How to stop debt collectors harassing you

You stop a debt collector harassing you by knowing the rules they must follow, putting your position in writing, and complaining to the body that regulates them when they break those rules. Debt collectors in South Africa are regulated by the Debt Collectors Act 114 of 1998 and must be registered with the Council for Debt Collectors. The Council's code of conduct prohibits threats, intimidation, misleading statements, contact at unreasonable hours and disclosure of your debt to other people. A collector who ignores the code can be fined, suspended or struck off.

None of this makes a genuine debt disappear. But it does mean that the way a debt is collected has limits, and that you do not have to accept calls to your workplace, threats of arrest, or fees you were never told about.

How debt collection is supposed to work

Who may collect. A credit provider may collect its own debts through its own staff. When it hands the debt to an outside agency, that agency and its individual collectors must be registered with the Council for Debt Collectors. Attorneys who collect debts are regulated separately by the Legal Practice Council. Anyone else collecting for reward is acting unlawfully.

What a collector may do. A registered collector may contact you to demand payment, tell you the consequences of non-payment truthfully, propose arrangements and accept payments. The collector may recover the capital, interest permitted by the agreement, and the fees the Council's tariff allows. Those fees are capped by regulation. A collector may not simply invent a "collection fee".

What a collector may not do. The code of conduct prohibits conduct that is harassing, threatening or intimidating. It prohibits false or misleading statements, such as claiming to be a sheriff or a court official, threatening arrest for an ordinary debt, or claiming that legal action has started when it has not. It prohibits contacting you at unreasonable hours, and it prohibits disclosing your debt to third parties, including your employer, family, colleagues or neighbours. The Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 adds a further layer, because your debt is personal information and a collector who shares it without lawful basis breaches that Act as well.

Where the debt comes from. Collectors often buy old debts in bulk or are instructed on debts that have changed hands more than once. That is why you must always ask for proof. Many collectors cannot produce it, and many of the debts they chase have prescribed under the Prescription Act 68 of 1969, which extinguishes most ordinary debts after three years without acknowledgement, payment or summons. Our guide on what happens when a debt prescribes explains this in detail.

A worked example

Take Andile, who receives a call from an agency about a store account he thinks he closed in 2019. The caller says the balance is R9 800, that "the sheriff is on his way", and that Andile must pay R2 000 today to stop it. Over the next week the agency phones him eleven times, three of them after 8pm, and once calls his employer's switchboard asking for him "about a legal matter".

Andile does not pay. He sends the agency an email asking for its Council registration number, the original credit agreement, a full statement showing how R9 800 was calculated, and the date of his last payment. He runs the dates through the prescription checker. The last payment was in 2020 and there was no summons, so the debt has very likely prescribed. He tells the agency this in writing and instructs it to stop contacting him by phone.

The agency produces no agreement and no statement, but keeps calling. Andile lodges a complaint with the Council for Debt Collectors with his call log and the email chain, and a separate complaint with the Information Regulator about the call to his employer. The calls stop. These figures and dates are illustrative only, and your own facts will decide whether a debt has prescribed.

What to do this week

Start a log today. Date, time, number, name of the caller, what was said. Save voicemails and screenshots of SMSes and WhatsApps. A log is the difference between a complaint that goes nowhere and one that is acted on.

Ask for the collector's registration number. A registered collector has one and will give it. Check it with the Council for Debt Collectors. If the collector refuses or the number does not check out, that is itself a complaint.

Demand proof in writing. Ask for the credit agreement, a statement showing how the balance was calculated, the date of the last payment, and who the current creditor is. Do not acknowledge the debt in this letter. Ask for information, nothing more.

Check prescription. Use the prescription checker and our guide on how to check if a debt has prescribed. If the debt has prescribed, say so in writing.

Set the terms of contact. Tell the collector in writing that you will communicate by email or post, that they may not call your employer, and that they may not call outside reasonable hours. A collector who ignores a written instruction of that kind is easier to complain about.

If the debt is real and not prescribed, make a realistic offer in writing. The collector's job is to recover money. A written arrangement you can keep is usually accepted.

