how the phones differ.

Rather, we took the phones out at the same time and took pictures of the same scenes to get an accurate comparison.

By doing this, it became apparent that the Redmi Note 3 had better colour saturation than the C30 Rock. The C30 Rock’s high light sensitivity resulted in many of the photos appearing more washed out than the Redmi’s pictures.

The C30 Rock also had a tendency to pick up yellow more than other tones. The pictures were taken mid-morning, but still showed a yellow haze in some areas.

The difference in quality could be down to the Redmi Note 3’s HDR functionality, which gives a greater range of tones in pictures through post-processing. Without the HDR however, the Redmi’s photos come out with lower saturation and contrast, diminishing their quality.

But without its own HDR mode, the C30 Rock can’t replicate the same quality. This results in photos with low tonal variety.

Strangely enough, the C30 Rock’s photos look better on the phone itself, due to the better brightness and colour intensity of the display. We had expected the Note 3’s photos to have less contrast and colour. It was only once the photos were put on the same computer screen that the differences became more evident.

Winner: Redmi Note 3

Other Considerations

What unifies these phones is their mid-range price points and status as mid-range flagship releases in South Africa over the past year. However, that’s where many of the similarities end.

The Redmi Note 3 is the phone which performs better, but it lacks a rugged and unique design. Its camera produces photos with better saturation and its fingerprint sensor adds an extra premium feel. It is also the cheaper of the two phones, priced at only R2 999. (R3 699 for the 32GB version, which would be equal to the C30 Rock’s storage).

The downsides are that the phone is operating on an older version of Android, its body has a plastic feel which makes it seem cheaper and its display brightness is less striking than that of the C30 Rock.

Meanwhile, the C30 Rock achieves a unique feat in being a rugged, rubberised phone that is still visually appealing – even more appealing than some of its fragile peers. While it is higher in price (R4 499), it remains one of the cheapest Android 7 smartphones. It is also one of the most affordable rugged smartphones, with phones from companies like Blackview costing higher in general for similar specs.

Deciding which phone suits you best depends on what you’re looking for in a device. While Xiaomi does offer a lower price and better performance, the C30 Rock is quite a step by Hisense. It represents the company trying something different from the norm while upping their quality versus price.

Considering Xiaomi is renowned for the high performance and low prices for their devices (their Mi 6’s specs are considered basically on par with the Samsung Galaxy S8, despite being around half the price); Hisense providing worthy competition in the form of this phone is an impressive feat.

The post Smartphone Review: C30 Rock vs Redmi Note 3 appeared first on Insurance Quotes 24.

Santam, South Africa’s largest insurer, explains income protection as ‘providing certainty of income in the event that you are unable to work owing to illness or accidents’.

To protect your future today with Income Protection, click here

Ayanda Nosuko* explains how all she dreamed about when she was young was travelling and buying clothes, until the fateful day in spring when her mother returned home without a job or savings.

“In a matter of a moment, it dawned on me that I was now financially responsible for my mom. At times I feel frustrated and responsible …. like I am suddenly the mother in the family,” she reveals. “But now I remain grateful for what I have learnt about the importance of planning for my future.”

If like Ayanda, you are considering income protection, you need to be aware of a few things first:

What will it cover?

Consider whether it only pays out the equivalent of your monthly salary or covers unpaid debts as well. For example for people who are employed full time by a company, Momentum offers them the choice to take out 100 per cent cover for 6, 12 or 24 months, and 75 percent of their net income until they retire if they are permanently disabled.

What circumstances does it pay out for?

Many basic income protection policies only cover illness or accident; find out whether your chosen policy covers unexpected layoffs as well. For example, Discovery covers all your Discovery premiums (life, health, retirement, insure) if you are retrenched under their Continuation Benefit.

How is it taxed?

It is important to understand that income protection is only taxed when you pay your premiums because they are not tax-deductible; however the payouts are tax-free.

Does it offer short or long-term protection?

Some policies will only cover you for a few months while others will cover you until such date as you start full-time employment again. You need to choose the time frame that you feel best suits your needs.

How does it compare with other policies?

Ensure that your policy meets all of your possible needs by choosing the most competitive offering. Sanlam, for example, suggests combining income protection with disability cover, critical illness cover and life insurance in the way that best meets your present and future needs, and those of your family.

