B
Credit
Blacklisted
South Africans love to say they're 'blacklisted' — it's our way of saying you've got a dodgy credit record. Technically there's no actual blacklist, but you might have defaults, judgments, or a debt review flag sitting on your credit file, and that kills your chances of getting new credit.
Usage Examples
"Bongani applied for a car loan in Cape Town and got rejected in minutes. 'I'm blacklisted,' he told friends. Really, there was a judgment against him from 2021 that was still active on TransUnion."
"Zanele checked her credit report after being knocked back for a store card at Woolworths. She saw a default from a payday loan and a debt review listing. 'Am I blacklisted?' she asked. Not officially, but might as well be — nobody would touch her file."
"Mpho's friend Lerato said she couldn't get credit anywhere because she was blacklisted. Her actual problem: an unpaid Absa credit card, a Capitec loan default, and a vehicle repossession from 2022. Might not be an official blacklist, but the effect was the same."