Lecturer home loan dispute

A COMMUNICATION breakdown has led a Brackenfell woman to believe she has been duped by her financial advisor into taking out a second bond on her home without her knowledge.

Susan Ntete, 55, a lecturer at UCT said her woes began in 2005 when her mortgage was transferred from Sanlam Home Loans to Absa because the division was closing down and transferring its clients to Absa.

According to Ntete, this meant that the repayments she had been making between 2001 and 2005 had been forfeited as Absa had drawn up a new home loan of R270 000 when the file was moved over.

“My bond term was changed from 2001 to 2021 to 2005 to 2025; this means that I took out a new bond and the first five years, which are the most crucial years in a bond, had all gone to waste. They claimed I had ceded my bond,” said the frustrated grandmother.

Documents in Ntete’s possession show a second bond had been taken in her name, but she denied agreeing to a second bond.

Communication between Ntete and Absa revealed that a review had been undertaken on Ntete’s bond account and the remaining balance had been decreased by more than seven years to three years and three months.

However, following an email query from Weekend Argus, this was subsequently reversed and changed to nine years and three months.

In 2008, Ntete met a financial advisor to whom she said she entrusted the bulk of her financial affairs. According to documents provided by Absa, a second bond was taken out on Ntete’s home to help finance her vehicle.

“I never requested a second bond; I had no financial problems and was fully able to make all necessary payments. Why would I have needed a second bond or bridging finance?” Ntete said.

She blamed her financial adviser for “messing up my life and Sanlam for losing... years of my bond (and) Absa for keeping me indebted”.

However, financial adviser Wayne Martens denied taking out a second bond for Ntete, saying: “That would have been illegal. All I did was advise her to... take money out from her access bond to finance her vehicle.”

Martens said the ombudsman for financial services providers had “laughed at her (Ntete’s) case and said it was the biggest load of nonsense they have ever come across”.

Sanlam’s head of communications, Esann de Kock disputed Ntete’s claim that she had had a home loan with Sanlam in 2001, saying Sanlam’s home loan division had only been established in 2004.

“How is that even possible? My statements from Absa have a Sanlam letterhead. They are playing games with me and I do not know where to turn anymore,” Ntete said.

De Kock said: “Sanlam Home Loans Pty Ltd (SHL) was only established in 2004 and become operational at the end of 2005. SHL was a joint venture company, with Sanlam Life a 50% shareholder – and Absa held the remaining 50% of the shares.

“If my suspicion is correct, the client would have known – as she would have applied for a new loan at SHL at the time to settle the Absa loan and signed a new loan agreement with a new loan amount, interest rate and term.

“The reasons for applying for a new loan could have been to enjoy a lower interest rate, or to increase the loan amount to raise cash.”

The managing executive of Absa Home Loans, Geoffrey Lee, said in an email response to Weekend Argus: “We acknowledge receipt of your email regarding Ms Ntete. We have contacted Ms Ntete and confirm that we are investigating as a matter of urgency.”