Prescribed Debt in South Africa: When Old Debt Legally Dies — and How Not to Revive It
Somewhere in a call centre right now, a collector is phoning a South African about a cellphone account from eight years ago — and the person answering doesn't know that the debt may be legally dead, that collecting it may be unlawful, and that the R100 good-faith payment being suggested would bring it back to life. Prescription is one of consumer law's strongest protections and its least understood. This guide explains the rule, its limits, and exactly how to respond to old-debt collection without stepping on the landmine.
The rule: three years, most debts
Under the Prescription Act, ordinary debts prescribe after three years from the date they became due — meaning the creditor loses the right to enforce them. The three-year class covers most consumer credit: store accounts, credit cards, personal loans, cellphone contracts, medical bills, gym fees. Prescription runs while the creditor does nothing; it is interrupted (and restarts) if, within the period, the creditor serves a summons — or if YOU pay anything or acknowledge the debt. Certain debts run longer: mortgage bonds, judgment debts and certain statutory debts prescribe only after thirty years, and some categories (like debts to the state of particular kinds) have their own periods — so the three-year rule is the default, not the universe. A debt with a judgment against it, in particular, is NOT a three-year debt: judgments last decades, which is one of several reasons never to ignore a summons.
What interrupts the clock — the landmine section
Prescription restarts from zero when, before it completes: (1) you make any payment — literally any amount, which is why collectors on old debts push so hard for a small token payment or a debit-order date; (2) you acknowledge liability — admitting in a recorded call or in writing that you owe the money can constitute acknowledgment (which is why the safe script below admits nothing); or (3) the creditor serves legal process — a summons interrupts prescription; a phone call, letter of demand or SMS does not. Understand what this means in practice: an eight-years-silent debt is safe ONLY if you keep it silent. The collector's friendly settlement offer at 90% discount is, often, an invitation to restart a three-year enforcement window on a debt they currently cannot enforce at all.
Section 126B: the collection ban
Since the 2015 amendments, the National Credit Act goes further than making prescribed debt unenforceable: section 126B prohibits selling prescribed debt and prohibits its continued collection or re-activation where the debt has prescribed and the consumer raises — or reasonably would raise — prescription. In plain terms: for credit-agreement debts, a collector demanding payment on a prescribed debt isn't just wasting your time; they're likely acting unlawfully, and prescription no longer depends on you knowing magic words in the right courtroom — the prohibition protects consumers who would have raised the defence had they known of it. Debt buyers who purchase ancient debt books and dial for token payments are the exact practice the section targets. Report violators to the National Credit Regulator, and raise complaints through the Credit Ombud for bureau and collection misconduct.
The safe script for old-debt calls
When a collector calls about a debt you don't recognise or that smells old, the sequence is: admit nothing, pay nothing, request everything. Say only: I do not acknowledge this debt — send me full particulars in writing: the original creditor, the agreement, the date of last payment, and a full statement. (You're entitled to substantiation; legitimate collectors provide it.) Then check the dates: when did YOU last pay or acknowledge? If more than three years ago, with no summons served in that window and no judgment on record — the debt has likely prescribed. Respond, in writing: this debt has prescribed under the Prescription Act and section 126B of the NCA; cease collection. Keep copies. If collection continues, escalate to the NCR; if it's on your credit report, dispute it with the bureau (prescribed debts don't belong there, and the dispute process is free — our credit report guides cover it). And if a summons ever arrives on a prescribed debt, do NOT ignore it: prescription is a defence that must be raised — file the defence (a magistrate's court clerk or an attorney can assist); an undefended summons becomes a judgment even on a prescribed debt, converting your three-year shield into a thirty-year problem.
Why old debts get bought — the industry behind the calls
Understanding the collector's economics explains their scripts. Old defaulted debt is sold in books — thousands of accounts at a time — for cents on the rand: the older and colder the debt, the cheaper the book. A buyer who paid 5c per rand of face value profits if even a small fraction of debtors pay something — which is why the calls optimise for ANY payment rather than full settlement, and why the friendly R200-to-show-goodwill offer is the industry's favourite move: it converts a worthless prescribed account into a live, enforceable, interruption-restarted one, transforming the book's value at your expense. The same economics explain the tactics the law now polices: threats of listings on debts too old to list, urgency theatre around discounts expiring Friday, and strategic vagueness about dates — the collector's file knows exactly when you last paid; the script hopes you don't. None of this makes collectors villains as a class — collection of live debts is legitimate and necessary — but on OLD debts, the incentive structure is precisely misaligned with your rights, and section 126B exists because Parliament looked at this market and drew a line. Your countermeasures are boringly effective: dates before conversations, writing before payments, and the knowledge that a prescribed debt's market value — and its lawful claim on you — is zero.
What prescription is not
Honesty about the edges: prescription is not a savings plan — deliberately dodging fresh debts for three years rarely works, because creditors of meaningful debts summons long before prescription completes, and the collection years wreck your record and peace regardless. It's also not moral absolution — it's a legal policy that stale claims die so that people aren't pursued forever on ancient, evidence-faded debts. And it does not erase your credit history by itself — adverse listings have their own retention rules, and cleanup means disputing what's outdated (see our free credit-check guide). Where genuine current debts are the problem, the real toolkit applies — negotiation, consolidation, debt counselling — and our free debt assessment is the honest starting point. Prescription's proper role is as a shield for the specific scenario it fits: the long-dead debt that a buyer of old books is trying to shock back to life with your own R50.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my debt has prescribed?
Establish three dates: your last payment, your last written/recorded acknowledgment, and any summons served. If all are more than three years ago (and there's no judgment, and it's not a bond or other long-prescription debt), it has likely prescribed. Your bank statements and a full bureau report are the evidence trail.
Can a debt collector legally contact me about a prescribed debt?
For credit-agreement debts, section 126B prohibits continued collection and reactivation of prescribed debt — demands for payment on prescribed debt are the very conduct the section bans. Respond in writing raising prescription, and report persistence to the NCR.
Does prescribed debt come off my credit report?
Prescribed debts shouldn't be listed as collectable, and stale adverse information has its own retention limits. Dispute outdated listings with the bureau (free); they must verify or remove within about 20 business days.
If I pay a prescribed debt by mistake, can I get the money back?
Payment after prescription completes is generally treated as payment of a natural obligation — recovering it is difficult. More dangerous is payment BEFORE prescription completes, which interrupts the clock entirely. Either way, the rule stands: establish the dates before any payment on an old debt.
Does prescription apply to SARS, municipal bills and traffic fines?
The state plays by special rules: tax debts and various statutory obligations carry different prescription regimes, and municipal debts have their own case law. Never assume the three-year rule covers government creditors — take specific advice for those.
