Benjamin Franklin said: “Better to go to bed without dinner than to rise in debt.” However, debt is not something we can all avoid.

Prescription of a Debt: What does it mean? Part 1:

The Prescription Act; No 68 of 1969; provides in Chapter III for the extinction of debt by prescription.

What does this mean?

A debt is extinguished by prescription after the lapse of the period which applies in respect of that particular type of debt. This means that after that period the debt cannot be revived even under the provisions of the Act relating to the interruption of prescription by the acknowledgment of liability; unless that new acknowledgment amounts to a new undertaking altogether to pay; which novates the old prescribed debt and amounts to a completely new debt and cause of action.