What happens after a section 129 notice

A worked example

An instalment due on Friday 30 October 2026 is not paid. The notice is posted on Monday 2 November. Wednesday 4 November is a public holiday (local government elections), so it does not count.

The writer takes the day after both periods have run as the safe day. Counting the default from the day after the due date, and waiting a full day after the last period ends, costs a day and removes an argument.

What the consumer can do in those 10 days

• Pay the arrears. Until you cancel the agreement, the consumer may pay all overdue amounts plus prescribed default administration charges and reasonable enforcement costs, and the agreement carries on (section 129(3)).
• Agree a plan with you. If they agree to your proposal and act in good faith, or keep to an agreed plan, the court will not hear your case (section 130(3)(c)).
• Refer the agreement to a debt counsellor, an alternative dispute resolution agent, the consumer court or the ombud. You may not sue while the matter is with them (section 130(3)(c)(i)).
• Apply for debt review. Since 13 March 2015 an agreement is kept out of a debt review application only once you have taken the steps in section 130 to enforce it, that is, gone to court (section 86(2), as amended). A delivered notice alone no longer keeps it out.
• Return the goods under an instalment agreement, secured loan or lease (section 127). You may not sue while they do (section 130(1)(c)).

This is also the cheapest time to collect: the consumer has just been told, in writing, what court would mean. A call in their own language in these days often settles what a summons would take months to.

Summons and default judgment

If the consumer has not responded or has rejected your proposals, and both periods have run, you may issue summons, usually in the Magistrates' Court and usually through an attorney. In your particulars of claim, say how and when the notice was delivered and attach the proof.

If the consumer does not defend the summons, you can apply for default judgment. The court may decide the matter only if it is satisfied that section 129 and 130 were complied with (section 130(3)(a)), so a missing or defective notice, a wrong arrears figure or no proof that it reached the right post office will stop you, and a judgment taken without them can be rescinded (Sebola [2012] ZACC 11; Viljoen [2025] ZAGPPHC 612).

After judgment, if the consumer still does not pay, the next steps are a warrant of execution against property or an emoluments attachment order against salary.

If the notice was wrong

The court must adjourn the case and set out the steps you must take first (section 130(4)(b)). In practice that means a new, correct notice, delivered properly, and another 10 business days. A wrong arrears figure has been held to make the notice defective, and a new notice sent after summons does not cure it (Tshivhase [2025] ZAGPJHC 1183). Getting the first notice right is cheaper.

Prescription keeps running

A section 129 notice does not interrupt prescription. Most loan debts prescribe three years after they fall due unless the consumer acknowledges the debt or a summons is served (Prescription Act, sections 11, 14 and 15). Do not let a notice sit while the three years run out. See prescribed debt.