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‘The only people who really benefit from a sale in execution are the speculators’: consumer advocate Leonard Benjamin

File image PROPERTY NEWS - It’s been known for years that the banks have been flogging off repossessed properties for a fraction of their market worth, but the evidence was anecdotal and fragmented. Not anymore. An affidavit filed in support of the R60 billion class action suit brought by Lungelo Ditokelo Human Rights Foundation against the major banks, based on a sample of about 12 000 repossessed properties, found that these properties were sold for 50-60% of their proper value, mainly through sheriff’s auctions. The class action suit, which is being defended by...

Picture: iStock Government appears to have little concern for the plight of South Africans now at risk of losing their houses and cars. It was disclosed in Transaction Capital’s recent year-end results that as at June 2020, 23% of vehicle and mortgage accounts were in arrears, as were 77% of unsecured lending accounts. ‘Humanitarian crisis’ “This is a humanitarian crisis and yet we continue like it’s business as usual, as if consumers fell into arrears out of their own neglect,” says King Sibiya, CEO of Lungelo Di...

MONEYWEB app instead? Watch out for a repo frenzy A blizzard of summonses has hit consumers who fell into arrears during lockdown. The advice from consumer advocates: defend these and tell your side of the story to the court. 00:01  Open: Start paying whatever you can as soon as you can – judges view such attempts in a very positive light. Image: Shutterstock There won’t be much Christmas cheer for thousands of South Africans who fell into arrears on their mortgages and vehicle payments through no fault of their own. The banks extended a three-month repayment holiday at the st...