A former magistrate and attorney who had not made a payment on his Mercedes-Benz for more than two-and-a-half years has lost his bid to prevent Standard Bank from repossessing the vehicle.
The Western Cape High Court ordered Tashriq Ahmed to return a 2020 Mercedes-Benz C200 A/T to the bank after finding that he had no bona fide defence to its claim.
Ahmed bought the vehicle under an instalment sale agreement with Standard Bank in August 2020. The total cost of the agreement, including interest, costs and charges, was R1.18 million, with monthly instalments of R13,015.70 and a final payment of R252,749 due in March 2027.
However, Ahmed fell into arrears and made his last payment in December 2023.
Standard Bank eventually issued summons seeking cancellation of the agreement and return of the Mercedes, saying Ahmed had failed to remedy the breach after receiving a letter of demand.
No layperson
Ahmed admitted he had fallen behind on his payments but argued the bank was not entitled to repossess the car because it had failed to comply with the National Credit Act (NCA).
The former lawyer claimed the required notice had either not been properly given or had been sent to the wrong address, and that he had not been given a reasonable opportunity to catch up on his arrears or arrange a repayment plan.
Alternatively, he asked the court to give him another 60 days to bring the account up to date rather than allowing the Mercedes to be repossessed.
But Judge Daniel Lekhuleni noted that Ahmed was no stranger to the law. “From the papers filed, he was a magistrate and subsequently an attorney,” the judge said, noting that he had initially represented himself and prepared his own pleadings in the case.
Ahmed said his arrears were caused by circumstances beyond his control, including losing income because he was no longer practising as an attorney. Lekhuleni found that this did not amount to a defence to Standard Bank’s claim.
Enough time
Ahmed had filed his plea in September 2025 and had been given several months in which to reinstate the agreement but had failed to do so. “He was given ample opportunity to bring his arrears up to date,” the judge said.
The court also rejected his argument over the NCA notice, finding it had been properly dispatched.
Lekhuleni said the NCA was intended to protect consumers, but not to frustrate a credit provider trying to enforce a legitimate claim where a customer had remained in default for an “egregiously long period,” owed a substantial amount and had made no effort to settle the debt or arrears.
“Moreover, the defendant is not a layperson. He was fully aware that he could refer the matter to a debt counsellor or seek assistance to restructure his indebtedness,” said Lekhuleni.
Lekhuleni added that Ahmed was “driving a Mercedes-Benz C200 that he is presently unable to afford. He has not paid the monthly instalments due under the credit agreement since 2023.”
Nine months late
However, Standard Bank was also criticised by the judge for failure to explain why its application for summary judgment was filed almost nine months late. The bank’s conduct showed “tardiness”, he said, adding that it appeared Standard Bank had not taken the summary judgment application seriously.
Nevertheless, the court found that Ahmed’s lack of a bona fide defence outweighed the bank’s procedural failure.
Lekhuleni found Ahmed had entered an appearance to defend solely to delay proceedings and said dismissing Standard Bank’s application on a technicality would result in a “gross injustice” to the bank.
The court consequently confirmed cancellation of the instalment sale agreement and ordered Ahmed to return the Mercedes to Standard Bank. Any damages claim by the bank will be determined later, while each side was ordered to pay its own costs because of Standard Bank’s late application.