Income protection, coupled with good critical illness benefits can offer you a lifeline on your path to physical and financial recovery. Just ensure you know exactly what your policy will cover you for before you sign on the dotted line.

The post What is Income Protection and How Can it Help? appeared first on Insurance Quotes 24.

Wi-Fi allows you to connect several internet enabled devices at once, anywhere in your house – or if you have a laptop, to even use your computer in the garden. You don’t need to install extra phone lines or cables.

Wi-Fi creates a network in your home or office – a little zone where computers can get broadband internet. It uses radio waves, just like TV or mobile phones.

A device called a wireless transmitter receives information from the internet via your broadband connection. The transmitter converts the information into a radio signal and sends it.

You could think of the transmitter as a mini radio station, broadcasting signals sent from the internet. The ‘audience’ for these transmissions is the computer (or computers, as more than one can connect at the same time) which receives the radio signal via a wireless adapter.

The whole process, meanwhile, works in reverse, with the computer sending information to the wireless transmitter. It then converts them and sends them via your broadband connection.

To use Wi-Fi you will need certain equipment:

Broadband Internet connection and modem

A broadband Internet connection is a high-speed Internet connection—in contrast to a dial-up connection, which is slower and not powerful enough to support a wireless network. Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and cable are two of the most common broadband connections. You can get a broadband connection by contacting an Internet service provider (ISP). Typically, ISPs that provide DSL are telephone companies and ISPs that provide cable are cable TV companies. ISPs often offer broadband modems and might even install it for you. Some ISPs also offer combination modem/wireless routers. You can also find these at computer or electronics stores.

Wireless router

A router sends information between your network and the Internet. With a wireless router, you can connect computers to your network using radio signals instead of wires. There are a few different types of wireless network technologies, including 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n.

Wireless network adapters

A network adapter is a device that connects your computer to a network. To connect your laptop or desktop computer to your wireless network, the computer must have a wireless network adapter. Most laptops—and many desktop computers—come with a wireless network adapter already installed.

If your computer needs a wireless network adapter, you can purchase one from a computer or electronics store and install it yourself. The universal serial bus (USB) type are a nice choice because they are small, easy to install, and they can be moved around to different computers. Make sure you get the same type of adapters as your wireless router. The type of adapter is usually marked on the package, typically with a letter, such as G or A.

The post Is It Magic? Wi-Fi Explained appeared first on Insurance Quotes 24.

The only MVNO to launch commercial services to date has been Virgin Mobile. That may be changing now, with the launch of Mr Price’s MVNO and amid mounting speculation that a big bank is planning to launch one in the coming months, too. Former  boss Steve Bailey is a driving force behind MRP Mobile. His new business, mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) business MVN-X, a subsidiary of Durban-based Ignition Group, is providing the platform for MRP Mobile.

The companies are piggybacking off Cell C’s network. TechCentral revealed in May that Bailey was working with a large South African retailer to launch South Africa’s second MVNO. Red Bull Mobile is often incorrectly labelled as an MVNO, but is simply a brand licensee, with everything behind the scenes managed by Cell C. Until now, Virgin Mobile — which also uses Cell C’s network –has had the MVNO space to itself. It was founded in 2006, with Cell C as a 50% shareholder and Richard Branson’s Virgin Group holding the remaining 50%. Cell C has since sold its stake. Bailey’s new business provides a full range of MVNE services to virtual operators.

It has developed complex billing and customer relationship management systems. In addition, the company provides an inbound call centre, along with procurement and logistics facilities. Bailey told TechCentral in May that the cellular market in South Africa is worth about R100bn/year. “It’s a big market, and there are a number of niche opportunities where operators can’t necessarily serve customers as well as an MVNO could,” he said. “We provide all the necessary infrastructure and platforms to allow MVNOs to launch at a fraction of the cost of doing it themselves, and to launch quickly.” According to Bailey, a number of South African banks have also shown “considerable interest” in launching MVNOs. “We have a pipeline of potential MVNOs,” he said. Bailey ran Virgin Mobile in South Africa for four years, before leaving in 2012 for a short stint at a telecoms operator in Nigeria. He then joined Ignition Group and began work on the MVN-X business in 2013. — © 2014 NewsCentral Media

This article was first published on TechCentral: http://www.techcentral.co.za/mr-price-launches-mvno/49958/

The post Mr Price launches MVNO appeared first on Insurance Quotes 24.

