Fighting for justice: Advocate Douglas J Shaw's battle against bank repossessions in South Africa

For many, taking on the country’s major banks in a R60 billion class action suit, may seem like a David vs Goliath exercise, but for legal expert in banking matters, advocate Douglas J Shaw, it is a matter of principle - especially as he has scores of vulnerable people who have lost their homes, counting on him.

The practices of South Africa’s major banks who are accused of repossessing people’s homes and selling them far below market value, is due to come under the spotlight in February. The Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, will then be asked to certify the class action.

This is nearly a decade after the R60 billion class action suit was launched in 2017. Since the start and up to now, Shaw has been working relentlessly in a bid to bring justice to those who claimed to have lost their homes unjustly.

The soft spoken Shaw, who is leading the class action bid, was brought up in the nation of William Wallace. Standing up against what is wrong in society is maybe in his genes as he was instrumental in bringing in the reserve price legislation to stop the banks in the past selling people’s houses for far less than its worth.

With the Lungelo Lethu Human Rights Foundation behind him, which has condemned what it describes as a growing trend of banks swiftly taking legal action against homeowners, even in instances where borrowers are actively trying to settle their debts, Shaw is committed to the legal fight.

He has dedicated his time to this for the past 10 years during which he could have been earning a lot of money by practicing commercial law. His commitment to this case, however,  means a different lifestyle.

Shaw chooses not to have a car but Ubers. He shares a flat with friends and family, rather than angling for big fees and big property. 

Born in Scotland, he moved to South Africa in 2000, saying that the weather here is great, the wine is good and he jokes that everyone loves his accent. 

Shaw immediately saw that there was a lot to be done in South Africa on how some homeowners are being treated by the banks. “I couldn’t believe the behaviour of our banks when I first saw it. This doesn’t happen in the rest of the world, Europe, America, Asia and also in the rest of Africa. It is uniquely South African and something only the law can change”. 

Shaw said people want more and more to be protected from banks, and they have the right to do so.

While promising to fight for those who have been wronged, by facing some of the country’s top lawyers acting for the banks, Shaw realises that it will not be an easy journey. The banks have denied any wrongdoing and they are set on fighting the class action. According to the banks the selling of properties on auction for those who fall in arrears, are only done as a last resort.

zelda.venter@inl.co.za