Payment problems FAQ

No. As the accountholder you will be in breach of the agreement if you hand over the vehicle or asset payment responsibility to another party without our written permission. Without exception, you must settle an account in full before you change the vehicle or asset ownership.

Yes, subject to certain terms and conditions. Three months before your balloon payment is due, we will send you a quotation for your instalment over different terms. The terms for restructure on offer are 6, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months.

Yes, but you will have to get credit approval first. Please send an email to collections.res@mfc.co.za or call us on 0801 114 949.

A shortfall balance can be restructured over a maximum period of 36 months, but you will have to get credit approval and adhere to certain terms and conditions.

No. But you can call Nedbank Collections on 0801 114 949 to help you set up a payment plan through which you pay the due amount over a few months (usually no more than 3 months). Certain terms and conditions will be applicable when you make such a request. The fact that the account is in arrears will also show on your MFC account payment profile and on the records of all credit bureaus, which could negatively affect you.

If you cannot pay your account because of loss of income due to dismissal, retrenchment, maternity leave, or suspension, we can, if you adhere to certain terms and conditions, freeze your payments for a maximum of 3 months.

Contact us and give us the following documents:

• Letter specifying your request
• Letter of retrenchment 
• Letter of unpaid maternity leave
• Doctor's note
• Proof of unemployment insurance fund letter
• Police affidavit containing all the facts

Send an email to collections.res@mfc.co.za or call us on 0801 114 949.

If you have already fallen into arrears, our mandate is to collect all outstanding arrear amounts within 15 days from the day of default. Call Nedbank Collections on 0801 114 949 to request a restructure on your account. You will have to adhere to certain terms and conditions.

The standard way to repay your monthly instalments is by debit order. But you can also pay your account with cash at any Nedbank branch or by internet transfer.

Please click here to get MFC banking details and see the various ways you can make manual payments.

Not paying your instalments is a breach of contract and may eventually lead to the repossession of your vehicle. If you cannot keep up with your payments, sell your vehicle privately for the best possible price and settle the account.

Avo Auto Assisted Sales is available to help you in selling your vehicle. 

Alternatively, you can voluntarily surrender your vehicle to the bank, and we will sell it on auction to the highest bidder. But this option will affect your profile at the credit bureau.

If you can no longer afford the monthly instalments and decide on voluntarily surrendering your vehicle, you can call Assisted Sales on 0801 114 949, who will refer you to the correct department for help.

Yes, it is our responsibility to notify you, but it is your responsibility to maintain your account and to let us know if you have problems to pay.

As the accountholder, you remain liable for paying all instalments in time under the agreement you signed. It is your responsibility to let us know about any change of address in writing, so that you can continue to receive statements and other communications from us. If we send you information about a default payment information and receive no response, we will send the account to our Collections and Recoveries Team to attend to it.

Your vehicle will be valued and sold to the highest bidder at a public auction. If the amount raised on auction does not cover the whole settlement amount, you will be liable for the shortfall. Your name will be listed with the credit bureaus until the outstanding balance is settled in full.

We add the months your account is frozen for to your repayment period. This increases the interest repayable on your term, which may increase your instalments slightly.

If you increase your monthly instalments, the overall balance due by you will decrease quicker, which means that the total interest payable will be less. Decreasing your instalments will have the opposite effect.

A balloon payment or residual is a lump sum that is calculated with your monthly instalments when you apply for finance with us. This amount will be due at the end of the term of the agreement.

The benefit of a balloon payment or residual is that you pay reduced monthly instalments to us until the balloon payment or residual is due. For example, if you purchase a vehicle for R100,000 and choose to have a 25% (R25,000) balloon or residual on your loan, your instalments will be lower than if you have no balloon or residual.

You're charged arrear interest if you failed to meet any of your repayments. The terms and conditions of your agreement make this clear. Arrear interest is a monthly amount that Section 101 of the National Credit Act entitles us to charge you on an overdue amount on your account. Arrear interest is charged until the overdue amount has been paid.

