A warrant of arrest was issued for Tendani Moila because her medical aid had not paid her medical bills
THE last time I heard of people who were arrested for outstanding debts were motorists who had failed to pay their traffic fines on time.
But Tendani Moila's case is different. A warrant of arrest was issued for her because her medical aid had not paid her medical bills.
As a result of this oversight by her medical aid, she had to borrow money to avoid prison and to pay an attorney.
Moila, a member of the Government Employee Medical Scheme (Gems), said she would not have been threatened with arrest had her medical aid paid her medical bills on time in 2008.
But her misery will soon be over.
Gems has agreed to refund her, repay the legal costs, help her rescind the judgment against her and help her restore her creditworthiness.
Moila's nightmare started last month. when she received an attachment order from Van Heerden and Rudolf Attorneys in Louis Trichardt, Limpopo, via Dyson Inc Attorneys in Pretoria, stating that they will be deducting R550 from her salary every month for a non-paid account.
Gems had neglected to pay Zoutpansberg Medical Centre in Louis Trichardt in 2008 .
"I contacted Van Heerden and Rudolf Attorneys and spoke to a Mrs Horn. She refused to give me documents from the hospital.
"She wanted me to sign the acknowledgement of debt, which I refused because I had not received any correspondence from them," said Moila.
This attachment order was the first form of communication she had ever received from them, she said.
Moila then contacted the hospital's claims manager, Riaan de Swardt, who sent her the invoice he had sent to her medical aid, a fax confirmation and proof of a courier's letter to Gems.
The letters of demands were sent in May and October respectively.
"I can't understand why they would authorise the hospital to admit me for treatment and then not pay," said Moila.
Gems gave authorisation for her to be admitted to Zoutpansberg Medical Centre on May 9 2008 and for her father to be transferred to Polokwane Hospital on May 162008.
They only paid her father's account, said Moila.
"My father, who has since passed away, was a beneficiary on my medical aid," said Moila.
She said she was shocked when a sheriff delivered an application of garnishee against her salary on September 27 2010.
"I called Experian to check my credit record and found that I had two judgments from the same firm with different case numbers stating that I owed R9,710,39 on each one," Moila said.
She contacted Van Heerden & Rudolf Attorneys and was "told that it's my problem and that I will have to sort it out", Moila said.
"I contacted Experian and lodged a dispute and one judgment was removed," she said
She called Gems and was advised to re-submit the account.
"It is disturbing. They did not tell me why they did not pay the bill. Their negligence has messed up my creditworthiness," she said.
"I now have a judgment against my name and, over and above this, I was issued with a warrant of arrest regarding this account and I was forced to pay R14,460 and other unwarranted legal fees.
"What kind of harassment is this? Is this practice still legal? I thought this sort of thing died with apartheid," a frustrated Moila said.
Moila is still waiting for Dyson Inc Attorneys to refund her. She said that they had promised to send her the money in due course.
She said that after paying the money, she went to the Pretoria magistrate's court where she found out that Barnet, an attorney working for Dyson Inc Attorneys, had been issued with a warrant for her arrest.
Moila said that these attorneys had not even bothered to tell her to appear in court so that she could defend herself.
"I have asked them to rescind the judgment on my name and to explain why they had to get a warrant of arrest when they had served me with an attachment order without asking me to go to court, but they would not budge," Moila said.
Two different attorneys had demanded payment from her, she said.
"I paid the hospital R13,216,90 and legal fees of R1,243 to Van Heerden & Rudolf Attorneys. I was then told that I needed to pay a further R1,000 to Dyson Inc to rescind the judgment against me," Moila said.
She said this is was heartbreaking because she had diligently paid her accounts and bills without fail.
Consumer Line took up Moila's matter with Madimba Nkuna of Gems.
Nkuna apologised profusely for subjecting their member to this harassment and embarrassment.
He told Consumer Line they had refunded Moila her R13,000 yesterday and had undertaken to pay the legal fees levied against her.
The attorneys have not commented on whether this practice is still happening and is acceptable in South Africa.
