Monday, June 22, 2009
New Companies Act / Directors' Duties
Recently the new (South African) Companies Act was signed, but will probably only come into operation towards the middle of next year.
The Act makes directors' duties more onerous and will raise directors' accountability to shareholders. Australia, which has gone through a similar corporate law change, has apparently seen director and officer claims double in the past four yearsDirectors will face enormous exposure for damages claims, if they fail in their fiduciary duties. Under the new Act, they could be held liable for damages and penalties.
Article submitted by Ric Martin, a partner at Eversheds eversheds.co.za
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Benefits of registering as a user on Legal City
Registration on our web site is free and there is no monthly subscription fee.
- You can purchase Legal Credits in order to access our premier services
- You can participate in our online discussion forums and publish your services on our legal noticeboard - free of charge
- You can keep a track of all searches you do and produce audit reports for your own use
- You can facilitate multiple user access to your account (and audit their usage as well)
You can be kept informed of changes to existing and new services on Legal City
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Consumer Protection Act
The much awaited Consumer Protection Act was signed into law on 24 April 2009 and published in the Government Gazette on 29 April 2009.
The second piece of consumer legislation since the National Credit Act came into effect, this Act seeks to regulate the relationship between consumers and each of the suppliers in the supply chain.
The Act brings with it numerous provisions, protective of the consumer, regulating the marketing, nature and contents of agreements, supply and quality of goods and services in the consumer arena. The provisions will effect numerous players in the market,including retailers, distributors, manufacturers, franchisors and franchisees as well as any other persons supplying goods or services to consumers.
Submitted by Simone Monty of Routledge Modise in association with Eversheds
Thursday, March 26, 2009
National Credit Regulator Bares Its Teeth
The National Consumer Tribunal ruled in favour of the NCR and held that HD Finance was retaining and using bank cards and pin codes as a collection method, when collecting money owed by consumers. Consequently HD Finance was found to have repeatedly contravened the NCA.
The Tribunal ruled that with effect from 3 April 2009, the registration of HD Finance was to be cancelled unless HD Finance, at its own initiative and costs, satisfied the National Credit Regulator that all 22 of its branches are fully compliant with the NCA prior to 3 April 2009.
It is clear that credit providers who still retain bank and pension cards should take note of the recent decision by the Tribunal. Should they wish to continue to grant loans, compliance with the NCA is not negotiable. Submitted by Simone Monty of Routledge Modise in association with Eversheds.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Legal City now offers Collection Letters
We take great pleasure in re-introducing our Collection Letter service.
Using this service you can send a registered letter or telegram to a debtor requesting payment of an outstanding debt. The letter is certified to be compliant with Section 168 of the National Credit Act (Act 34 of 2005) and meets the notice requirements of Section 129 of the same Act.
The service is also designed to automatically remind you after the prescribed time has passed so that you may proceed with additional action against the debtor should you not receive payment.
The cost of the collection letter is fixed and we do not charge you any additional collection fees or commissions. Please take some to click here and revew this new service.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Highlights of the 2009/10 Budget
Economists and opposition political parties have welcomed Finance Minister Trevor Manuel balancing the needs of the poor with some relief for taxpayers in his 2009 budget.
Although his budget did not have any dramatic changes for the Corporate market there is some relief for the personal income tax payer. One highlight of the budget was his commitment to increasing social grants and funding for much needed public works projects.
Our thanks go to Routledge Modise in association with Eversheds who have put together a concise Tax Card outlining the changes that can be expected.
Click here to download their Budget 2009 Tax card in pdf format (file size 1.21 MB).
Monday, January 5, 2009
Welcome back
Now that everyone is back safe and sound and well rested after a much needed break we hope to continue providing you with the same excellent service that you have come to expect from us.
Our new pricing is in effect and we'd like to remind you that since your Legal Credits only expire after one year why not take advantage of our special discounts and get some FREE Legal Credits.
If you have any requests or suggestions then we would love to hear from you - please contact us and we'll see what we can do to accomodate you.
We look forward to an exciting year which already features a host of new services that will be launched in the upcoming months.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Database Maintenance
With the launch of our new web site we will be conducting ongoing maintenance of our user database which may result in a small number of user accounts being suspended. This is unintentional and occurs automatically when we are unable to communicate with you via email.
If you see a suspension notice when you try to log on then please contact our call centre immediately so that we can help you re-activate your account.
Important Note: We would like to remind all our users that it is important to keep your contact details (specifically your email address) up-to-date to avoid your account being suspended. Legal City requires accurate and up-to-date details in order to provide you with access to our services.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
New Transunion Terms of Use
In order to ensure that Legal City remains fully compliant with the requirements of the National Credit Act we have implemented a new TransUnion Credit Bureau Terms of Use document which governs your access to their services.
One of the requirements of this new document is that we must be able to positively identify you as the requester of the data and accordingly we now require a valid South African ID for each TransUnion credit enquiry that you conduct. Your ID number will be kept completely confidental and will only be divulged should we receive a demand from the National Credit Regulator in terms if the TransUnion document.
We thank you for your understanding and participation in this matter.
If this is your first visit to our site please 
