Relying on a self-serving interpretation of the National Credit Act (NCA), SA’s debt collection companies have for years burdened consumers with crippling collection costs.

Acting judge Bryan Hack put an end to that in the Western Cape High Court on Friday, with a declaratory order effectively limiting a consumer’s total debt repayment to double the original debt.

So if you defaulted on your debt, owing R5,000, the most you will ever have to repay, with interest and costs, is R10,000.

Up to now, the industry has interpreted Section 103(b) of the NCA as meaning that once a judgment was brought against a debt, it became a whole new debt agreement; a judgment debt.

And they felt entitled to double the pre-judgment debt amount again, meaning the person could end up paying R20,000.

With employers being forced to deduct debt repayment amounts from their employees' salaries every month, in terms of an emoluments attachment order, commonly referred to as a “garnishee”, creditors and their collectors are assured of getting their money.