Can a school hand over my unpaid fees account to debt collectors without warning me?

The long answer

You probably know that a school does have a right to hand over unpaid fees to debt collectors if a parent has not applied for a fee exemption. But, if a parent is in arrears for one month or more, the School Governing Body must investigate whether the parent qualifies for fee exemption before handing over the account to debt collectors. 

FEDSAS Tech says that the Schools Act requires the school to have proof that a written confirmation was sent to a parent by hand or by registered post informing them that they have not applied for a school-fee exemption. This is called a Section 41 confirmation. The parent must then be given three months from the date of the notice to pay the fees owing.

Receiving notification that the school intended to hand over your account, to give you a chance to make a payment arrangement, would certainly seem the decent and reasonable thing for the school to do. For example, the Excelsior Primary School spelt out in their 2024 Debtors Policy that if parents are thirty days late with their payments, the school will communicate with them to tell them that they are in breach of their contract and that if they do not pay the debt within three months, they will be handed over to debt collectors. 

But it does not seem that there is an actual law compelling the school to notify a parent in default with school fees that they are intending to hand over the account to debt collectors. 

So what can you do now? 

DebtCare gives tips to avoid blacklisting: 

• Make contact with the creditor if you cannot pay the bill - ideally before the payment is due. Explain your situation and make a sensible and affordable arrangement to pay off the debt. 

• Most times the creditor will be willing to help you handle an emergency, especially if your account has generally been in good standing and they can see it’s an exception. 

• If you decide that you need to go into debt review, you are legally protected against debt collectors once the debt review process starts. 

You can contact a qualified debt counsellor of your choosing, or you can contact the office of the Credit Ombud for free assistance. 

Phone: 0861 66 28 37

Email: ombud@creditombud.org.za 

SMS “Help” to 44786 and they will call you.

Wishing you the best,
Athalie