| (1) | Upon initiating or accepting a complaint in terms of section 136, the National Credit Regulator may— |
| (a) | issue a notice of non-referral to the complainant in the prescribed form, if the complaint appears to be frivolous or vexatious, or does not allege any facts which, if true, would constitute grounds for a remedy under this Act; |
| (b) | refer the complaint to— |
| (i) | a debt counsellor, if the matter appears to concern either reckless credit or possible over-indebtedness of the consumer; or |
| (c) | direct an inspector to investigate the complaint as quickly as practicable, in any other case. |
| (2) | At any time during an investigation, the National Credit Regulator may designate one or more persons to assist the inspector conducting the investigation contemplated in subsection (1). |
| (3) | At any time during an investigation, the National Credit Regulator may summon any person who is believed to be able to furnish any information on the subject of the investigation, or to have possession or control of any book, document or other object that has a bearing on that subject— |
| (a) | to appear before the National Credit Regulator to be interrogated; or |
| (b) | to deliver or produce to the National Credit Regulator such book, document or other object, |
at a time and place specified in the summons.
| (4) | A person questioned by an inspector conducting an investigation must answer each question truthfully and to the best of that person's ability, but— |
| (a) | the person is not obliged to answer any question if the answer is self-incriminating; and |
| (b) | the inspector questioning such a person must inform that person of the right set out in paragraph (a). |
| (5) | No self-incriminating answer given or statement made by any person to an inspector exercising any power in terms of this section is admissible as evidence against the person who gave the answer or made the statement in criminal proceedings in any court, except in criminal proceedings for perjury or in which that person is tried for an offence contemplated in section 159, and then only to the extent that the answer or statement is relevant to prove the offence charged. |
