Absa’s Delays Are Hurting My Children

Dealing with my late husband’s account with has been an ongoing emotional nightmare.

My husband passed away on 8 March 2024. I was granted power of attorney shortly thereafter to assist with funeral arrangements, school fees, and the general upkeep of our children. I approached all the banks my husband used, and every other bank assisted me except Absa.

The process has not only been tedious, but extremely emotionally draining. Nearly two years later, I am still struggling to access funds. I have been unable to keep up with my children’s school fees, one of my children is currently in Matric, and the school has now sent lawyers after me due to non-payment.

I am writing this review because I recently could not even afford medication for my son after he was rushed to the emergency room

Since April 2024, Absa has continuously given me the runaround. The process is exhausting and unnecessarily complicated. I have been told that the funds in my late husband’s account first need to be transferred into an estate account. However, for the estate account to be activated, I must first deposit R500 into it. Only then can the money be transferred from his account into the estate account, after which I would still need to transfer it into my personal account to pay for essentials like school fees.

What makes this even more frustrating is that each transfer comes with additional charges, meaning a significant portion of the money will be lost to bank fees before I can even use it for my children’s needs.

At this point, I am emotionally exhausted and truly at a loss. I am simply asking for compassion, urgency, and assistance during one of the most difficult periods of my life.