News & Resources

After losing a tender, we lodged a complaint with the department against their awarding of the tender to a bidder who we are aware operates in a less than reputable fashion. The department informed us they would cancel the tender. Subsequently we have heard that although the tender was cancelled, the department wants to enter into a settlement agreement with the bidder to avoid litigation. Surely such a settlement agreement cannot override fair tender procedures?

Our company is owed money by one of our contractor companies who we helped with finance and provided us with personal sureties by the shareholders as security for the transaction. They have been making promises that they will pay for some time and we left it, but now we are getting worried about prescription. We are also unsure whether if we act against the sureties, prescription will be halted for the contractor or may continue and we lose our claim against the company itself. Can you advise?

I recently saw an article in the news saying that the Western Cape Department of Social Development was not responsible for injuries caused to a child in a day care funded by the Department. Surely this cannot be right and the Department should be responsible? 

My husband and I are busy getting a divorce. We are currently still living under the same roof, but my husband insults me and is quite abusive in front of our children. We bought the house together but I don’t want him living there. Is there any way I can force him to move out before we are divorced?

A year or two ago I asked my sister to stand as surety for me so I could buy a house for my family. I had a good job and felt comfortable in asking her to do so. She agreed and signed a surety agreement with the bank. With Covid-19 I’ve now lost my job and despite getting payment holidays from the bank, I’m not sure I will be able to make my mortgage instalments. Where does this leave my sister? Will the bank now expect her to repay my outstanding mortgage loan?

With the outbreak of the coronavirus and the resulting lockdown I have found that many of the service providers to my business are using the coronavirus as an excuse to not meet their contractual obligations. We have all been affected by this, but at some point the virus cannot be a blanket excuse for not meeting your obligations. To what extent is the virus a valid excuse?

About three years ago my neighbour started producing his own compost. Initially, the smell was bearable, but it appears that he has ramped up his composting and is bringing in manure as well. I suspect he is even selling or supplying to others. The smell has become unbearable and pervades our entire house and garden, even with the windows closed. We really can’t stand it anymore. I’ve asked my neighbour to stop but he just ignores us. Is there anything we can do?

I am a small commercial farmer. The roads in my region are mostly gravel and dirt roads and are generally in an atrocious state. This has a detrimental effect on the running of my farm as I often cannot get transport in or out of the farm. As these roads have not been maintained in years, a few farmers are considering repairing some of the roads ourselves. Should we continue with such repairs will we have a claim that Government reimburse us?

I’ve recently read in the news that apparently spanking your child is no longer allowed for parents. I thought this had been settled a while ago. Why is this news again?

My company recently bought products from a local store. They sent the invoice, but the invoice details and VAT number was incorrect and we asked them to correct it as our bookkeeper said we can’t pay until a correct invoice was received. In the meantime we now see that the store started posting comments on Facebook saying our business was bankrupt and that we don’t pay our accounts and people should stay away from us. I contacted the store to remove the posts, but they refused and said they would only do so when we paid their account. Surely this is completely unacceptable conduct! What can we do?

My business entered into an agreement some time ago to have certain goods manufactured for us. Unfortunately, the agreement was drawn up in haste, and now that we want to look at other manufacturers, we have realised it does not have a fixed contract period or cancellation clause. Are we now stuck with this manufacturer till the end of time?

I signed a personal guarantee for my company with a credit provider. The company has defaulted on payments and the credit provider now sent me a notice demanding payment under the guarantee. However, they sent it to the company office and not to my domicile address as contained in the guarantee agreement. Does this mean that the demand is not valid as it was not sent to the right address?