Goods taken from paying customer
Nedbank can’t explain debit orders
Nedbank is investigating the reasons why they attached goods from a “good-paying customer”. The bank also allegedly deducted money from the customer’s account without authorisation.
Ben Mapfumari, 58, said the bank’s conduct “crippled” him so badly he subsequently lost all his contracts with other institutions, which included hospitals, schools and a government department.
He said he bought a brickmaking machine to manufacture bricks in Nkowankowa, a township in the greater Tzaneen local municipality in Limpopo. He had seen an opportunity to do business while helping the community to build quality homes.
In 2008 he entered into an agreement with the bank for a loan of R526 689 and his monthly installment was R10 188, which he paid without fail.
But in 2014 the bank issued him with a statement reflecting an opening balance of R617 886, meaning his debt had increased by about R91 000, he said.
Though Mapfumari paid his debt every month without fail, the bank repossessed his office furniture, house furniture and truck instead of the brickmaking machine they financed, stating that Mapfumari was in arrears in his loan repayment.
However, on reconciliation Mapfumari’s payments were R746 057 and there was an over-payment of R115 606, which was debited from his account and paid into two bank accounts he does not know.
“I never authorised the bank to pay my money into these accounts,” he said.
“I had no knowledge of what these amounts were used for and do not know the accounts they were credited into,” said Mapfumari.
Though the National Credit Regulator has recommended that Mapfumari and his bank should meet to resolve their impasse, the bank has not been willing to meet him, he said.
They insist they were correct but they could not account for the money after they debited it from his account, complained the father of four.
He said he later met with the bank’s attorney and showed him his payments, the initial R526 689 contract with the bank and the over-payment made to the bank.
But the bank disagreed and refused to return his over-payment and his goods.
“They told me to ignore the unauthorised over-payment as they were made to the other accounts that I have no knowledge of,” said Mapfumari.
“This over-payment and unauthorised debit orders affected my other toilet paper business.
“My finances were messed up by this. I also lost my other business as I could no longer supply toilet paper and cleaning detergents to schools, hospitals and government department,” said Mapfumari.
Tobeka Lwana of Nedbank said they were investigating why the goods were taken and where his money went.