The Consumer Protection Act No 68 of 2008 (CPA) and the Common Law: Cancellation of Lease Agreements:

Prior to the Consumer Protection Act, No 68 0f 2008 (CPA) which came into effect at midnight on the 31^st March 2011; the law of contract and the common law covered the issue of when and how a tenant went about cancelling a lease agreement.

That has all now changed since the commencement date of the CPA; and tenants and landlords need to be aware of the statutory provisions of the Act; which now cover the early termination and cancellation of lease agreements.

All aspects of civil law advice and legal/paralegal services including civil suits to recover monies due or damages due to you. Letters of demand; office draft summonses, contracts, general advice etc

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Many businesses around the world are increasingly opting for mediation as a method of commercial dispute resolution.

We recently received the following question.

 “My company is in business and is quite often embroiled in legal disputes that end in expensive litigation. This takes time, sometimes years, and is not only time consuming, but is expensive and frustrating. I realise that legal disputes are part and parcel of the business environment, but it would be nice if we could resolve some of these disputes faster and with less expense. Have you any ideas as I have heard about the subject “mediation”, but am not sure if this would is a good idea or simply be delaying the inevitable litigation?”

Consumer Law | The Legal Advice Office

Consumer law advice and legal services especially pertaining to the purchase of defective and damaged motor vehicles and your remedies in these circumstances. Cancellation of Leases and contracts etc.  

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Legal advice and assistance on all aspects of both criminal law and criminal procedure. Advice and legal services on criminal charges, drunken driving charges, bail applications, court processes, etc.

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Last time we looked at the Divorce process.

Today; we give you a short blog to finalise this series of blogs on divorce.

As pointed out by one of our readers during the course of this week; “Divorce is not for sissies.”

As promised; we now look at the Divorce process.

All divorces are dealt with either in the High Court or in the Regional Divorce Court; which courts have been specifically created to assist the High Court in dealing with divorce matters. There is a High Court in each major city; and various Regional Divorce Courts in each Region of each province.

We all know that you should not drink and Drive.

Drunk driving plays a very important role in the high death rate that we have on our National Roads.

Legal advice and legal and paralegal services; on all aspects of family law such as divorce, maintenance, custody. access to children; adoption, parenting plans, separation agreements, and general legal advice

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We get asked both telephonically and by e-mail a number of questions on Labour Law which come up time and time again and so we thought we would just answer certain of these questions in this short blog so that the answers are there for all to see.

We all owe money to one or more creditors.

Sometimes it is a lot of money owed to a bank like for example the bond on our house or the car that we bought for ourselves or the family.

At other times it is a smaller amounts owed on a credit card or on one or more clothing accounts etc.

All debt and the repayment of debt is however important and we should not underestimate the role it plays in all of our lives. As we know; credit providers including banks, financial institutions, clothing shops and other retailers provide information on our debt levels and our record of repaying that debt to the various credit record companies like ITC, Experian etc; and it is these records that give other retailers an indication of your credit health. They do research before they decide whether or not to lend you money or allow you to open another account. Your credit health and record are vitally important to your everyday life and financial well-being. It is to your advantage to look after your credit health.

What grounds do I need to cancel a sale?

What process must I follow?

Be very circumspect when dealing with collection agencies and that includes firms of attorneys that specialise in this area of the law.

Do not believe everything that you are told by a collection agent or attorney as they will look after their own interests and those of their client; before they give a thought to you and your interests.

Prescription of a Debt: What does it mean? Part 2:

If you have been injured in an accident; whether it is a motor vehicle accident or some other type of accident; you may well have a civil claim for damages.

This claim could be against the driver of the other vehicle or his/her third party insurer, in the case of a motor car accident.

In other circumstances; you could have a claim for injuries sustained by you against the person who caused those injuries through their negligent or intentional actions.

On Friday, we looked at the basic requirements of Wills.

Today; we will look at some of the content of a will.

Anybody can draft a will. It need not be an attorney or lawyer; but only attorneys may advertise the fact that they draft wills draft people, as per the provisions of the Attorneys Act.

The full names and identity of the testator or testatrix must appear in the will and they must sign same in full as we sated in our last blog. Use your Id number and your address to properly identify yourself.

Have you ever heard of “alternative dispute resolution?”

One of the services The Legal Advice Office provides to our clients, and other interested parties; is alternative dispute resolution procedures.

These procedures broadly speaking include interventions, mediation, arbitration and other dispute resolution procedures and methods to settle disputes between two parties without proceeding with a civil court action; which could cost tens of thousands of Rands; take two years to finalise; and, if you lose, you have to pay a portion of the other person’s costs.

Alternative dispute resolution is cheaper, quicker and more efficient.

Here is an example of such a situation; which we dealt with during the course of this last month.

The ownership of our own home is a dream which all of us have; but not all of us will realise; and when the opportunity to own your own home knocks; do your homework! Get advice and in that way you will not make any mistakes.
A recent unreported case of Hlabane and Another versus Sebotsa and Others is a lesson to be learned.

In 2016 I lent a friend of mine R 48000.00.

Now; I am battling to get the money back!

What can I do?