"Contrary to current legislation, companies and collection agencies are making claims on debtors that have expired in law," says Stephan Logan of Logan Attorneys.

According to South African law, claims for money older than three years prescribe, or expire. "Unless the creditor obtained judgement within the three years before expiry, the creditor has no legal claim to the debt," explains Logan. He adds that prescription runs from the date the debt was due or from the date the debtor first became aware of the debt being due.

While some consumers know that claims expire, few people are aware that these expired or prescribed claims are still being collected through an extra-judicial listing process. Debt collectors frequently ignore the fact that claims are no longer enforceable when listing the debtor.

The credit information ombud states that a creditor or appointed collection agency can list a default record on the debtors account once, for a period of three years. Once the default falls off the credit record, after the three-year period, the same default cannot be re-listed.

"Ideally, each listing should have a default date (ie when the account went into arrears) and three years after the default date the listing should automatically be removed, irrespective of whether payment was received or not," says Logan.

Find out if you're a victim:

• Request a statement from the creditor, and determine when the account went into default. After three years from this date, and provided the creditor did not obtain judgment, the creditor or collection company cannot list a default on your record.

• If you suspect that the default has been re-listed or the debt is prescribed, query the listing with the credit bureau concerned. If you're unhappy with their response, contact the credit information ombud to investigate the matter.