Student loan

Terms and conditions

1.  Interpretation and definitions

In this agreement:

1.1  clause headings are for convenience and are not to be used in its interpretation.

1.2  unless the context otherwise indicates, the following expressions bear the meanings assigned to them below and similar expressions bear corresponding meanings:

1.2.1  'account' means your account at Nedbank into which the loan or part thereof will be paid and into which you will make payments;

1.2.2  'agreement' means this agreement, and includes, if applicable, any application and/or preagreement statement/quotation and/or any annexes to this agreement;

1.2.3  'interest rate' means the variable interest rate per annum, as specified in the quotation that applies to this agreement initially and which is subject to change;

1.2.4  'NCA' means the National Credit Act, 34 of 2005;

1.2.5  'prime rate' means the prime overdraft rate of interest charged by us from time to time;

1.2.6  'quotation' means the most recent written quotation given in respect of this agreement as contemplated in the NCA;

1.2.7  'security' means the security supplied by you and/or on your behalf to us in terms of this agreement;

1.2.8  'you' means the student loan applicant and credit receiver; and

1.2.9  'we' or 'us' means the credit provider, Nedbank Limited, together with its successors in title and assigns;

1.3  any number of days prescribed will exclude the first and include the last day, or where the last day is not a business day, the next business day.

2.  Condition precedent and security 

2.1  This agreement, and any subsequent student loan agreement(s), is/are conditional on us having conducted a successful credit assessment. The loan will be advanced to you or on your behalf to your chosen tertiary institution, after we have received the security for the loan and subject to your compliance with the terms and conditions of this agreement. The security will not detract from any other security held by us and will secure your indebtedness under this agreement.

3.  Obligations of the student

3.1  The loan is granted to you for study purposes and you must be registered at a recognised university or tertiary institution.

3.2  At the start of every academic year you must furnish us with a certificate of registration within two (2) months of having been registered with a university or tertiary institution for each academic year.

3.3  Should you cease to be registered at a university or tertiary institution before finishing your studies or be excluded from further studies before completion of your qualification, you must pay the instalment relating to capital.

3.4  You must open an account at us into which the loan or part thereof will be disbursed. You agree to conduct the account in a manner acceptable to us and agree that failure to do so will constitute a breach of this agreement.

4.  Interest

4.1  We will charge interest on the balance of the loan amount together with all other amounts owing to or claimable by us ('outstanding loan amount'). Your agreement is subject to a variable interest rate as indicated in the quotation.

4.2  Interest will be calculated daily on the outstanding loan amount and will be added to this amount once a month. Any interest that has accrued but remains unpaid at the end of any month will bear further interest at the same rate.

4.3  If you default on your repayment obligations, further interest will be charged on overdue amounts, including fees, costs or charges not paid on or before the due date, at the same rate as the interest rate applicable to your loan.

4.4  The interest rate quoted in the quotation is a variable rate determined with reference to the prime rate. The interest rate will automatically increase or decrease in accordance with changes in the prime rate. We will notify you in writing of any variation of the interest rate within thirty (30) days after the change took place.

5.  Fees, costs and charges

5.1  You are liable for all fees, costs and charges specified in the quotation. We may from time to time vary any fees, costs or charges, but will not exceed the prescribed amount in terms of the NCA.

5.2  To the extent that you are required to pay or reimburse any costs, fees, expenses or disbursements in terms of this agreement, you agree that such obligations include the payment or reimbursement of VAT.

5.3  If you default on your loan repayment (including VAT), default administration charges will be charged for the delivery of each default letter.

5.4  If you default on your loan repayment, we may charge you the costs we pay to collect the debt.

5.5  You are liable for all legal costs and, where applicable, insurance premiums we pay in exercising any of our rights in terms of these terms and conditions (including all legal costs charged on an attorney-and-client scale, counsel's fees, tracing fees and other collection charges). These charges are payable to us on demand, and all such payments are authorised by you and secured by the security.

5.6  We will give you at least five (5) business days' notice before we change the fees, costs and charges stated in the quotation.

6.  Disbursements of the loan

6.1  An agreement will come into effect only after a credit assessment has been completed successfully.

6.2  If we approve a loan for a lesser amount than the amount applied for, the information contained in the most recent quotation will apply to the loan and not the information disclosed in the earlier quotation.

6.3  If you apply for a further loan, we have the right to settle your existing loan from the proceeds of the new loan. If the loan is required to consolidate your indebtedness in terms of an existing study loan, your existing indebtedness will be paid from the proceeds of the loan on your behalf.

6.4  The loan amount or the lesser amount, as we may approve, will be disbursed to or on your behalf by payment or disbursement as specified in this agreement and/or on your written instructions to us.

