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DIGITAL PICK POCKETS: Credit card fraud costs South Africans millions each year.

 Bank insists on payment of illegally incurred debt 

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Tryphina Bikitsha, a 54-year-old grandmother of three, accuses Standard Bank debt collectors of harassing her for a debt she does not know anything about.

She is expected to pay R11000 for a debt she allegedly acquired after her paid-off credit card was cloned.

Bikitsha took out a credit card more that a decade ago but paid it off because she thought it was too costly to service it.

She never cancelled it, but kept it safe at home.

She said Standard Bank offered to pay R4000 of the illegally acquired debt.

"I rejected this offer. They should write the entire debt off," she said.

Bikitsha said it was only when she applied for a loan that she discovered that her credit card account had been used .

"My loan application was declined on the basis that I have not paid my credit card account," she said.

Bikitsha said Standard Bank did not send her any letter of demand or a statement showing that her card was in use.

She queried this and also discovered that the fraudster had not stopped using her card.

A Standard Bank employee assisted her with completing complaint forms to enable the fraud unit to investigate, but the forms were never submitted to the unit, Bikitsha said.

Then the harassment began, she said.

"I would get two to three telephone calls a day from different people demanding payment for this debt," Bikitsha said.

She said she had been trying to explain her situation to Standard Bank since May last year.

The Standard Bank f raud unit also asked Bikitsha to resubmit her complaint each time she called for feedback, Bikitsha said.

She said she did not enjoy her December holidays because Standard Bank threatened to attach her belongings.

"I dreaded the thought of coming back to an empty home because I didn't know what they would attach as no sheriff had ever visited my house with an attachment list," Bikitsha said.

Consumer Line stepped in and tried to assist Bikitsha.

Instead of responding to our inquiry, since January, Standard Bank has been asking for the same information that Consumer Line had already provided.

On Thursday when responding to Bikitsha's e-mail, in which Consumer Line was copied, Standard Bank c hief e xecutive and m edia complaints l iaison m anager Joop Dekker said they had investigated the matter and would reply to the journalist (Consumer Line) as soon as circumstances permitted.

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Mon May 20 10:04:25 SAST 2013 ::

Apr 23, 2012

maneater

i had been with Stnd bank my whole life and had been a good client but all of a sudden i had debit orders i did not know about going off my account i would block one then another one would surface. not once did stnd bank give propper assistance. i moved my money to another bank but i unfortunately did not close my account. now i have a debt to pay the bank for returned debits orders.

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Apr 23, 2012

CheeseBoy

@maneater
you made a mistake right there. I also had the same thing in 2010 and Standard bank refused to address the unauthorised debits. I don't have any accounts besides my bond. After fighting with them 3 months I moved to NedBank and closed my standard bank account.

I have a credit card but it has a limit of R500 and is always maxed up. If I need to use it I transfer money in it then swipe and max it out again. most hotels etc insist on credit card transactions and thats the only reson why i have one. everything else is CASH.
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Apr 23, 2012

MommaC

Then people look at me funny when I throw tantrums in the bank. Its the only way to get heard
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Apr 23, 2012

Makay

standard bank doesnt care at all about its clients. its call centre agents are totally unprofessional, an incompetent bunch. i was told i had two credit cards and i was on ITC for non payments on the other credit card i knew nothing about. After calling for months, i found out it was their mistake on their side. nobody wants to take responsibiltiy of the whole ITC thing. their service is disgusting.
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Apr 23, 2012

tpaz

live within your means and stop throwing tantrums like a 3-year old.
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Apr 23, 2012

MommaC

tpaz

I don't think you read the article properly. She didn't spend the money,
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Apr 23, 2012

tpaz

@MommaC, i meant you not the article. This gogo is a victim like many others in SA. The bank staff at your branch will respect you if they know what is in your account and who you are. Most professional people I know don't seek for attention, but will politely ask for the Manager to escalate a problem.

@CheeseBoy, avoid credit cards if you can. There are debit cards which can act like credit cards. If you really need a credit card, pay the balance before 60days and save on interest
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Apr 23, 2012

ILLUMINATED

@all

thanx for sharing your experiences coz they are valuable.


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Apr 23, 2012

MommaC

tpaz

Try getting the bank to reverse a debit order that you didn't authorise and for which you know nothing about. Month one, you try the 'nice' approach. Month two you try the 'stern' approach. By month 6, you resort to the 'flipping out' approach. There is only so many times they can take a couple thousand out of your bank account for something you didn't b*y. Or maybe you don't mind - give me your bank account details and we will test the theory
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Apr 23, 2012

CheeseBoy

@tpaz thanks but I did go on a cruise last year and they insisted on a credit card, and not one of these new cheque card that look similar. which debit card acts like a credit card? i would like to know myself.

@ILLUMINATED
cool chief. we have to share these things so we know. these banks are all greedy. but there are some who have a slightly better service than the other. I had a bad experience with Standard bank and FNB has too many clients. have you seen those queues from 15th of the month to month end?
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