The Supreme Court of Appeal has detonated a legal bombshell, ordering WesBank to hand back R170 023 to Alta Van Niekerk after the bank financed a defective 2012 Ford Ranger 3.2 TDCi diesel 4×4 that was unfit for the road. In a unanimous judgment the court declared that a financier who keeps ownership of a vehicle is not a neutral money lender but also a supplier under the Consumer Protection Act, a ruling that strips banks of their favourite escape clause when hidden defects surface. The decision torpedoes the Mahikeng High Court’s earlier finding that Van Niekerk had waived her rights by allowing a repair attempt, and it plants a red flag in the showroom of every second-hand dealer who ever assumed the bank would carry the can.
Trudie Broekmann, Van Niekerk’s attorney, says the verdict rewrites the rules of engagement between consumers and lenders, because ownership retained by the bank is no longer a shield against liability. Where customers once had to chase elusive dealerships for refunds they can now march straight to the bank that debited their account, demand cancellation and repayment, and walk away with both their money and their dignity. The judgment also warns financiers that they face claims for harm caused by defects, from fender benders to highway pileups, ending the era of banks washing their hands while dangerous cars stay on the road.
Stats Reveal Scale Of Second Hand Car Complaints
National Consumer Commission figures released in the 2024/25 annual report show the battlefield that motorists face. Over a nine-month window the commission fielded roughly 600 complaints against second-hand dealers, 46 of them aimed at one major supplier alone, while just under 60% of priority-sector grievances were finalised during the reporting cycle. When the NCC escalated matters to the National Consumer Tribunal or the courts it prevailed in 19 of 21 rulings, a blistering 90% success rate that signals both the strength of consumer legislation and the frequency with which traders ignore it.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Second-hand vehicle complaints in 9 months | 600 |
| Complaints against single major supplier | 46 |
| NCC finalisation rate in priority sectors | <60% |
| Court or tribunal success rate | 90% (19/21 rulings) |
Broekmann believes the raw numbers understate the crisis, because thousands of buyers never lodge formal complaints and instead endure expensive repairs or simply surrender their cars. The SCA judgment now gives those silent sufferers a faster, clearer remedy, she argues, and the threat of direct bank liability should force dealers to disclose every gearbox grind and engine knock before a contract is signed.
Journey From Faulty Gearbox To Supreme Court
The saga began in 2017 when Van Niekerk traded in her old car and financed the balance so her son could drive a sturdy four-wheel-drive bakkie, but the Ranger’s gearbox began crunching almost immediately. A mechanic soon discovered that the wrong unit had been slammed into the vehicle during a pre-sale patch-up job, and Van Niekerk cancelled the agreement, demanded a refund from both dealership and WesBank, and returned the keys. The bank ignored her letters, kept debiting her account, and in 2019 sued her for the outstanding balance, betting that a consumer would buckle under legal pressure.
Instead of buckling she counter-claimed, insisting that the Consumer Protection Act entitled her to a full refund because the goods were unsafe, defective and not of good quality. The Mahikeng High Court accepted WesBank’s argument that the CPA did not apply to credit agreements and that Van Niekerk had waived cancellation rights by first requesting a repair, but the SCA tore that logic apart. Ownership, the appeal judges said, is the decisive hat that turns a financier into a supplier, and allowing a botched repair does not forfeit the right to reject a lemon later.
Impact Sparks Fear Across Finance Houses
Industry insiders predict that the ruling will ripple far beyond family cars, because any financed asset where the bank retains ownership, from delivery trucks to earth-moving machinery, now carries the same legal risk. Broekmann points out that corporate fleets, often excluded from the CPA, can still rely on common-law warranty rules, and the judgment signals that judges will not tolerate hidden defects once a financier is also a supplier. Banks may respond by hiking interest rates or tightening credit checks, but such moves could trigger regulatory scrutiny if they appear punitive to consumers exercising lawful rights.
Meanwhile the Motor Industry Ombud faces pressure to abandon the practice of blocking claims on the grounds that a consumer agreed to repairs, a tactic Broekmann says has been misused for years. WesBank has not indicated whether it will petition the Constitutional Court, but the scale of potential exposure, thousands of financed vehicles with lurking defects, suggests that finance houses will think twice before betting on another courtroom showdown. For Alta Van Niekerk the victory is not just personal, it is a national warning that the days of banks washing their hands are finished, and the next defective Ranger, Polo or Hino may cost the financier far more than a monthly instalment.