7.  Payment of instalments

 7.1  You must repay the outstanding loan amount in South African rand without setoff or deduction of any kind.

7.2  If you do not make any payment on the due date or if we pay any amount on your behalf and we include this in the outstanding balance, we have the right to alter the monthly payments to such amounts as we determine to ensure that your loan is repaid in the same period as stated in the quotation.

7.3  If your bank account is closed, inaccessible or has insufficient funds to service the stop order, we may apply the stop order to any bank account that you may have with us, subject to the provisions of the NCA.

7.4  If you cancel the stop order authorisation, you must choose another payment method acceptable to us and notify us immediately. Any failure to ensure that payment is made in accordance with this agreement, will be a material breach of this agreement. If you choose another payment method other than stop order, receipt of payment will be at your risk until we have received and processed the payment.

7.5  You may prepay any amount owed to us at any time and we will allocate the payment as follows:

7.5.1  to satisfy any unpaid interest;

7.5.2  to satisfy any unpaid fees; and

7.5.3  to reduce the amount of the principal debt.

7.6  You may terminate this agreement by settling the loan without giving notice. You must pay the full outstanding loan amount on the settlement day to settle the loan.

8.  Insurance

8.1  If you selected the policy that we arranged on your behalf, you acknowledge that:

8.1.1  you were informed of your right to waive the proposed policy, substitute a policy of your own choice or not take out credit life insurance;

8.1.2  you have not waived the policy proposed by us;

8.1.3  we have explained the terms and conditions of the policy to you;

8.1.4  we have provided you with a copy of the policy, which you have read and understood;

8.1.5  you are familiar with the exclusions contained in the policy;

8.1.6  on the occurrence of one of the insurable events under the policy, we will receive the cover payable in terms of the policy;

8.1.7   you irrevocably authorise Nedgroup Life to obtain from any person, doctor or institution (whom you hereby authorise and request to provide) any information that Nedgroup Life deems necessary to facilitate the consideration of any claim for any benefits payable in terms of the policy;

8.1.8  the premium rates under the policy are not guaranteed and may be altered on the advice of an actuary of Nedgroup Life, in which event you will be given 1 (one) month's notice of any changes of rates;

8.1.9  you have chosen to have us act as your agent in arranging such insurance;

8.1.10  you will be the credit life assured and that we will be the beneficiary under the policy; and

8.1.11   you authorise us to pay the insurance premiums on your behalf and that we can recover these premiums as part of the monthly instalments.

9.  Implications of default

If you default on your obligations under this agreement or any other agreement with Nedbank, we have the right to claim the full outstanding loan amount in terms of this agreement. Any amount in default or arrears will bear interest at the rate referred to in the quotation and be calculated and capitalised monthly. Subject to clause 10, if you are in default, we may take legal action against you, which may result in us getting a court judgment against you, attaching your salary or property and selling your property to recover the loan, which will further result in a bad credit record.

10.  Process on default

10.1  If you are in default, we will give you written notice and propose that you refer this agreement to a debt counsellor, an alternative dispute resolution agent, the Consumer Court or the ombud with jurisdiction, with the intention that we resolve any disputes or develop and agree on a plan to bring your payments up to date.

10.2  You agree that registered mail will be used for the delivery of legal notices to you.

10.3  If you applied for debt review under section 86 of the NCA and the review is not finalised within 60 (sixty) business days after you applied for it, we may send a notice terminating the debt review.

10.4  We can approach the court for an order enforcing the agreement only if, at the time, you have been in default for at least 20 (twenty) business days and at least 10 (ten) business days have elapsed since the default letter or notice referred to above has been delivered [which 10-day (ten-day) period may run concurrently with the 20-day (twenty-day) default period] and you have failed to respond to the default letter or have rejected our proposal.

10.5  The nature and amount of my obligation and the applicable interest rate will be determined and proved by a certificate or any other written evidence ('Certificate') purporting to have been signed by a Nedbank manager whose capacity or authority does not have to be proved. Unless the contrary is proved, the Certificate will on the production thereof be binding and be prima facie proof of the content thereof and of the fact that the amount is due and payable. The Certificate will be valid as a liquid document (alternatively proof of a liquidated amount) in any competent court or for any other purpose.

11.  Application for debt review

11.1  You have the right to apply to a debt counsellor to be declared overindebted.

11.2  You may not apply to a debt counsellor to be declared overindebted if, at that time, we have started legal action in terms of clause 10.

11.3  The debt counsellor will determine whether you are overindebted and, if you sought a declaration of reckless credit, the debt counsellor will make a finding on whether any of the credit agreements are indeed reckless.