• Arrear interest: (explained under 'what arrear interest is').
• Collections costs: This is when your account is handed over to an external debt collector to collect on our behalf. They will bill us and you will be held liable for these costs.
• Valuation costs: These costs will be added when we value your vehicle/asset in preparation for auction. 
• Dealer stock: This is the cost added after repossession, but before the auction when we deregister you as the owner so that you do not get fines and do not have to pay licensing fees.
• Storage costs: You pay these charges for storing your vehicle/asset on the premises of external auctioneers or storage facilities.

Certain types of payments only reflect on an account after 48 hours. We might not have seen the record of your payment as yet, and therefore we sent you an SMS asking you to contact Nedbank Collections on 0801 114 949 to arrange payment of the overdue amount.

When an account goes into arrears, we write to you and send you ongoing SMSs. As the accountholder, you remain liable to pay instalments on time and it is also your responsibility to inform us if your contact details have changed.

As soon as the balloon payment becomes due and is not paid, your account will go into arrears and one of our consultants will contact you to restructure your account. The balloon or residual amount and due date are shown on your signed agreement as well as on your statements.

No, by law you cannot keep the vehicle or asset. Your loan agreement is cancelled when the company goes into liquidation or when your estate is sequestrated. All the affairs of the company are then under the control of the liquidator, which means only the liquidator can make decisions about assets that have been handed over to the estate.

When an individual’s estate is sequestrated, a trustee or curator is appointed to sort out the individual's financial affairs and make decisions about the assets assigned to the estate.

The final instalment amount may differ depending on how the instalments were structured during the period of your agreement. The amount due on the last instalment is clearly indicated on your original agreement and is also shown on all the statements.

You may change your debt counsellor, but we reserve the right to either accept or decline the second debt review application, as the National Credit Act (NCA), 34 of 2005, doesn't make any provision for a client to change debt counsellors. But we will decline the second debt review application only if we haven't been receiving reasonable monthly payments on the loan account.

If a debt counsellor rejects an application, you may, in terms of section 86(9) of the NCA, apply directly to the magistrate's court in the prescribed manner for an order to be placed under debt review.

You can contact your debt counsellor to get a balance and payment statement from the elected payment distribution agent to make sure that the correct payments are made to your credit providers. The debt counsellor will inform you about any disputes based on the statements received from the payment distribution agent.

Money will be collected by your designated payment distributions agency by means of payroll deductions, authenticated early debit orders (NAEDO), non-authenticated early debit orders (NAEDO), debit orders and stop orders, EFTs and cash deposits made by the debt review client.

Yes, but we will have to approve it first. You will have to pay the shortfall as agreed with your debt counsellor, either in terms of the payment rearrangement plan or the granted consent or debt rearrangement order. If you wish to pay a lower monthly instalment, consult with your debt counsellor.

You must approach a debt counsellor. We cannot approach a debt counsellor on your behalf. To find a debt counsellor, you can visit the website of the National Credit Regulator at ncr.org.za.

When we terminate an account from debt review, we will forward a termination letter by prepaid registered post to:

• you
• the debt counsellor
• the National Credit Regulator

Once we have received the formal consent order granted by the court, we will either reload or restructure your account in terms of the consent order. Once we have done that, it should no longer show you are in arrears.

We will implement the restructured terms of the agreement in line with the proposal and give your debt counsellor an acceptance letter of the repayment plan we suggest. The repayment plan will be uploaded on the payment distribution agent’s system to collect and distribute payment.

The debt counsellor will set the matter down in a Magistrate's Court to either get a consent order or debt rearrangement order.

Yes, you may approach us directly to make a payment arrangement to repay the arrear amount as soon as possible and to continue paying the normal or increased instalment amount.

