Getting calls about an account you haven’t paid in years? In terms of the Prescription Act, most ordinary consumer debts prescribe after three years if you haven’t acknowledged the debt and no summons was served.
Section 126B of the National Credit Act prohibits anyone from selling, continuing to collect, or re-activating a prescribed debt.
What to do
- Don’t pay anything or sign an acknowledgement — that can restart the clock.
- Send our prescribed debt letter asking them to stop.
- If they continue, complain to the National Credit Regulator or the Credit Ombud.
General information, not legal advice.
