LAW MATTERS: Common law set-off cannot be applied to regulated credit agreements

Benjamin Meadows is an Associate at Cox Yeats Attorneys practising in the Corporate & Natural Resources Law Team. Image: Supplied.

Marikha Calo a Candidate Attorney. Image: Supplied.
Marikha Calo a Candidate Attorney. Image: Supplied.
JOHANNESBURG – 
 “That the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (NCA) is not a model of clarity, has been bemoaned by the High Court, this Court and the Constitutional Court on a number of occasions” – The Supreme Court of Appeal in Du Bruyn & others v Karsten.
The ambiguous provisions of the NCA were once again before the court in the recent case of National Credit Regulator v Standard Bank of South Africa Limited; this time in the context of set-off.
Common law set-off vs. statutory set-off 
South Africa has a strong tradition of common law, being that body of law which is not to be found in any Act of Parliament, but has been applied by the courts and citizens for generations.

Source: iol.co.za