Documents to gather

• Your call log and all messages from the collector.
• Any letter of demand the collector has sent.
• The original credit agreement, if you have it.
• Your own bank statements showing the date of your last payment on the account.
• Your credit report from a registered bureau, which may show the account and its history.
• Any earlier correspondence with the original credit provider, especially settlement or closure letters.
• The collector's registration number and the name of the agency.

A realistic timeline

Day 1. Log starts. Registration number requested. Proof-of-debt letter sent.

Weeks 1 to 3. The collector either produces documents or does not. Many do not. If documents arrive, check the balance using the debt interest and in duplum calculator, because interest may not lawfully exceed the unpaid capital while you are in default.

Weeks 3 to 6. If the conduct continues, lodge a complaint with the Council for Debt Collectors. Attach the log and the correspondence. The Council investigates and can discipline the collector.

Months 2 to 4. If a credit provider is behind the collector, a complaint to the National Credit Regulator on 0860 627 627 or to the National Financial Ombud Scheme may run alongside. If your personal information was disclosed, the Information Regulator handles that complaint.

Complaints take time, but the harassment usually stops much sooner once a complaint is on file.

Common mistakes and what they cost

Paying "something" to make it stop. A payment on a debt that is close to prescribing restarts the three years. On a debt that has already prescribed, the payment cannot be reclaimed and the collector may argue that you gave up the defence. A payment to an unregistered collector may never reach the creditor. Never pay until you have proof of the debt and have checked prescription.

Acknowledging the debt on the phone. "Yes, I know I owe it" can be treated as an acknowledgment that restarts the prescription clock if the three years have not yet run. Ask for documents. Do not confirm anything until you have seen them.

Believing the threat of arrest. You cannot be arrested for an ordinary unpaid debt. A collector who says otherwise is breaking the code of conduct. Write down the exact words and the time.

Ignoring a real summons. A collector's letter is not a summons. A summons is served by the sheriff and gives you a set number of days to respond. If you receive one, act on it, because a judgment is far harder to undo than a collector's call.

Your rights and the collector's rights

You are entitled to be dealt with honestly and without harassment, to know who the collector is and whom they act for, to written proof of the debt, to a statement showing the balance, to be contacted at reasonable hours only, and to have your debt kept private. You are entitled to raise prescription, to dispute the balance, and to complain to the Council without any cost.

A registered collector acting for a genuine creditor on a debt that has not prescribed is entitled to contact you, to demand payment, to add the fees the tariff allows, and to recommend that the creditor sue you if you do not pay. It is entitled to decline an arrangement it regards as unrealistic. It is not entitled to lie, threaten, disclose or overcharge, and if it does, it loses the protection of its registration.

Our guide on whether debt collectors can call you at work covers workplace contact in more detail.

If you cannot afford an attorney

Dealing with a debt collector very rarely needs an attorney. The regulators are free and are set up for exactly this.

The Council for Debt Collectors handles complaints about collector conduct and about unregistered collectors. The National Credit Regulator on 0860 627 627 deals with credit providers that breach the National Credit Act 34 of 2005, including through the collectors they instruct. The Credit Ombud within the National Financial Ombud Scheme South Africa resolves disputes about the debt itself, such as a balance you believe is wrong. The Information Regulator handles disclosure of your personal information. If a collector has taken money from you that was not owed, or has added fees beyond the tariff, the Small Claims Court lets you recover amounts within its limit without an attorney. Legal Aid South Africa on 0800 110 110 can tell you whether you qualify if the matter reaches court, and our legal aid page explains the means test. Our page on what debt and credit matters cost sets out costs if you do want representation.

Frequently asked questions

People often ask whether they can simply block the number. You can, and it is sometimes the right thing to do once you have put your position in writing. But blocking without writing first means you may miss a genuine summons or a settlement offer, so write first and block second.

They ask whether a collector can list them at a credit bureau. A collector cannot list you on its own account. The creditor may report the account, subject to the National Credit Act's rules, which include giving you notice before an adverse listing is made. If a listing appears that you believe is wrong, our guide on disputing a listing on your credit report explains what to do.

Finally, people ask whether the harassment stops if they pay in full. It should. Get a settlement letter before you pay, pay by a method you can prove, and keep the letter permanently, because bulk-sold debts have a way of reappearing years later.