Don't panic if it feels like you
are being bombarded by letters of demand or text
messages from
attorneys Munnik Basson DaGama
Inc, threatening you with action for a debt you
do not owe.
Chances are remote that they
will issue summons, say attorneys Argus Action
approached after
Barbara Hart of Cape Town
complained that she was getting nowhere trying
to convince Munnik
Basson DaGama that she did not
owe a debt that grew with every demand they
sent.
The firm of attorneys did not
respond to Argus Action's request for comment.
Hart is reluctant to give her ID
number to prove to them that they are hounding
the wrong person.
"I don't trust them. And in this
age of identity theft, we are cautioned not to
give our personal
details to strangers," she said.
The onus is on the attorneys or
debt collectors to prove the identity of the
debtor, says
Johannesburg attorney Stephen
Logan.
It was likely that Munnik Basson
DaGama had bought a debtors' book from the
retail chain store
in question, and was now trying
to trace unpaid debts, said Logan.
But the debt, dating back to
2001, was prescribed (lapsed).
If Hart gave her identity number
to Munnik Basson DaGama, they would have
evidence that she
was the wrong person, as they
had the ID number of the actual debtor.
"Munnik Basson DaGama will close
the file in two seconds if they get proof that
she's not the
person."
Hart complained that the demands
contained no information about the so-called
debt.
Her repeated phone calls to
Munnik Basson DaGama's call centre in
Johannesburg, and a letter
she wrote explaining that she
was not the debtor they sought, had made no
impression. The
letters of demand continued to
arrive.
Logan said Hart could complain
to the Law Society, as the demands were from a
firm of
attorneys, over whom the Council
for Debt Collectors had no jurisdiction.
Cape Town attorney Malcolm Roup
said Munnik Basson DaGama had SMSed a final
demand to
him.
"The SMS said if I did not phone
their number, action would follow. I didn't owe
money and did
not know what they were talking
about."
He had phoned, but could not get
through to the call centre.
"My advice is to not co-operate
with them. Most of their stuff is just letters
and threats. The
chances are they are not going
to issue summons. They are not going to incur
costs," said Roup.
Their approach was not correct.
"They must give debtors more particulars. They
must set out the
cause of the debt."
Another lawyer, who asked not to
be named, said Hart could ignore the demands
once she had
set the necessary safeguards in
place.
"Invite them to issue summons,
and provide an address so that they do not use
the wrong one.
"If you tell them you dispute
the claim, they also cannot list you at a credit
bureau."
We investigate consumers'
complaints, highlight issues affecting consumers
and call businesses
to account. Contact us at Box
56, Cape Town, 8000; on 021 488 4791; or e-mail
