The scales tipped in favour of the banks this week on the issue of whether banks can unilaterally adjust the interest rate on your home loan from time to time but the jury is still out.
The Cape High Court this week ruled that banks have the right to adjust interest rates, but there are two cases on appeal which have yet to be heard.
In one of the cases now on appeal, the courts supported the claim that banks could not alter interest rates at their discretion. In the other case the ruling went the other way.
In the case this week against Cape business woman Aileen Friedman, Standard Bank had applied for a summary judgment against her for R290 000 owing on her loan plus interest.
She opposed the action saying that the bank had overcharged her interest on the loan. She claimed that she had signed for a homeloan at 14,75 percent in December 1994 and that the bank had no right to adjust this rate.
Acting Judge Denis Gihwala said if banks are not able to adjust interest rates, "it would place an unbearable burden on the bank which could threaten the very existence of the financial or banking industry".
Friedman and her family run a bank interest recalculation business and her home is now under threat of being repossessed if she does not repay the outstanding amount.