Court rules on fairness in vehicle repossession

THE PURPOSE of credit regulation must be seen as encouraging good faith engagement and promoting consumer rehabilitation, not as punishing transient defaults that have been remedied.

- ZELDA VENTER

This was the message of the Pietermaritzburg High Court in an application by BMW Financial Services (applicant) in which they wanted to repossess a vehicle, as they claimed the owner had fallen in arrears with his monthly payment.

The financial service provider wanted a summary judgment to be issued against Ndlangisa Funeral Services and its owner, Lungisani Ndlangisa (the respondents).

A summary judgment is a request for a court to rule in favour of one party without a full trial. This is usually when the court finds that there are no genuine disputes.

But by the time the application had been served before the court, the respondents had already paid the arrears. The financial service provider, however, still wanted an order allowing it to repossess the vehicle, as it argued the respondents had breached the sale agreement by falling into arrears in the first place (although this was no longer the situation).