Lay-by

[acronje@vodamail.co.za]

I need to be able to offer some of my customers a Lay-by option. I can not seem to find any guide line by which to go by. Where can I find the relevant Act outlining the rules to follow, and where can I find a sample of a lay-by contract.

[Vincent]

...offer some of my customers a Lay-by option... Where can I find the relevant Act outlining the rules

The new Consumer Bill will explain what you're looking for.

[Arras]

So currently there is nothing available, and I wil have to wait for the bill? New Zealand and Austrailia web sites explain Lay-by procedures very clearly, but aparently SA has no guidelines?

[Vincent]

So currently there is nothing available, and I wil have to wait for the bill? New Zealand and Austrailia web sites explain Lay-by procedures very clearly, but aparently SA has no guidelines?

The National Assembly approved the Consumer Protection Bill on the 25 September 2008, although it is still under debate.

22 October 2008
Prior to the enactment of the Consumer Protection Bill, the department of trade and industry (DTI) will have to publish a business code regarding consumer practice and call for public hearings on the subject.

Read the rest of the article HERE

You can download the latest version of the Consumer Protection Bill [B19D-2008] HERE

[Arras]

Thanks Vincent.

[Sieg]

Lay-by agreements

Careful, people!

That BILL is still just a BILL and is not yet law.

There is law which governs lay-by agreements: Government Notice R.1234 of 1980. This kind of agreement is regarded as a credit agreement. It may also be governed by the National Credit Act. [I have not checked this aspect.]

In essence:

1. The agreement must be in writing;
2.Must be signed by the Seller and Purchaser personally;
3. Contain a complete description of the goods with identification numbers;
4. mention the price;
5. mention the deposit payable;
6. must contain a clause that the purchaser may cancel and if so terminated, that the Seller shall refund at least 90% of all monies received (i.e. the Seller can keep only ten percent of amounts paid as "rouwkoop");
7. Purchaser must be provided with a copy of the agreement;
8. Purchaser must be sent detailed monthly statements;
9. The agreement may not be longer than for six months;
10. The agreement may not exclude the Purchaser's common law rights for defects in the goods.

There are some further obligations on the Seller.

I can provide a (somewhat older) example of such an agreement on e mailed request.

Sieg

[Dave A]

You jogged my memory, Sieg.

Here is an extract from a post by Eugene on some background to the origins of the National Credit Act:

The Lay-by Regulations were promulgated in terms of the Sale and Services Matters Act. Very few people were aware of the existence of Lay-by Regulations, which were intended to protect consumers party to lay-by transactions. Three of the prescriptions were that the transaction period could not exceed 6 months; that the agreement should be in writing, and; that interest could not be charged on the purchase price.

From that it seems likely Lay-by issues might well be dealt with in the NCA, but I suspect the detail will be in the regs rather than the Act itself.