FASTA Language policy

FASTA Language policy

In terms of the National Credit Act, 34 of 2005

  1. Introduction
    1. FASTA (Proprietary) Ltd (FASTA) enters into credit agreements with consumers which are regulated by the National Credit Act (NCA) and is a credit provider in terms of section one (1) of the NCA;
    2. FASTA is registered as a creditprovider with the National Credit Regulator (NCR), in compliance with section 40 of the NCA, with effect from the 15th of May 2018 (registration date) under registration number NCRCP10591;
    3. The NCR had registeredFASTAas a credit provider on the registration date, subject to general and specific conditions which required, inter alia, a language policy proposal be sent to the NCR byFASTAwithin twelve (12) months of registration which met the requirements envisaged in section 63 of the NCA (“Annexure A”);
    4. This document therefore sets out the proposed language policy adopted byFASTA, for approval by the NCR, in compliance with the Specific Condition B1 detailed in the “Conditions of Registration as ACreditProvider in Terms of Section 48 of The National Credit Act” (Annexure A).
  2. Proposed Language Policy
    1. Acknowledgement of a consumer’s rights under the NCA
      1. A consumer has the right to request and receive any documentation, which pertains to acredit agreement and required in termsof the NCA (documentation), in an official language of their choice;
      2. A consumer may choose to receive this documentation in one of the following two (2) official languages:
        1. English or
        2. Afrikaans.
      3. In the exercise of good business practise, FASTA is required to ensure that the documentation is available in at least two (2) of the official languages recognised intermsof section 63 of the NCA.
      4. FASTA’s language policymust have a reasonable regard of the needs and preferences of the population it ordinarily serves to the extent that it balances the predominant language usage and regional circumstances together with practicality and expense of serving those consumers’ needs and preferences;
      5. It is generally accepted that it is not practical and is too expensive to produce our documentation in all eleven (11) official languages;
    2. Policy Statement and Proposal in Terms of Section 63 of the NCA
      1. FASTA’s products and services are available throughout the Republic ofSouthAfrica;
      2. FASTA will communicate with its customersin English by default, being the recognised and accepted language of commerce, politics and law inSouthAfrica;
      3. In the ordinary course of business, FASTA’s customers will now have the opportunity to choose between two (2) official language preferences, namely English and Afrikaans.
        1. The Quotation forSmall and Intermediate LoanAgreements in terms of Section 92 of the NationalCreditAct 34 of 2005;
        2. The Personal Loan Agreement for Small and IntermediateLoan Agreements in termsof Section 92 of the NationalCreditAct 34 of 2005.
        3. Personal LoanMonthly Statement.
        4. Debt Enforcement Notices (Section 129).
        5. General customer interactions, which includes web chats, emails and/or telephonic conversations.
      4. FASTA appoints external providers, such as customer services centres and debt collection agents, which operate nationwide call centres staffed with personnel that, jointly, have the ability to communicate in all eleven official languages.
        1. Demographically the majority of the call centres are staffed with personnel who have the ability to communicate in more than one African language, having regard to the African languages with pre-dominant prevalence in the various demographical areas.
    3. Apart from the customers’ ability to seek explanation of documents from call centre staff, the customer may adviseFASTAthat they elect to receive documents in one (1) of the languages referred to above.
  3. Implementation Plan for Language Policy
    4. Item
    Implementation Date
    Quotation & PersonalLoanAgreement for Small and Intermediate Loan Agreements in terms of Section 92 of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005
    20 Dec 2019
    PersonalLoanStatements
    31 May 2020
    Section 129 Notice
    31 May 2020
    System Driven Emails and Text Messages
    31 May 2020
    Arrears and Enforcement Notices
    31 May 2020
    General Written Correspondence
    Available
    General customer interactions
    Available