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How to Stop Debt Collectors from Calling You in South Africa

Published April 2026

Debt collection calls — at work, on your personal number, to family members — are one of the most stressful parts of financial difficulty. What many people do not know is that South African law places strict limits on what debt collectors can do. And in certain circumstances, you can stop the calls entirely through a single formal process.

What the law says debt collectors can and cannot do

Debt collectors in South Africa are governed primarily by the Debt Collectors Act (No. 114 of 1998) and must be registered with the Council for Debt Collectors. The National Credit Act and the Consumer Protection Act also provide relevant protections.

Debt collectors MAY:

  • Contact you to inform you of outstanding debt
  • Call at reasonable hours (generally not before 8am or after 9pm)
  • Send written notices and emails
  • Inform you of legal steps that may be taken

Debt collectors may NOT:

  • Use threatening, abusive, or obscene language
  • Contact you at unreasonable hours or at a frequency designed to harass
  • Make false statements or misrepresent the amount owed
  • Threaten legal action they are not authorised to take or do not intend to take
  • Contact your employer in a way that jeopardises your employment
  • Pretend to be attorneys or court officials if they are not
  • Contact family members or third parties to pressure you (other than to locate you if they have lost contact)
  • Collect fees or charges that are not legally recoverable

How to respond when a debt collector calls

Stay calm. You have rights in this conversation. Key things to do:

  1. Ask for the debt collector's name and registration number. All debt collectors must be registered with the Council for Debt Collectors. Note this information.
  2. Ask for written confirmation of the debt — the original creditor, the amount, and how it was calculated. You are entitled to this.
  3. Do not make promises you cannot keep under pressure. An agreement made during a call can be used against you.
  4. Document everything. Keep records of call times, what was said, and who you spoke to.

How to formally complain about a debt collector

If a debt collector is violating your rights, you can report them to:

  • The Council for Debt Collectors: The regulatory body for the industry. Complaints can result in disciplinary action and deregistration.
  • The National Credit Regulator (NCR): If the debt relates to a credit agreement under the National Credit Act.
  • The National Consumer Commission: For Consumer Protection Act violations.

Put your complaint in writing, include dates, times, and specific details of what was said, and send it via registered mail or email so you have a record.

The most effective way to stop the calls: debt review

Complaints and formal channels can address the behaviour of specific collectors, but they do not resolve the underlying debt — and as long as the debt exists and is unpaid, contact will continue.

If you are receiving debt collection calls because you genuinely cannot afford to pay what you owe, debt review offers the most comprehensive legal protection available:

  • Once you are accepted into debt review, your debt counsellor notifies all your credit providers and their attorneys. From this point, creditors and their agents cannot continue calling you to demand payment.
  • All communication goes through your debt counsellor, not directly to you.
  • Creditors cannot take legal action while your debt review is active and payments are being made.
  • Existing legal proceedings may be stayed (paused) by the court.

This does not mean you walk away from the debt — you still repay what you owe, restructured to what you can afford. But the harassment stops because the legal framework removes the creditors' ability to pressure you directly.

What about prescription — does the debt expire if I ignore it long enough?

This is a common question. Under the Prescription Act, most unsecured debts prescribe after three years of no contact, payment, or acknowledgement. However:

  • The three-year clock resets every time you make a payment, acknowledge the debt, or promise to pay — even verbally.
  • If a judgment is obtained before prescription, the debt becomes a judgment debt and prescribes only after 30 years.
  • Waiting out prescription while ignoring calls is high-risk. Creditors often obtain judgments quickly, which resets the clock to 30 years and gives them powerful collection tools.

Get protected today

If debt collection calls are affecting your daily life and you do not know how to resolve the underlying situation, Reinvent Debt Solutions can help. A free assessment will tell you whether you qualify for debt review and, if so, how quickly we can get the legal protection in place.

Get your free debt assessment →

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Reinvent Debt Solutions is registered with the National Credit Regulator (NCRDC2264).