If you dodge them for long enough, however, they’ll hand your account over to a debt collection agency.

In many cases, this is much worse and way more discomforting. Anybody who has ever owed anybody money knows all about ignoring unknown numbers calling your phone. You’ve resigned yourself to it. You’re never going to answer a number with a funny-looking area code ever again.

Most of these agencies are willing to stoop lower than a snake’s belly to get what they want. They will hound you day and night and make your life absolute hell.

In this article, we have a look at the tricks these agencies employ, and what your rights are when it comes to dealing with them.

While You’re Here: The (Surprising) Type Of Debt Payment SA Consumers Prioritise Over Others

What Are Debt Collection Agencies?

In their defense, these people are tasked with the daunting job of collecting the money you owe credit providers. Debt collectors are either attorneys, agents of an attorney or registered debt collectors.

They charge service fees for this, as well as receiving a percentage of the amount collected. They have no interest in your ‘hard-luck stories’ or circumstances, and have to be pretty tough on uncooperative consumers.

If a collector charges for their services, they must be registered with the Debt Collectors Council. The National Debt Collection Act 114 of 1998 regulates the process of collecting debts in South Africa. According to this act, collectors are prohibited from:

• Using force or threatening to use force against you or your family;
• Physically threatening you or your family;
• Giving, or threatening to give, information to the consumer’s employer that may affect their opportunities as an employee;
• Serving any false legal documents;
• Presenting themselves as police officers, sheriffs or officers of the court;
• Spreading, or threatening to spread, any false information about your credit worthiness;
• Charging more than the fees set down by the Council.

Though some of them play by the books, others are the absolute worst, most depraved human beings on earth.

Below is an actual example of a summons that was received as a threat to pay an outstanding loan

Some may employ scare tactics, such as sending you a falsified, un-issued ‘Summons To Court’ which has not been stamped.

The Tricks They Pull To Contact You

Once a debt has been handed over, collectors will use any means possible to try and collect the debt from you. Collectors will sometimes employ the good cop / bad cop technique. They will tell you that they’re going to put a manager on the line to speak with you. This is often just another collector masquerading as a stern manager. They do this with the hopes that another voice on the line will get you to open up your wallet.

• They will try to obtain the contact details of your work or spouse or next of kin. Often, when you sign a credit agreement, you’re asked to provide the details of at least one member of your family. Collectors will phone these contacts to try and recover the debt.
• They might try and contact you through your employment and some go as far as threatening to expose you to colleagues and employers. Some of them may even attempt to find out where your children attend school and approach them for details about your whereabouts.
• Collectors will also try and use your social media to track you.

There have been some cases where collectors sometimes manage to access your medical records. This is usually done fraudulently, to access your history. They will then pose as medical professionals and contact you or your loved ones to obtain information.

The point of trying to trace and contact you is in order to push you to acknowledge your debt. Once a consumer has acknowledged the disputed debt, or paid any amount toward it, their legal right to continue disputing this debt falls away.

Collectors don’t tell you this.

Prescribed Debt And How It Works

Debt prescribes when three years have passed and you have not acknowledged or paid anything. If the credit provider has not issued a summons or taken judgment against you, your debt expires. In other words, if you have a debt that the creditor has not contacted you about for three years, the debt prescribes and they are, thereafter, not allowed to send collectors after you for old debt.

However, prescription does not apply to mortgages, TV licenses and other government debt. While there are ways for creditors to still claim this amount, the amendments to the National Credit Act in March 2015 make it almost impossible for debt collectors to touch you after three years.

If any payments or promises of payments have been made in those three years, the debt is still valid and the consumer is liable for it. This is why collectors will try to push you into acknowledging the debt during communications, sometimes even years later. If you admit to knowing about it then they can hold you responsible.

They may, for example, spin the question by asking something like; ‘If you won the Lotto, would you pay your old debt?’ A ‘yes’ answer is regarded as an acknowledgement of debt.

While it isn’t right to avoid paying your bills, it isn’t right for collectors to chase prescribed debt either.

While You’re Here: Are Loan Finder Sites Scamming You?

