Changing your mind after taking a loan
If you accept a loan and immediately regret it, you are not stuck. The cleanest route on short-term credit is to settle it straight away — you owe interest only up to the settlement date, so a loan settled within days costs very little beyond the initiation fee.
What you need to know
Ask the lender for a settlement quote the same day. On a short-term loan settled within days, what you pay back is essentially the principal plus the initiation fee and a part-month of interest and service fee.
The initiation fee is not refundable — it was charged for setting the agreement up, and that work was done. This is the real cost of changing your mind, and it is why the moment to think carefully is before accepting the quote.
Certain credit agreements carry statutory cooling-off rights depending on how and where the agreement was concluded. Ask the lender directly whether yours does, and get the answer in writing.
However you unwind it, get written confirmation that the account is settled and closed, and check your credit record a month later to confirm it reflects as settled rather than open.
Related
Sources and last checked
- National Credit Act 34 of 2005 and its regulations — Government, as at 10 August 2026.
Page last checked 10 August 2026. Statutory caps and lender terms change — confirm anything you intend to rely on with the provider or the National Credit Regulator. Found something wrong? Tell us and we will correct it.