ABSA False advertising Life product

I submitted a claim at the ABSA branch at Lakeside mall in Benoni. This was on behalf of my deceased daughter Jessica Ramodike on the 15th of January 2025.

I received acknowledgement of claim on SMS reference number *** and later that day, I received a call from Lerato in the claims department who advised me that the claim has been declined due to the product being discontinued since August 2024. This info was apparently communicated to both customers and branch staff in August already.

I asked her to log a complaint based on the fact that I felt it was false advertising and the question I asked was related to the branch staff completing and even capturing the claim, the system generating a reference number for a product that is no longer available. How did this happen and what did I sign for?

I later received a call from the claims complaints department repeating the same and confirming that both customer and branch staff were made aware of the changes, however she was referring the complaint to the branch for further investigation and remediation.

I received no feedback for a week and contacted the claims department on the 22nd January, and the lady could not assist as Lerato was not there to provide info. I called again on Tuesday 28th and I was referred to the branch manager at Lakeside mall branch. I called the branch and spoke to Rentia and she advised that they are aware of the complaint, and they were working on it to revert by Thursday with the final outcome.

I eventually spoke to Johanna on the 31st of January after several phonecalls with no final outcome. She indicated that the customers were aware of the changes and there is even a possibility that Jessica didn't qualify for the benefit as per their qualifying criteria. I requested her to provide this information in writing and then she advised that she will escalate the matter further for internal review, as the claims department had incorrectly redirected me to the branch.

I am yet to receive any feedback or final outcome on the matter despite having sent this mail to the various departments at ABSA bank.

My concern is really the lack of feedback and communication from the branch that actually initiated the claim, knowing or unknowing that the product is no longer being offered. I have signed paperwork that indicates that a death claim has been instituted, and a payout is due to the account.

All this is unnecessary going back and forth with the phonecalls, with nobody wanting to take accountability for the "error" or misinformation provided to a customer.

I am really trying to keep it together and honor my deceased daughter's life and this is really making it that much harder dealing with such inconvenience. It is hard enough that she isn't coming back, and I won't see her anymore and this is just adding to my list of frustrations that serve as a reminder that I have to face the cruel world alone without her.

This is really not needed in my life right now, I have a lot to deal with and I don't need this, do the right thing and resolve this issue