Sickened by medical aid
A warrant of arrest was issued for Tendani Moila because her medical aid had not paid her medical bills
THE last time I heard of people who were arrested for outstanding debts were motorists who had failed to pay their traffic fines on time.
But Tendani Moila's case is different. A warrant of arrest was issued for her because her medical aid had not paid her medical bills.
As a result of this oversight by her medical aid, she had to borrow money to avoid prison and to pay an attorney.
Moila, a member of the Government Employee Medical Scheme (Gems), said she would not have been threatened with arrest had her medical aid paid her medical bills on time in 2008.
But her misery will soon be over.
Gems has agreed to refund her, repay the legal costs, help her rescind the judgment against her and help her restore her creditworthiness.
Moila's nightmare started last month. when she received an attachment order from Van Heerden and Rudolf Attorneys in Louis Trichardt, Limpopo, via Dyson Inc Attorneys in Pretoria, stating that they will be deducting R550 from her salary every month for a non-paid account.
Gems had neglected to pay Zoutpansberg Medical Centre in Louis Trichardt in 2008 .
"I contacted Van Heerden and Rudolf Attorneys and spoke to a Mrs Horn. She refused to give me documents from the hospital.
"She wanted me to sign the acknowledgement of debt, which I refused because I had not received any correspondence from them," said Moila.
This attachment order was the first form of communication she had ever received from them, she said.
Moila then contacted the hospital's claims manager, Riaan de Swardt, who sent her the invoice he had sent to her medical aid, a fax confirmation and proof of a courier's letter to Gems.
The letters of demands were sent in May and October respectively.
"I can't understand why they would authorise the hospital to admit me for treatment and then not pay," said Moila.
Gems gave authorisation for her to be admitted to Zoutpansberg Medical Centre on May 9 2008 and for her father to be transferred to Polokwane Hospital on May 162008.
They only paid her father's account, said Moila.
"My father, who has since passed away, was a beneficiary on my medical aid," said Moila.
She said she was shocked when a sheriff delivered an application of garnishee against her salary on September 27 2010.
"I called Experian to check my credit record and found that I had two judgments from the same firm with different case numbers stating that I owed R9,710,39 on each one," Moila said.
She contacted Van Heerden & Rudolf Attorneys and was "told that it's my problem and that I will have to sort it out", Moila said.
"I contacted Experian and lodged a dispute and one judgment was removed," she said
She called Gems and was advised to re-submit the account.
"It is disturbing. They did not tell me why they did not pay the bill. Their negligence has messed up my creditworthiness," she said.
"I now have a judgment against my name and, over and above this, I was issued with a warrant of arrest regarding this account and I was forced to pay R14,460 and other unwarranted legal fees.
"What kind of harassment is this? Is this practice still legal? I thought this sort of thing died with apartheid," a frustrated Moila said.
Moila is still waiting for Dyson Inc Attorneys to refund her. She said that they had promised to send her the money in due course.
She said that after paying the money, she went to the Pretoria magistrate's court where she found out that Barnet, an attorney working for Dyson Inc Attorneys, had been issued with a warrant for her arrest.
Moila said that these attorneys had not even bothered to tell her to appear in court so that she could defend herself.
"I have asked them to rescind the judgment on my name and to explain why they had to get a warrant of arrest when they had served me with an attachment order without asking me to go to court, but they would not budge," Moila said.
Two different attorneys had demanded payment from her, she said.
"I paid the hospital R13,216,90 and legal fees of R1,243 to Van Heerden & Rudolf Attorneys. I was then told that I needed to pay a further R1,000 to Dyson Inc to rescind the judgment against me," Moila said.
She said this is was heartbreaking because she had diligently paid her accounts and bills without fail.
Consumer Line took up Moila's matter with Madimba Nkuna of Gems.
Nkuna apologised profusely for subjecting their member to this harassment and embarrassment.
He told Consumer Line they had refunded Moila her R13,000 yesterday and had undertaken to pay the legal fees levied against her.
The attorneys have not commented on whether this practice is still happening and is acceptable in South Africa.
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