ABSA HOME LOANS: Can raccism be the REAL we are denied access to surplus funds (re-advance)?

Home Loan Ref No: ********** 6036 (declined)

We app**** for a re-advance of R300 000, the amount which had already been paid on the home bond just to bring the amount back to the original amount that ABSA approved of initially when the bond had been registered a few years ago. The re-advance could have been structured as such not to increase our monthly installment. So it wouldn’t have cost us a cent extra in the month. We are clients from ABSA since the days they were still known us Volkskas Bank. We never had issues with installments falling into arrears. We also never were subject to debt councilling.

ABSA declined our application for the re-advance, thereby refusing us access to the surplus funds. It cannot be a matter of affordability as, like I’ve mentioned, the bond could be restructured to pay the same installment amount. Only the term of the bond needs to be adjusted.

When I phoned the Montana branch (Wednesday, 20 March 2019), my call was referred by Lucy Nyalungu, one of the home loan consultants to another black gentleman in charge of home loans at the branch (I’m couldn’t hear his name clearly, it might be Piet Masina). He told me that our application was declined by the system and that it has been referred to the credit department for motivation. When I told him that I believe the bank should also take into account the fact that we are ABSA clients for many, many years and that we never had issues with installments falling into arrears, he became very agitated with me. He spoke rudely, saying that the bank only looks at affordability - which in this case cannot be an issue as we have always been able to meet our installments. I later the same day received an email from Piet Masina stating that our application was declined. Considering the way the black male consultant at the bank spoke to me, it came as no surprise to me - I kind of expected it.

I sometimes wonder if ABSA Home Loans don’t just first look if the person/people applying for a bond/re-advance is/are black or white. Our application could not be declined due to affordability - we would not pay any extra a month. If not affordability, what then? Might it be because we are white? Might that be the REAL reason why our application was declined? Might the fact that we are white be the reason we are denied credit - why we are denied access to surplus funds we have already paid off over the years? Just asking! Just pondering ...???