But remember that if the debt counsellor is excluded, your account is no longer formally under debt review as described in section 86 of the NCA. It means we won't be able to offer you a reduced instalment or an extended agreement period.

We will end the debt review if, after 60 business days: 

• we have not received or finalised a payment proposal plan
• we have not received your acceptance of a counter proposal
• the debt counsellor has not enrolled the matter in court
• no payment is made
• the payments we receive are lower than the proposed or accepted amounts

We may terminate the debt review process even after a consent order has been granted, if:

• we don’t receive any payment in terms of the consent order
• the payments we receive are lower than the amounts the consent order specify

• Choose the debt counsellor of your choice that is registered with the NCR
• Keep paying your debt at reduced instalments – debt review is not a payment holiday
• Cut your spending on non-essentials and stop borrowing money
• Don’t apply for more credit – your credit report will show that you’re under debt review until you get a clearance certificate
• Avoid underpaying while under debt review to avoid termination by credit providers
• Inform your debt counsellor if your financial situation changes
• Contact or notify the NCR immediately if you can’t reach your debt counsellor
• Always take charge of your finances and know how your money is paid to credit providers each month

The National Credit Act (NCA, 34 of 2005, determines: 'If a consumer is in default under a credit agreement that is being reviewed in terms of this section, the credit provider, in respect of that credit agreement, may give notice to terminate the review at any time, at least 60 business days after the date on which the consumer applied for the debt review.'

From the application date, after the expiry of 60 business days, a credit provider may end an account that is in arrears from the debt review process. The client must be in default of the credit agreement to be terminated. This implies that the credit provider can after termination proceed with legal action to enforce the rights under that credit agreement.

As soon as a credit provider terminates debt review, the protection the client enjoyed under the NCA comes to an end.

We make a note on your MFC loan account that you have applied for debt review. We do this to avoid any further collection or legal action in terms of your account. We also give your debt counsellor the financial figures and account balances that they will need to review your account.

When we receive a debt rearrangement proposal that meets the requirements of the Act and a debit order or stop payment cancellation instruction, we will do the following: 

• Cancel all debit order deductions for the debt repayments
• Not apply setoffs against your bank account
• Accept the debt rearrangement proposal within 10 business days if it meets the minimum requirements of the Debt Restructuring Guidelines
• Implement the restructured terms of the agreement in line with the proposal
• Reject the proposal and give your debt counsellor a counterproposal with recommended payment
• Give notice of our intention to legally oppose

Your debt counsellor should do an assessment in line with the ‘Affordability Assessment Guidelines’, to determine if you are overindebted, and the amount available to repay debt.

If you are overindebted, your debt counsellor must notify us by Form 17.2 and send our Debt Counselling Queries Department a debt rearrangement proposal by sending an email to debtcounsellingqueries@nedbank.co.za.

After completing the debt review process and your debt is completely paid off, your debt counsellor will issue you with a clearance certificate. The debt counsellor is legally required by the NCA to remove the 'under debt review' flag from your credit profile within 21 business days of being notified that you are no longer under debt review. This will allow you to enter the credit market again.

A debt counsellor is a person who is registered with the NCR and who is appointed to represent their client throughout the debt counselling process. The debt counsellor liaises with the client's credit providers to inform them of the application for debt review. They do this by issuing the credit providers with a debt review application (Form 17.1) and (Form 17.2), informing them of the intention. The debt counsellor asks each creditor for a certificate of balance. Once this has been done, the debt counsellor tries to negotiate a more affordable repayment plan with each credit provider on the client’s behalf.

If you apply for debt counselling, you may not enter into any further credit agreements until all your current financial obligations are fulfilled and the debt counsellor issues you and your creditors with a clearance certificate in terms of section 71 of the NCA. You will also be listed with the credit bureaus.

