IT’S NOT ME!

This is my story.

This December, money was debited off my bank account. It was a stop order and I didn’t know what it was about. I went to my bank to enquire then they assisted me and told me it’s a furniture store. I went there and the lady who assisted me told me to go to the store in Tlokweng because the person purchased goods there. When I got there, they told me that there had been a mix-up of accounts and I asked them what I should do with the bank charges that accumulated. They told me that the person would have to refund me but I don’t even know that person. I even told them that it was their responsibility but, even now, there’s no help. I even closed the account.

So far, you’ve done everything right. You were right to speak to your bank and then right again to contact the store about this. Yes, clearly there’s been a mix-up and they need to fix this urgently. Then they need to refund you everything, including any bank charges you’ve incurred if their mistake meant you couldn’t make any payments.

You should also demand that they confirm that your credit history hasn’t been affected by this at all. Normal practice when you get a loan or buy something on hire purchase is for that deal to be registered with credit reference bureaux. We need to make sure this hasn’t happened this time because it would be false. You don’t want their mix-up to haunt you in the future.

Update: I contacted the store and they promised to investigate and fix it as soon as possible.