A JOHANNESBURG law firm is accused of neglecting a client who was compensated by the Road Accident Fund.
Phineus Ngobeni, 55 , struggles to take care of himself and his family of 13, yet he has R919,807 sitting in an attorney's trust account.
Now he is even prepared to sell his cattle to pay his son's university fees.
Ngobeni from Giyani, Limpopo, who rents a back room in Tembisa, Gauteng, said his ordeal started when he was injured in a road accident in November 2007.
He said he sustained head injuries, lapsed into a coma and regained consciousness three days before undergoing surgery.
Ngobeni also broke the left side of his jaw and lost four front teeth, which he had hoped to replace with dentures after he was compensated.
"I love to laugh, but no longer do so with confidence because of this gap (between my teeth)," Ngobeni said.
In February 2008, he approached Edeling, Van Niekerk Attorneys of Clearwater to assist him lodge an accident claim with the fund (RAF), he said.
"A year later they referred me to 21 doctors who all issued reports about my head injuries," Ngobeni said.
His matter was finalised in October 2010, when the law firm entered into an out-of-court settlement with the RAF, he said.
"A month later, the fund paid R919,807 into their trust account, Ngobeni said.
The compensation was for damages suffered and loss of future earnings.
"But I don't even get a monthly allowance from the attorneys," the father of 10 said.
He said that in December 2010, the firm gave him R10,000. He bought groceries and clothing for his family of 13.
"The next allowance was a paltry R1,500 in two installments last December," Ngobeni said.
He later told his employer, who also tried, but failed to get a reasonable monthly allowance from the law firm.
The firm promised to give Ngobeni R2,000 in May this year, he said.
"They said I will get R2,000 in November and R1,000 in December. I find this outrageous" he said.
Ngobeni said he did not understand what kind of legal guardians the attorneys were because they did not even give him his money to visit a doctor when he needed to.
"They can't even given me a copy of a court order stating they were appointed as my legal guardians," Ngobeni said.
He currently works as a security guard and earns R4,000 a month . He sends R1,200 to his two wives, who live in Giyani. The third wife works and supports herself, Ngobeni said.
"I tried getting R18,000 from the attorneys so I could pay fees for my son who is at university, but my request was turned down," he said.
He said he was told the money was for his own needs and not for his dependants.
Ngobeni said he would go to Giyani at the end of the month to sell three cows to pay the fees if the attorneys do not give him his money .
He said he wrote to his attorneys to release his money so he could invest it in a financial institution, but they ignored his letter .
"At least I will have peace of mind knowing that I will get an allowance every month," he said.
Edeling, Van Niekerk Attorneys did not respond to Consumer Line's inquiry, but Ronnie Meyerdricks, who said he was a trustee responsible for Ngobeni's money, did.
Meyerdricks said the allegations were not true.
He said he did not have Ngobeni's file in his office because it was locked in his storeroom, but that he could confirm that Ngobeni was receiving a monthly allowance via electronic fund transfer.
The trustee said he had been waiting for Ngobeni to give him a budget, but his client had not done so.
He said he agreed to make a contribution of R6,000 towards Ngobeni's son's education, but Ngobeni had not supplied him with an invoice.
He said he cannot randomly pay out fees to Ngobeni because he has to account to the auditors, adding that he did not get a lot of money from Edeling, Van Niekerk Attorneys.
He also promised to give a detailed report to account for what they have done for Ngobeni.
An upset Ngobeni was adamant that he only received R11,500 from Edeling, Van Niekerk Attorneys between November 2010 and December last year.
He said he has never dealt with Meyerdricks, nor has he met or heard from, or of him.
"These guys are lying. I don't even know this trustee you are talking about," Ngobeni said.
Meyerdricks offered to give his full report including proof of payments into Ngobeni's bank account before the end of this week.
Client fingers law firm
A JOHANNESBURG law firm is accused of neglecting a client who was compensated by the Road Accident Fund.
Phineus Ngobeni, 55 , struggles to take care of himself and his family of 13, yet he has R919,807 sitting in an attorney's trust account.
Now he is even prepared to sell his cattle to pay his son's university fees.
Ngobeni from Giyani, Limpopo, who rents a back room in Tembisa, Gauteng, said his ordeal started when he was injured in a road accident in November 2007.
He said he sustained head injuries, lapsed into a coma and regained consciousness three days before undergoing surgery.
Ngobeni also broke the left side of his jaw and lost four front teeth, which he had hoped to replace with dentures after he was compensated.
"I love to laugh, but no longer do so with confidence because of this gap (between my teeth)," Ngobeni said.
In February 2008, he approached Edeling, Van Niekerk Attorneys of Clearwater to assist him lodge an accident claim with the fund (RAF), he said.
"A year later they referred me to 21 doctors who all issued reports about my head injuries," Ngobeni said.
His matter was finalised in October 2010, when the law firm entered into an out-of-court settlement with the RAF, he said.
"A month later, the fund paid R919,807 into their trust account, Ngobeni said.
The compensation was for damages suffered and loss of future earnings.
"But I don't even get a monthly allowance from the attorneys," the father of 10 said.
He said that in December 2010, the firm gave him R10,000. He bought groceries and clothing for his family of 13.
"The next allowance was a paltry R1,500 in two installments last December," Ngobeni said.
He later told his employer, who also tried, but failed to get a reasonable monthly allowance from the law firm.
The firm promised to give Ngobeni R2,000 in May this year, he said.
"They said I will get R2,000 in November and R1,000 in December. I find this outrageous" he said.
Ngobeni said he did not understand what kind of legal guardians the attorneys were because they did not even give him his money to visit a doctor when he needed to.
"They can't even given me a copy of a court order stating they were appointed as my legal guardians," Ngobeni said.
He currently works as a security guard and earns R4,000 a month . He sends R1,200 to his two wives, who live in Giyani. The third wife works and supports herself, Ngobeni said.
"I tried getting R18,000 from the attorneys so I could pay fees for my son who is at university, but my request was turned down," he said.
He said he was told the money was for his own needs and not for his dependants.
Ngobeni said he would go to Giyani at the end of the month to sell three cows to pay the fees if the attorneys do not give him his money .
He said he wrote to his attorneys to release his money so he could invest it in a financial institution, but they ignored his letter .
"At least I will have peace of mind knowing that I will get an allowance every month," he said.
Edeling, Van Niekerk Attorneys did not respond to Consumer Line's inquiry, but Ronnie Meyerdricks, who said he was a trustee responsible for Ngobeni's money, did.
Meyerdricks said the allegations were not true.
He said he did not have Ngobeni's file in his office because it was locked in his storeroom, but that he could confirm that Ngobeni was receiving a monthly allowance via electronic fund transfer.
The trustee said he had been waiting for Ngobeni to give him a budget, but his client had not done so.
He said he agreed to make a contribution of R6,000 towards Ngobeni's son's education, but Ngobeni had not supplied him with an invoice.
He said he cannot randomly pay out fees to Ngobeni because he has to account to the auditors, adding that he did not get a lot of money from Edeling, Van Niekerk Attorneys.
He also promised to give a detailed report to account for what they have done for Ngobeni.
An upset Ngobeni was adamant that he only received R11,500 from Edeling, Van Niekerk Attorneys between November 2010 and December last year.
He said he has never dealt with Meyerdricks, nor has he met or heard from, or of him.
"These guys are lying. I don't even know this trustee you are talking about," Ngobeni said.
Meyerdricks offered to give his full report including proof of payments into Ngobeni's bank account before the end of this week.
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