The debt counsellor will notify all credit bureaus and credit providers of your application for debt review. The debt counsellor will also submit the Debt Review Application (Form 17.1) directly to Debt Counselling Queries Department by sending an email to debtcounsellingqueries@nedbank.co.za

Arrear interest is raised on an account whenever there is an arrear or overdue amount. Section 101 of the NCA specifies that default charges may be asked if you have defaulted on a payment obligation under the credit agreement. We are entitled to all interest charges, including arrear interest, until we have received the formal consent order granted by the court. Once we've received the formal consent order and either reloaded or restructured your account in terms of the consent order, we won't charge arrear interest on your account, unless we do not receive payments in terms of the consent order, which would result in a new arrear amount.

Your debt counsellor reviews your financial situation again with the aim of accepting our counterproposal.

Once you have agreed with and accepted the counterproposal, your debt counsellor will let our Debt Counselling Queries Department know by sending an email to debtcounsellingqueries@Nedbank.co.za

If you unable to meet the counterproposal made by our Debt Review Centre, your debt counsellor will instruct an attorney to apply on your behalf for a debt order.

No. The stores at which the vehicles are kept are not open on weekends or public holidays. They are open from 08:00 to 15:00, Monday to Friday.

By law, we are required to submit information about how you handle your account to all the relevant credit bureaus.

The vehicle can be sold after 15 business days from the date on which we posted you a section 127(2) fair-value letter. If you want to respond to the valuation letter, you must do so within those 15 business days. If we don't receive a response from you within this time, we will sell the vehicle to the highest successful bidder at a public auction. But we will notify you by SMS or email of the auction date and venue before the auction takes place.

Your MFC consultant will give you the details of the store where your vehicle is being kept. You will have to go to the store and take your ID and driving licence with you. At the store, you will be asked to sign a release note and an agreement of reinstatement. You can then take the vehicle. For example, we use overnight storage in smaller areas, which means we might move the vehicle to an auction house in Johannesburg.

Section 127 of the NCA requires that we value the vehicle and send you a section 127(2) valuation letter by prepaid registered post within 10 business days of the date on which we received the vehicle.

The vehicle can be sold after 15 business days from the date on which we posted you a section 127(2) fair value letter. If you want to respond to the valuation letter, you must do so within those 15 business days. If we don't receive a response from you within this time, we will sell the vehicle to the highest successful bidder at a public auction. But we will notify you by SMS or email of the auction date and venue before the auction takes place.

You are responsible for any shortfall (amount still owing) on the account after the proceeds from the sale of the vehicle or asset have been credited to your account and all costs owed have been debited. In most cases, the sale proceeds do not satisfy the outstanding obligations due before the sale, so you remain liable for the outstanding amount until same is settled in full.

Where applicable, the following costs will be charged: 

• Arrears on voluntary surrender
• Settlement, if repossessed with a warrant by the sheriff 
• Storage costs that are levied daily
• Valuation costs for an independent sworn valuator, according to section 127 of the NCA
• A tracer fee
• A towing, driver's, or removal fee
• Legal costs if applicable
• Repair costs if applicable
• An administration fee
• Dealer stock and reregistration (Vehicle finance only. All vehicles must be dealer-stocked and reregistered into your name once released)
• Dekra and valet costs (vehicle finance only)

For a more accurate breakdown of costs, please contact the MFC consultant handling your account.

The credit balance will be refunded to you after all costs have been debited to the account. This is if no other credit provider has a credit agreement with you for the same vehicle or asset.

You must contact us within 15 business days from the date on which your vehicle was repossessed. You need to indicate your intention to pay the arrears and necessary charges and your intention to take the vehicle again. Before we give you the vehicle, you will have to meet certain terms and conditions.

You need to give us the following documents to enable us to release your vehicle from storage:

• Latest payslip and/or 3 months' bank statements
• Proof of current residential address, such as a utility bill (not older than 3 months)
• Proof of current comprehensive insurance
• Your ID
• Your valid driving licence
• Proof of your operating licence (if you are a taxi driver) 
• Proof of payment
• Banking details for us to activate a debit order against your account

If you are unable to collect the vehicle personally, we require the driving licence and ID of the person collecting the vehicle, as well as a letter of authority from you authorising another person to collect the vehicle on your behalf.

