How cases were closed in 2016

CATEGORY OF COMPLAINT ATM Internet banking Home loans Credit cards Current accounts Vehicle finance Personal loans Savings accounts Investments Estates & trusts Insurance Other Debit orders Overdraft Credit bureau Cheques Teller deposit Cash/cheque scam Business finance Foreign exchange Suretyship Safety deposit Total 2015 FOR BANK 1164 736 379 334 294 227 304 107 80 32 21 22 18 19 12 15 16 15 11 10 6 5 3 825 of a scam. There is no maladministration on the part of the bank,” Pillay says.

Overall, the ombudsman’s office opened 5 219 cases during 2016 – a four percent increase on the previous year – and only 24 percent of complaints went the way of the consumer. The OBS’s annual report says his office % 84% 78% 75% 67% 64% 78% 68% 73% 81% 76% 62% 71% 60% 86% 60% 79% 84% 83% 65% 83% 100% 100% 76% 73% FOR CONSUMER 216 204 124 155 168 65 143 40 19 10 13 9 12 3 8 4 3 3 6 2 1208 % 16% 22% 25% 32% 36% 22% 32% 27% 19% 24% 38% 29% 40% 14% 40% 21% 16% 17% 35% 17% 0% 0% 24% 27% TOTAL 1380 940 503 489 462 292 447 147 99 42 34 31 30 22 20 19 19 18 17 12 6 5 5033 recovered R15 million from the banks for consumers, which is 50 percent more than in 2015.

The banking ombudsman’s office closed 96 percent of cases within four months, which is a small increase (2.1 percent) on 2015, and the average number of days to close a file dropped from 61 to 52.

The bank later erroneously credited the account with a second sum of R41 175 and, again, the complainant used the funds. The bank, realising its error, reversed the erroneous payment, resulting in the loan exceeding the registered limit.

The complainant wanted the bank to write off the amount that was credited to the bond account in error.

The ombudsman says that while the bank could not simply debit the bond account without the account holder’s permission, he could not ignore the fact that the complainant received and used the funds that were credited to the bond account in error. Had the bank not reversed the credit, the complainant would have been unjustly enriched. If the bank were to re-credit the complainant’s account, he would be unjustly enriched and the bank would have a legal claim against him for return of the funds.