Amendment Bill to ‘Blacklist’ Child Maintenance Defaulters

Creditworthiness of Maintenance Defaulters 

According to regulations under the newly announced National Credit Act Amendment , judgments against maintenance defaulters who don’t pay child maintenance to their ex-partners may be listed on their credit profiles in the future.

A maintenance judgment will reduce the defaulter’s credit score and make it harder for them to take out credit, which will in turn negatively affect their creditworthiness. Thus, they may be charged higher interest rates from credit providers, especially on secured credit.

Moreover, once the defaulter has a judgment against their name, this adverse information will be listed on their credit profile for 5 years, or until they settle their debts.

Possibility of Maintenance Amendment Bill 

The Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG) states that, in South Africa, almost 50% of children are raised by a single parent. Also asserting that 90% of maintenance defaulters are fathers.

The parliamentary committee are considering a Maintenance Amendment Bill that will make it easier for the parent taking care of the child or children, to claim maintenance. This amendment will require that judgments against maintenance defaulters be listed on their credit profiles at the credit bureaus.

Despite the majority of the Justice Committee voting in favour of the Bill, two Democratic Alliance (DA) Members abstained from voting, believing that parents struggling to pay maintenance should have access to credit.

Credit Bureaus Face Difficulties   

As things stand, the credit bureaus are having trouble acquiring information concerning maintenance judgments, despite the National Credit Amendment Act coming into effect earlier this year. As judgments contain confidential information about minors, obtaining this data is often problematic.

A court process that filters out this information has yet to be established but, until then, the access that credit bureaus have to court documents will remain limited. In the meantime, the bureaus have turned to independent service providers to uplift public information documents.

Legal Recourse Against Maintenance Defaulters

As part of a proper affordability assessment, credit providers are required to determine whether or not an individual has maintenance obligations, before granting them any credit.  Legally speaking, failure to maintain one’s children is a far more serious offense than falling into arrears on ordinary debt. Maintenance defaulters are guilty of committing a criminal offence and, as such, can be fined and/or imprisoned for up to a year.

If your ex-partner fails to comply with a maintenance order, you can approach the maintenance court for assistance, 10 days after the payment due date. With regard to financial compensation, you can apply for authorisation to issue a warrant of execution.

Alternatively, you can apply for the attachment of emolument (EAO), ordering the defaulter’s employer to deduct maintenance from their salary. This EAO will reflect on their credit profile. Finally, you have the option of applying for an attachment of debt, ordering your ex-partner’s debtors to instead pay you the money.

Positive Change in the Pipelines 

For the Amendment to be passed, it must first be approved by the National Assembly and, thereafter, the National Council of Provinces, with the President having the final say.

From a reform perspective, the presence of a Maintenance Amendment Bill in the pipeline can only be viewed as encouraging progress, in and of itself.