Chevron SA (Pty) Limited v Wilson t/a Wilson’s Transport and Others

Chevron SA (Pty) Limited extended credit to Dennis Edwin Wilson t/a Wilson’s Transport from 1997 for the supply of diesel. After a billing dispute arose in 2008, Chevron sued for outstanding amounts. During litigation it emerged that Chevron was required to be registered as a credit provider under the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 but was not. As a result, the credit agreements were unlawful and void in terms of sections 40 and 89 of the Act. Section 89(5)(b) mandated that a court order the credit provider to refund all monies paid by the consumer under such an unlawful agreement, with interest. Chevron faced potential liability of approximately R33 million and challenged the constitutional validity of section 89(5)(b) on the basis that it permitted arbitrary deprivation of property.

The declaration of constitutional invalidity of section 89(5)(b) of the National Credit Act was confirmed. The provision was declared invalid, and for the interim period it was read as requiring courts to make a just and equitable order, including declaring the agreement void, without mandating a refund. The order had no effect on matters already finally decided with no pending appeals.

This case reinforces the principle that statutory schemes imposing deprivations of property must allow for judicial discretion to avoid procedural arbitrariness. It extends and confirms the reasoning in National Credit Regulator v Opperman and has significant implications for consumer credit regulation, balancing consumer protection with constitutional property rights.