Larger jurisdiction for Credit Ombud

The Ombud, Manie van Schalkwyk, said Thursday, 21 January 2010, that since its inception in 2004, the Credit Information Ombud had limited jurisdiction when exercising its power, with the focus on complaints from consumers about negative information reflected at credit bureaux. The increased jurisdiction means the organisation is now known as the Credit Ombud. All major stakeholders in the credit industry supported the initiative, a statement said.

The Credit Ombud acts as an independent body to assist consumers and small businesses who have a complaint about their listing at credit bureaux.

The Ombud has also identified the need to assist consumers who report disputes with credit providers and have nowhere to turn. Previously consumers often had to employ legal services to resolve disputes because there were no alternatives.

The Credit Ombud aimed to assist in matters where consumers felt they had been unfairly treated or that their rights, especially those provided for in the National Credit Act, had been disregarded in credit transactions.

Another aim of the Ombud's office was to educate consumers about credit-related issues, said Caroline Buthelezi, public relations and communications co-ordinator at the Ombud's office.

The National Credit Regulator said the value of consumer credit had fallen consistently over seven quarters to June last year from December 2007, to R50,93bn from R102,3bn.

Source: Business Day

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