Insurer mum on complaint
CLIENTÈLE CANCELS COVER
MOST people buy funeral cover so that their families do not have to worry about money for burial.
It is for this reason that Pat Sithole of Naledi, in Soweto, bought a Clientèle Lasting Dignity Plan for her mother in 1999.
She bought a second policy in 2000, and regularly paid her monthly premiums.
“I took the second policy because I thought [a] R20 000 payout would be too little for a dignified funeral,” Sithole said.
She said all went well until 2011 when Clientèle added four more policies in her name without her knowledge and debited R1 798 from her bank account without her authorisation. “This created a financial strain and I could not decipher where my problem emanated as I have managed my budget well,” Sithole said.
She only discovered earlier this year when she went through her bank statement that she had six debit orders going to Clientèle.
She queried this and demanded audio recordings to confirm that she consented to the additional policies and gave them permission to debit her bank account, but they could not produce any.
Although Clientèle cancelled the fraudulent policies, they also cancelled her original two policies without her instruction.
She then inquired about this unauthorised cancellation, but Clientèle ignored her.
They wanted to “shock me in the event my mother died
Sithole said she wants them to either reinstate the policies or refund all the payments she has made since 1999 with interest and bank charges.
“Why should I suffer for their maladministration? I think they wanted to shock me in the event my mother died,” Sithole said.
Clientèle has given Consumer Line the same silent treatment they gave Sithole.
Augustine Makapela, a client services consultant at Clientèle, acknowledged receipt of our written complaint at the end of July but has failed to comment on Sithole’s situation.
Further inquiries proved pointless as the consultants offered to get their supervisors to respond, but they have yet to do so.
Always check your bank statements for unauthorised debit orders and non-payment of policies so you are not caught off guard. This could also help you in the event your insurance company rejects your claim on the grounds of non-payment of the policy, because you would have enough evidence that there was money in your account.