Once we have received and accepted all your documentation, we will arrange collection of the vehicle from the store with you. Remember to bring your ID and driving licence.

If you pay by debit order, there is a clearance period of 10 business days to ensure the payment clears successfully. If you pay by electronic transfer, there is a clearance period of 3 days. If you pay by electronic transfer from a Nedbank account, the money will show on our statement the following day and a clearance period of 1 day will apply. All payments need to show in our Nedbank account before release. We will do a credit check to ensure that you can afford the instalments.

The valuation, which is undertaken by an independent sworn valuator, is just an estimation of the value of the vehicle or asset. The valuator looks at the physical condition of the vehicle or asset (the age, condition, mechanical assessment or inspection report etc.) and takes into consideration market conditions, which may vary from time to time, and the fact that the vehicle or asset will be sold under forced market conditions.

We can deregister the vehicle only once the insurance company has sent us written instruction to do so. The insurance company must first assess the vehicle to determine the extent of the damage.

When you apply for finance using our automated approvals service, your chance of getting approval will be affected if there is a written-off account on your record. Even if the written-off account has been paid in full and the credit bureau record has been changed accordingly, or if the bureau removed the record 2 years after the debt was paid, the record of the written-off account will remain on our system. But you can seek 'manual approval' by speaking to us rather than using the automated process. We will consider your application if you meet certain terms and conditions.

Yes, so that we can do a comprehensive assessment of what you can afford.

Yes. In terms of your signed agreement your insurance cover must be complete (or comprehensive). This means that it must cover your total outstanding financial obligations to us.

Yes. You remain liable for the full amount that is outstanding, as well as interest and costs.

According to the NCA, we must submit information on how you have handled your account to the credit bureaus, and this may negatively affect your future creditworthiness.

For 30 years, if you do not apply for it to be set aside (rescinded).

Yes, it is your responsibility to ensure that the dealership pays any outstanding amount for your old vehicle at the other bank. You remain liable for payment of the account until it is settled in full.

You need to choose one of the following options:

• Pay the arrears on your account, plus any legal costs incurred
• Surrender the vehicle voluntarily (meaning agree to give the vehicle back to us)
• Negotiate a payment arrangement that suits both of us

If you decide not to exercise any of these options, we will proceed with our legal action and request the court for an order to take the vehicle or asset from you.

No. You remain liable as surety for the indebtedness of the company towards us until your surety is uplifted and replaced. This can be done only with our help and intervention. We will do a formal assessment on the new owner's creditworthiness – subject to our credit approval policies.

We will apply to the court for permission to end our agreement with you – this means we will get a judgment against you). If you don't defend the summons, we will also ask the court for a warrant of delivery – this means we will apply for permission to take the vehicle or asset back.

Yes. Your agreement specifies that your instalments must be paid (even while an insurance claim is being finalised) until the account has been settled in full. When the full outstanding settlement amount has been paid, we will process any refunds that are due to you.

You must let us know that you have paid the account in full and send us proof of payment.

We will then provide you with a paid-in-full letter.

You will have to appoint an attorney at your own cost to rescind (set aside or cancel) the judgment against you.

Yes. This can be done only if you adhere to certain terms and conditions. The contract has been terminated and therefore you must settle the full amount to get the vehicle or asset back, including all legal costs, external debt collectors costs, storage costs as well as release fees.

Yes. You are still the owner of the vehicle or asset and the risk to the vehicle or asset remain your responsibility until the full amount specified by the agreement has been paid. You will, therefore, have to pay any costs incurred to recover the vehicle or asset and arrears on the account.