11.4  The debt counsellor may reject your application, or may recommend that you and the respective credit providers consider and agree on a debt rearrangement plan.

11.5  If the debt counsellor finds that you are indeed overindebted, he/she may issue a proposal recommending that the magistrate's court make an appropriate order.

11.6  If the recommendation suggested by the debt counsellor is accepted by you and each credit provider, the order must be recorded in the form of an order, and if all parties consent, it may be filed as a consent order by the debt counsellor.

11.7  If the debt counsellor rejects the proposal, you may, with the leave of the magistrate's court, apply directly to the magistrate's court for an appropriate order.

12.  Notices and domicilium

12.1  You agree that the residential address you provided in the quotation or the most recent address provided to us in terms of clause 12.2 is the address to/at which all legal notices must be sent/delivered.

12.2  Either party may change its address by delivering a written notice of the new address by hand or email. If you have not advised us of a change of address or any of your other contact details, we will continue to use the last address provided even though the information may be incorrect.

12.3  You may send any legal notices to The General Manager; Nedbank Group Legal; fax no: 011 295 2173; physical address: Nedbank 135 Rivonia Campus, 135 Rivonia Road, Sandown, Sandton, 2196.

12.4  Unless the contrary is proved, any legal notice sent by:

12.4.1  ordinary mail in a correctly addressed envelope to the other party's chosen address will be considered as having been received on the 7th (seventh) day after posting; or

12.4.2  hand to a responsible person during ordinary business hours at the other party's chosen address will be considered as having been received on the day of delivery; or

12.4.3  sent by email to the chosen email address, will be considered as having been received on the date of transmission.

12.5  Any document actually received by a party will be adequate written notice or communication to that party, even though it may not have been sent to or delivered at the chosen address.

13.  General

13.1  The loan agreement contains everything we have agreed with you and any change to it must be signed by both parties, unless such change is agreed telephonically, in which case you consent that any such change may be recorded and logged on our electronic client system as evidence. The telephonic recording will constitute the amended terms of the agreement, which amendment will be put in writing and a copy thereof sent to you within 20 (twenty) business days.

13.2  If either party decides not to use a right in this loan agreement, it does not mean that the right is lost in terms of the agreement. If you or we wish to waive a right in terms of this agreement, you or we must provide such waiver in writing. Every undertaking in this loan agreement is separate from the others. If any clause is found to be unlawful or cannot be used for any reason, the other clauses will not be affected by its invalidity.

13.3  If there is a conflict between the provisions of the agreement and any provision of the security, the provisions of the agreement will apply.

13.4  We have the right to cede, assign and transfer any of our rights or obligations in terms of this agreement and/or the security to any third party, without obtaining your consent. The right includes the right to delegate any of our obligations in terms of this agreement or the security. If any such cession, assignment or transfer constitutes a splitting of claims that requires your consent, you hereby consent thereto.

13.5  You are required to furnish us with such information and/or documents as we may require from time to time in respect of yourself, your spouse, your surety, your guarantor or any other person who has provided security for your indebtedness.

14.  Jurisdiction

In terms of section 45 of the Magistrates' Court Act, 32 of 1944, and at our option, any claim arising hereunder may be recovered in any magistrate's court having jurisdiction, and you hereby consent to the jurisdiction of the magistrate's court.

Should you accept this quotation, it will, together with the terms and conditions, become the agreement between you and us.

15.  Important confirmation and acknowldegement

You hereby confirm as follows:

15.1  The consultant has provided you with the required documents, where applicable, and the information contained therein, and any additional information has been explained to you so that you can make an informed decision before entering into this agreement.

15.2  You acknowledge as follows:

15.2.1  A copy of the preagreement statement and quotation was provided to you.

15.2.2  Where the agreement was signed electronically, you agree that your electronic signature uniquely identifies you and serves as evidence of your agreement to the terms and conditions thereof.

15.2.3  You understand the risks, costs and obligations associated with entering into this agreement.

15.2.4  The consultant explained that the quotation is binding on the bank for 14 (fourteen) days and that once you have signed the preagreement statement and terms and conditions, the bank will enter into the credit agreement subject to a successful credit assessment and suretyship agreement as required by the NCA.

15.2.5  A copy of the terms and conditions was handed to you. In the alternative, where such was signed electronically, a copy of the signed agreement will be emailed to you and we will store and archive the electronically signed agreement.

15.2.6  A copy of the insurance policy was handed to you, where applicable.

15.2.7  Where you have taken the bank's insurance, on reaching your 30th birthday you will be able to claim for death only. The disability benefit will stop.