ABSA - Be very careful when offered a Seniors Banking Account

1. About 20 years ago I opened a Transmission Account. It was used exclusively for the following purposes: Salary deposit, other deposits by 3rd parties and debit orders. Service fees were applicable. When I turned 55, Absa informed me that should I keep a balance of R5000 in this account certain fees will no longer apply e.g. debit orders and purchases using the debit card linked to this account. The only down-side to this was that no interest was earned on the R5000. This worked very well for me and I was happy.

2. About two months ago Ms Dakana from sales at Linton Grange in Port Elizabeth phoned me and encouraged me to change my transmission account to a Seniors Banking Prosperity account. I was told that the biggest benefit would be that I no longer have to keep R5000 in an account which is not earning interest, as long as I have R15,000 or more in a fixed deposit account, DEPPLUS ext. She added that on top of the service fees I already don't pay, others would be added. Because I always keep at least R15,000 in my DEPPLUS account this sounded like good business.

3. On 25 June 2019 Ms Dakana opened the Prosperity Acc. I told her that I am not interested in the majority of benefits offered by this account. For me the main reason for switching was that I don't have to keep R5000 not earning any interest in an account. I then asked specifically the following question: "Would my debit orders go through and attract no service fees and would purchases with the debit card also not be liable for service fees - as was the case with the old account?" She confirmed that this would be the case - no ifs, buts etc.

4. Using internet banking I generated a statement on 2 July. Since the account was opened on 25 July I have made 5 debit card purchases before the end of the month (each one attracting a service fee of R4) and a Fund Manager collected funds generating a service fee of R19. On 1 July my account was debited with these service fees (R39) - on my old account there would have been no fees. What is of even of greater concern is that on 1 July six debit orders went through and it is indicated next to each one that the service fee is R19. This will probably be debited to my account on 1 August. It was also noted that on 1 July my acc was debited with a monthly acc fee on R9.29 and that there was a credit of R8.57. None of these entries, including the R39, could be explained by Ms Dakana when I visited her in the branch on 2 July.

5. I phoned Ms Dakana on 3 July and wanted to make an appointment with her supervisor. She indicated that she reports directly to the branch manager and that the branch manager is not available on 3 July.

6. I have transferred almost all the funds in this acc to my credit card as I don't want more funds to "disappear".