An account is written off due to the following reasons:

• You can't pay the shortfall after the vehicle or asset has been repossessed and sold at a public auction
• You lodge an insurance claim, the insurance company made a payout, and you do not pay the shortfall
• There is an unpaid balance on a deceased estate account
• Neither you nor your vehicle or asset can be traced 
• Your estate is insolvent, and the final dividend is still outstanding
• You have an NCA account in terms of which the proposals or debt rearrangement orders have been granted, but it does not warrant further interest calculations
• You are making payments on a legal account that do not even cover the interest charged
• Your account will then be moved to the recoveries department to try to recover the outstanding debt

• Let us know that you want to sell the vehicle privately 
• Meet with the buyer so that they can view the vehicle
• Accompany the potential buyer if they want to test-drive the vehicle
• Sign a written agreement with full details of both parties to confirm terms and conditions of sale, and IDs must be verified
• Confirm the transaction and the correct settlement figure with the financier of the potential sale 
• Accompany the potential buyer to the bank so that they can make the electronic transfer or pay the money 
• Send us the proof of payment
• Check with us that the funds have been cleared and that you no longer owe us anything
• Arrange for collection or delivery of the original Natis document
• Sign duplicate change-of-ownership documents confirming buyer's and seller's detail so that the details can be updated at the licensing authorities
• Hand over the asset to the buyer once all the above steps have been completed
• Do not hand over the asset until you have verified and confirmed with us that the payment has been cleared

Call us on 0860 879 900 or email claims@mfc.co.za to inform us and give us the following information:

• Insurer name
• Contact person
• Contact number
• Claim number
• Incident type – is it damaged or stolen?
• Date of loss
• Timeframes

They are in the policy document that was sent to you when you took out the policy. You can also ask the underwriter for a copy. Send an email to collections.res@mfc.co.za or call us on 0801 114 949.

Summons is served at your last-known domicilium (physical address) you provided on the preagreement statement and quotation together with the credit agreement. If you have moved since then, you should have informed us, in writing, of the change in your physical address. You should also have sent us the required FICA documentation (such as a utility bill not older than 3 months).

Call us on 0860 879 900 or send an email to care@mfc.co.za to inform us. You will also need to give us the following information:

• Certified copy of the death certificate
• Copy of the ID of the deceased
• Copy the marriage certificate, if married
• Executor appointment letter, if available
• Contact number of executor or next of kin

Call us on 0860 879 900 or send an email to care@mfc.co.za to inform us, and give us the following information:

• Current proof of comprehensive insurance
• A copy of ID
• A copy of the driving licence of the person who is using the vehicle 
• The address where the vehicle or asset is ordinarily kept
• The following from the executor:
  • ­Certified copy of the death certificate and ID of the deceased ­
  • Letter of authority from the Master of the High Court confirming executorship

The MFC consultant managing the account will then contact the executor and discuss the options. The only way a deceased estate account can be taken over is if the executor applies for finance in their own capacity.

No. Your agreement with MFC will be cancelled immediately. But we allow for the reasonable finalisation of your estate. Either your relatives and next of kin or the executor of the estate must keep the payment of the account up to date until we receive full settlement of the account.

It is illegal to hand over your vehicle or asset to a third party and arrange with them or enter into an agreement that they take over your instalments.

You should also be aware of the following:

Payment takeover companies may sell your vehicle or asset to an unknown third party and then disappear with the proceeds from the sale.

You remain liable for the outstanding balance until the account has been settled in full, even if a company takes over your instalments.

Get as much information as you can from the licensing authorities and then call MFC Client Services on 0860 879 900 and you will be referred to the correct department for help.

If you become aware of any other fraud-related issues regarding your vehicle, call MFC Client Services on 0860 879 900 and you will be referred to the correct department for help.

Contact us before you leave. We will give you the documents you need to cross the national border. But you must give us current proof of insurance when you request the documents.

Your alternative is to request a cross-border letter using MFC online self-service.