A Simple Call Goes a Long Way

While I understand that the relationship with Medical Aids is merely transactional, I still believe a certain level of courtesy is required when dealing with customers. My mother is a long-time client of Bonitas, since the 1980s, and I know that she has never defaulted on her monthly payments. She recently retired and without as much as a ‘how-do-you-do’ Bonitas terminated her contract. There was no courtesy call informing her of the termination nor was one made providing her with options on the way forward. After two months of the debit order not going through she sent them an email and was provided a form, for changing one’s bank details, to complete. She sent them the completed form, however there was no feedback. Being frustrated and not knowing how best to go forward she had to travel all the way (400km) to Port Elizabeth to enquire about her account. Upon her arrival she was told that they never received the form and that she has to complete it again and also take it to her previous employer (240km away) to complete. After all of this she has to resend it to Bonitas. Upon receipt, Bonitas will start her on a primary medical aid plan, where she has to forfeit all the other benefits she had on her previous plan. She also has to undergo a one year waiting period, like a new client, before she can access most of the benefits on the plan. As I write this, I am so angry my hands are actually shaking. During the conversation with the consultant at the Port Elizabeth office, my mother asked them why they couldn’t at least call her to advise her of all of this. The response was ‘Do you want to change to another medical aid?’ Given the ‘support’ thus far my only advice to her is to leave her contract cancelled. Maybe we missed something in the fine print on customer care, be that as it may, I do believe that some level of decency (making a call to your customer doesn’t take much) should have been afforded my mother during this whole process. Now she is expected to start from scratch after having been on this medical aid for decades. For me, thank you but no thank you Bonitas. I will not be recommending your services to anyone.