A judgment is granted by the court when legal summons is issued and you fail to defend the summons or make payment of the amount claimed. A judgment remains on your credit record for 5 years or until it is paid in full or a rescission is granted by the courts.
A court judgment, for example – where a court issues an instruction to you to pay an outstanding amount – will remain on your credit report for five years.
Limitation period.
Three years after a judgment expires, no writ of execution can be issued unless the debtor consents or unless the judgment is revived by the court on notice to the debtor (in which case no new proof of the debt is required) (Rule 66, Uniform Rules of Court).
Once paid up, you should go to the court in which the judgment was issued, with a paid up letter, and ask to get it removed from your credit report. This can be done in the chambers of the court and doesn't require the credit provider to be present.
Renew the judgment
Money judgments automatically expire (run out) after 10 years. To prevent this from happening, the creditor must file a request for renewal of the judgment with the court BEFORE the 10 years run out.
Here's how it might go: Backed by the judgment, the creditor can request an execution from the court. That gives an enforcement officer (like a Sheriff or City Marshal) the green light to go seize and sell your stuff. They could haul your collector car off to an auction, for example. It sounds invasive, but it's legal.
What Happens After a Judgment Is Entered Against You? The court enters a judgment against you if your creditor wins their claim or you fail to show up to court. You should receive a notice of the judgment entry in the mail. The judgment creditor can then use that court judgment to try to collect money from you.
In certain instances, some credit bureaus will require the judgment to be rescinded by the court that granted it. This will require a court application to be brought asking the court to formally rescind the judgment.
There are four main ways to not pay a judgment: (1) use statutory exemptions, (2) use protected assets, (3) negotiate with the creditor, or (4) file bankruptcy.
There are two types of judgments; judgments that are discriminating, and judgments that are evaluative.
Judgments Don't Affect Your Credit Score, But Can Impact Your Application. Since judgments are not included in credit reports, they won't be factored into credit score calculations.
South Africa has different laws which specify prescription periods, for example, the Prescription Act says that contractual and delictual debts extinguish after three years from the date when it became payable (due).
If you do miss a payment and do not let your debt counsellor know, the legal process will begin. Your creditors will issue you with a Section 129 letter which confirms you are in arrears. This will be followed by a summons and if ignored leads to a default judgement.
The simplest way to clear your name from the credit bureau is to pay off the debt. According to TransUnion, one of South Africa' biggest credit bureaus, this will usually result in your name being removed from the blacklist within 7 – 20 days.
Go to the 'Personal' tab of your report, and scroll down to 'Public information'. Here, you should be able to see any judgments, sequestrations or administration orders that have been added to your credit report.
The negative feelings and actions that can result from unnecessary judgement can have a significant impact on our psychological well-being. In fact, studies have shown that unnecessary judgement increases levels of stress, anxiety, and feelings of depression.
If the defendant fails to serve and file a Notice of Intention to Defend after 10 (ten) court days, the plaintiff is entitled to submit a request for default judgment to the clerk of the court.
Though you cannot go to jail for debt, you can be imprisoned for owing money to SARS. If this is the case, you may also be without any other option than to find out how to declare insolvency in South Africa. Keep in mind that the sequestration process is in place to ensure creditors can receive the minimum benefit.
Answer. Usually, judgments are valid for several years before they expire or "lapse." In some states, a judgment is effective for around five to seven years.
How long does it take to get a court date in South Africa? The trial date is usually within 30 months of the start of the litigation. More complex cases can take longer – between three to five years – to reach a final judgment i.e. after all appeals have been exhausted.
A judgment is a court order that is the decision in a lawsuit. If a judgment is entered against you, a debt collector will have stronger tools, like garnishment, to collect the debt.
Though judgement (with an e) has risen and fallen in popularity in British English, judgment remains the preferred spelling in British legal proceedings and appears more frequently in written work. Today, judgement is an accepted spelling in British English.