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In July, South Africa saw a surge in debt-related summonses, with 30,248 individuals facing legal action over unpaid bills, as reported by Statistics South Africa. This marked a 2.9% increase from the previous year, with the total number of summonses issued to both individuals and other debtors rising to 35,995, a 2.9% jump. Despite this rise in summonses, the combined value of debt judgments decreased slightly by 2.1% to R352.1 million.

The increased cost of servicing debt, following the latest interest rate hike to 10.75%, put additional pressure on borrowers already struggling to meet their monthly payments. Of the 30,248 summonses, 7,632 were related to money lent, with 7,098 targeting private individuals. Other forms of debt, including unpaid goods, services, rent, and other obligations, accounted for 23,616 summonses.

The largest category remained 'other debts', which included medical fund debt, school and university fees, tax, property levies, and outstanding salaries and wages. While the overall number of judgments against private individuals decreased by 3.1% to 8,464, the combined value of these judgments fell by 2.1% to R269.6 million. Nonetheless, the number of judgments and their value saw an increase between May and July, with 101,758 summonses issued and 31,076 judgments recorded, representing a 7.6% increase in the former and a 12.6% rise in the latter.

Gauteng led the nation with the most summonses at 12,280, followed by the Western Cape with 7,225, and KwaZulu-Natal with 5,245. Despite having the most summonses, Gauteng recorded the highest number of debt judgments, with 2,442, followed by the Western Cape with 2,442 and KwaZulu-Natal with 2,259.