Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
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I hope the heading caught you attention, because it certainly caught mine when I read all about a new product that finance companies are using in America. Essentially, more than 2 million cars in America have been sold on credit sale agreements subject to this device being installed in a car – and you can guess exactly what happens when people do not pay their instalments anymore! I would not be surprised if it comes to South Africa soon, because most of the businesses that we see, whether it is from night clubs through to hotels, don’t invent something new but they copy something that has already been done overseas. This will revolutionise car financing in South Africa which has a history of a lot of people not making payments.
The device essentially allows the finance company not only to track where your car is via GPS, but should you fail to make a payment, they simply click a button on their computer and your car will not start and is disabled until you make your next monthly instalment! I must say I love the idea and I hope they can spread it to as many other businesses as possible, but it will be interesting if we get that in South Africa because on the one hand we have such generous rights for tenants that it is very difficult for a landlord to toss them out when they fail to pay their rent and so one wonders if we are going to allow finance companies to stop somebody using their car when they have not paid. They should be allowed to do it, but nor should tenants be allowed to continue to occupy somebody’s assets when they have not paid and unfortunately with the legal process the way it is, they do get to abuse landlords for many months. There have been all sorts of stories in the American media about people whose child was sick and who urgently had to rush off to the hospital, but could not do so because of the car being locked and I guess that is sad to hear, but people need to learn to actually meet their commitments, and not to borrow money and then simply renege on the deal. The bottom line is if you have not paid for something you should not expect to use it and however tragic the results are after that, it really would be a case of it is your fault, and it should be your problem!
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Wednesday 08-Oct-14
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Comments
Elektra said:
on Monday 20-Oct-14 10:15 AM
This would definitely be an effective measure to ensure payments, But maybe your car should not be cut off after missing one payment, a one month warning or some sort should be given, and then the vehicle cut off. I agree don't buy something you cannot afford. This should actually become law that every vehicle has one, even after payments are complete its a good device to jam the vehicle should it get stolen. Of course there are the few that will be against it such as competing market like Tracker etc. But oh well.
Brenda said:
on Monday 13-Oct-14 04:31 PM
I bet that if this device gets put in our vehicles, there will be a lot less traffic on the road :) ..... I vote YES!! ...... bring it to South Africa!!!!
Henrietta said:
on Friday 10-Oct-14 04:35 PM
I agree with most that this idea can be brilliant. It is harsh but people should learn not to take something that they can't afford.
Catherine said:
on Friday 10-Oct-14 04:17 PM
A brilliant idea, but everything has it's pros and cons.
Angelique said:
on Friday 10-Oct-14 11:15 AM
I can't help but think they will create a law to prevent this. To protect the consumer...
Jessica said:
on Thursday 09-Oct-14 08:04 AM
I think this is a brilliant idea for car companies, however they should also check what the persons reason is, look at our clients now, have everything doing so well then all of a sudden an accident happens, they lose their job because of it, then they can't find a new job because they don't have a working car? So if they impliment something like this it should also cover the aspects of same. I have seen so many woman that depend on their husbands because their husbands prefer their wife to stay at home, then they get into an accident then how can something like that be prevented?
Melissa said:
on Thursday 09-Oct-14 07:36 AM
What a brilliant device...
sheena said:
on Thursday 09-Oct-14 07:27 AM
I think this is a fantastic idea and will make people think twice before buying a car they cant afford. Everyone needs to make a living and if this improves people paying promptly it would be great.
david said:
on Thursday 09-Oct-14 05:53 AM
brilliant idea.
just hope the companies only hit the 'kill' button on cars at night.
just imagine the traffic chaos if they hit the button during the working day...
Helen said:
on Wednesday 08-Oct-14 03:08 PM
I will say this is the brilliant device and specially for South Africa, even with all robberies and hijackings in the country today - with this device installed in the vehicle will be a lot easier to court robbers and bring the car back to owner.
I think if device will be on South African market will be a lot less cars on our roads.
Sarah said:
on Wednesday 08-Oct-14 02:43 PM
I don't like this idea at all. What if you lose your job and you can't pay for the car. If you can't afford something then don't buy it
Cornelie said:
on Wednesday 08-Oct-14 02:37 PM
It sounds a bit harsh but if this is the way companies need to run a business then it should be that way, because at the end of the day companies also loose allot of money if you do not pay your monthly installments. I always say the 2 things you must pay first every month is the roof over your head and your car, because your car brings you to your work in order to pay your roof over your head.
Alexis said:
on Wednesday 08-Oct-14 02:27 PM
If you are going to take on an extra finance make sure you have the money to pay for it. I do not understand how you can spend what you do not have - It would be a great idea if this came to the country - it could also possibly stop hijacking etc to a degree
Mathilda said:
on Wednesday 08-Oct-14 02:26 PM
I think this is a great way for getting payments done ,These days anyone can buy a car no matter what your credit count is and the dealerships are to happy to have a sale and then when payment is due they have some story that they cannot afford the payment this month, so the Starter interrupt device is the best bet to get your money faster.
Ashleigh said:
on Wednesday 08-Oct-14 02:22 PM
I think this could be dangerous in many cases. You have to consider how many people also get unfairly dismissed and or a mother that stays at home and her husband lost his job and now has to try find work with little experience. Their are so many reasons as to why people can fall behind and banks should investigate them properly first before deciding to make some ones life more miserable!
They obviously would also need to trace that you are in a safe zone before deciding to use the device to switch your car off. And in South Africa they better be quick to recover the car once switching it off before it gets vandalized.
In a way I agree that you shouldn't have something you cant afford but sometimes there are valid reasons as to why a human being could no longer keep up with affording the luxury they so wanted!
Clare said:
on Wednesday 08-Oct-14 02:06 PM
I don't like this idea at all. Because what if you have a bad bad month and cant make your payment for some reason and now you have to take your child or family member to hospital urgent (Ambulance take long to get to you) and because you missed one payment you stuck. I don't like this actually at all.
Lourien said:
on Wednesday 08-Oct-14 02:00 PM
Wow, this car starter interrupt device sound brilliant, but I can just imagine how long it will take to process the payments in SA, and how many people that actually pay their monthly installments will also experience problems...
It is very difficult to look at all the peoples different reasons for why they could not pay their installments and some of them have valid reasons, but the model of the story is, never be in a situation were you will not be able to afford to pay all your debt.. Financial planning is an necessity.
Marisa said:
on Wednesday 08-Oct-14 01:50 PM
I think it would be better to save for something you want or need then you don't need to worry about monthly payments or getting blacklisted.. Saving is the best way to go.. but sometimes you don't have a choice and need to loan money for good reasons
Jade said:
on Wednesday 08-Oct-14 08:33 AM
This sounds like an effective tool for finance companies.
I agree that this may not be well received in South Africa when you consider the land laws. I would also think that perhaps some would argue that the National Credit Act has measures in place to ensure that finance companies do not lend money to people who obviously cannot pay the money back and that as such this would not be necessary. Perhaps they will argue that consumers should be given a chance and that restructuring the debt payment process would be a fairer method.
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
