By: Natasha Archary
A number of South Africans reportedly received threats from the SABC over non-payment of their TV license.
The content of the text messages vary, according to the few people that shared the messages received, but essentially it indicates that defaulters will face the full might of the law.
One TV license account holder told Kaya 959 that the message he received stated there would be a trace on his account to locate him if he fails to pay his outstanding fees.
While the messages differ, South Africans who fear prosecution say they have tried to resolve their accounts via the SABC’s online portal, but it’s down.

As per the SABC’s website, failure to pay for annual TV license fees is a punishable offence, if found guilty in court. The legal consequences include defaulters being issued with a fine of not more than R500 or imprisonment of up to 6-months.
In addition, a 10% interest will be added to the outstanding amount which are for penalties.
The SABC states that overdue accounts will be handed over to its lawyers for debt collection.
South Africans are reminded that the SABC cannot blacklist non-paying TV license holders unless the public broadcaster obtains a court order.
Furthermore messages indicating a trace alert on a non-payer’s ID at the Credit Bureau has no bearing on your credit record.
A trace alert is basically placed on your profile by a credit provider who has been unable to make contact with you.
While it is advisable to pay your outstanding TV license fees, the Organisation for Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) says the “threatening smses” are just a scare tactic often containing incorrect information.
Speaking to MyBroadband, Outa’s head of legal affairs, Stefanie Fick said they are unaware of any person being criminally convicted of an offence for non-payment of their TV license.
“Subliminally, they want to send the message ‘you know what, if you’re not going to pay, we’re going to take action against you,’ and in certain instances, that may actually be in contravention of the rules because they can’t threaten people,” she said.
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