Banks not fixing debit mess
Clients upset at ‘indifference’
Two individuals affected by unauthorised debit orders have struggled to sort out the problem with their banks.
Gugulethu Gumede, of Naledi in Soweto, said banks should have made unauthorised debit orders an unfair business practice years ago.
“A number of people have lost more than a R1 000 because we do not question the debit of smallamounts such as R99,” Gumede said.
“We think these are related to bank charges when they are not.”
Often customers have to go into a bank branch to reverse the debit orders, which is a frustrating process.
Gumede has since changed banks as she feels her bank was not helpful.
“I was only given numbers of the Durban-based companies who were unlawfully debiting my account and advised to cancel with them,” she said.
Molete Choma, a pensioner, had 11 unauthorised debit orders that went through his bank account in January.
They all debited R99 from his account and, when he noticed, he notified Nedbank.
Choma said the bank ignored his cries for help.
Last month, he noticed a second batch of five more unauthorised debit orders.
Greenmayal, Millionairs, Big Bonanza, Oversurest and Montfordevst continued debiting his account despite the bank reversing the unauthorised debit orders in January.
Choma said he wants the problem resolved completely, and not have to go to the bank each month.