Know Your Rights

In addition to the conduct of all collectors being regulated by the Debt Collector’s Act, it is also regulated by common law relating to harassment, intimidation and other criminal acts of a similar nature.

Legislations such as the Attorneys Act, the rules of the applicable Law Society, the National Credit Act and the Consumer Protection Act are also there to defend you from disreputable debt collection methods from attorneys.

You should never sign an admission of liability, or consent to judgement, an emoluments attachment or garnishee order. It is important to verify any and all claims made by collectors. For claims about consumer finance, including personal loans, credit cards and store cards, you have a legal right to a statement of the amount owed and how it was calculated. If a collector refuses to send you copies of loan documents or statements for an alleged debt, bring the matter to the attention of the Debt Collectors Council. You are entitled to refuse to pay anything until they give you details in writing and supporting documents to their claim.

Collectors are not allowed to contact customers on a Sunday or outside the period of 6 am – 9 pm on any day. Contact within these times constitutes unprofessional conduct in terms of the Debt Collectors Act.

If the same collector or agency contacts you repeatedly and makes the same threats but does not follow-up on them, this could be a sign that they never had the mandate or had any intention of taking further legal action to begin with. It is unlawful for a debt collector to threaten that legal proceedings will follow non-payment, if there is no true intention to carry out that threat.

So, what can you do?

• Ask the agent to identify themselves and take down their full details. Do not speak to them if they cannot identify themselves and their organisation;
• If they’re calling to collect debt that is more than three years old, make sure that the debt is not prescribed debt. As mentioned before, it is now illegal to collect prescribed debt;
• Do not sign any documents you do not understand;
• If a credit provider or debt collector is demanding payment for a prescribed debt, challenge them and report them to the Council for Debt Collectors;
• Seek professional legal counsel.

Of course, the proper and responsible way to deal with these situations is to not get into debt at all. If trouble is looming, contact your credit provider and be transparent with them. This could avoid you getting blacklisted, or being handed over to a debt collection agency.

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The post Debt Collection Harassment – Know Your Rights appeared first on Insurance Quotes 24.

So, your lack of a budget has finally caught up to you. You’ve also realised putting everything on credit to keep the cashflow strong is not the wisest decision.

Thankfully, you’ve applied for debt review to help you get out of hot water and back into good standing with the credit providers. But now that the phone’s stopped ringing, your anxiety’s subsided, and you’ve made some lifestyle adjustments to live more frugally, you’re considering getting a loan to consolidate your debt instead.

Can You Take Out a Loan Under Debt Review?

If you’re undergoing debt counselling, you’ve been officially declared over-indebted. That is, your income, minus the cost of living, is less than your expenses.

While under debt review, you’re not allowed to take out any more loans (as per the National Credit Act – NCA). Reason being, this would be considered reckless lending. But some private lenders still do. Furthermore, as it’s a high risk loan, it comes at the cost of an even higher interest rate. Plus the risk of digging yourself deeper into the hole you’re trying to get out of. This is not recommended.

The point of undergoing debt review, is to become debt-free and be rehabilitated back into the credit market. This is difficult, if not impossible, if you keep adding to your debt. The debt review process includes negotiating a “single provisionally reduced monthly instalment” that is more affordable. It entails an extended payment period so, in effect, you will be in debt for a longer period of time. During the debt review period, you’ll be unable to apply for any more credit with any traditional (and reputable) financial institutions.

Can I Get Out of Debt Review?

If your financial circumstances change, or you have only a home loan or other large credit agreement remaining (that is not in arrears) under the debt rearrangement order, you can apply to rescind a debt review court order.

You’ll have to demonstrate to the court your financial affordability to repay the original outstanding amounts once an application to rescind the debt review order has been made. If you’re found capable of making payments directly to the outstanding creditors, outside of the debt rearrangement order, the debt review court order will be rescinded.

At this point, if you’ve paid all the short-term loans included in the rearrangement in full, you will be issued with a clearance certificate from your debt counsellor. This allows you to re-enter the credit market. The credit bureau will also be able to remove the negative payment profile history on the affected accounts.

You’ll now be able to apply for a consolidation loan. If you only have secure debts like a home loan or car finance to pay off, however, this won’t be necessary. The secure interest rates are unlikely to be higher than that of a consolidation loan. In other words, you’re already better off.

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