How bank repossessions are impacting working-class families

ONE OF THE silent tragedies facing thousands of working-class families and homeowners are bank repossessions and auctions of their cars and homes.

- Solly Phetoe is the General Secretary of Cosatu.

This is a moment of unbelievable pain that countless workers drowning in debt fear and one that they and their families will never recover from.

A cursory read of the National Credit Regulator (NCR)'s reports reveal the shocking levels of debt most consumers find themselves in.

These are in the most instance because they have to support spouses who've lost jobs, unemployed relatives, cover education fees for their and their siblings’ children, haven't received an increase, and are struggling to cope with the rising costs of living.

As workers borrow money to cope these often come at exorbitant interest rates. Eventually many are borrowing simply to pay other debt.

During Covid-19, over 2 million workers lost their jobs, though many were recovered as the economy reopened but at a heavy price to those families.

Whilst one does not dispute the need for consumers to fulfill their loan obligations, there is a need for checks and balances to prevent abuses and to assist those in need of help.

Increasing trends have been revealed in countless court cases of banks being overzealous in rushing to auction the homes and cars of consumers or drag them to court when they default instead of finding alternative and humane solutions.

At times there have been reports of some bank officials colluding with property developers to buy these houses for a fraction of their value at auction and then selling them a few months later at market prices, making a fortune at the expense of the misery of their owners.