National Credit Act, 2005 (Act No. 34 of 2005)Chapter 5 : Consumer Credit AgreementsPart B : Disclosure, form and effect of credit agreements99. Obligations of pawn brokers |
| (1) | A credit provider who enters into a pawn transaction with a consumer— |
| (a) | must specify in the credit agreement a date on which the agreement ends; |
| (b) | must retain until the end of the credit agreement, and at the risk of the credit provider, any property of the consumer that is delivered to the credit provider as security under the credit agreement; and |
| (c) | must deliver any property referred to in paragraph (b) to the consumer if the consumer pays, or tenders the money required to pay, the settlement value under the agreement at any time up to and including the date on which the agreement ends. |
| (2) | If a credit provider contemplated in this section fails to deliver any property to the consumer as required in subsection (1)(c) the Tribunal, on application by the consumer, may order the credit provider to pay to the consumer an amount equal to— |
| (a) | the fair market value of the property, less the settlement value at the time of failure to deliver that property, as determined by the Tribunal, if the reason for the failure to return the property is that it has been damaged or destroyed by an intervening cause outside the control of the credit provider; or |
| (b) | double the fair market value of the property, less the settlement value at the time of failure to deliver that property, as determined by the Tribunal, if the reason for the failure to return the property is other than as contemplated in paragraph (a). |
| (3) | If property contemplated in subsection (2) has been sold by the credit provider, evidence of the price at which that property was sold may be considered by the Tribunal, but is not conclusive, in determining the fair market value of that property. |