Refusing to cancel membership. Threatened when stopping payments.
<p>I moved cities. Started a new career.</p> <p>My new employer had the benefits of medical aid, so I requested from Bonitas to cancel my membership via email to have it for reference in case they mess up like now.</p> <p>They responded with a general copy paste response not confirming my cancellation. </p> <p>I then phoned them and they told me they would call me back. I never received a call.</p> <p>I then consulted with the broker providing my new medical aid and it was suggested that I stop my debit order as Bonitas had no interest in helping me.</p> <p>I stopped my debit order and then got an automated sms stating I owe them an outstanding balance. </p> <p>I emailed them to find out why I owe money for something I requested to cancel.</p> <p>They rep**** with a "your outstanding debt is..." generic copy paste email once again.</p> <p>So I rep**** stating that I don't understand why I owe them for a service I cancelled and payed for prorata and confirmed by contract I signed that they stop the service should I not pay.</p> <p> </p> <p>They were prompt with sending letters stating that I owe them money, but after more than a year they couldn't even send me a membership card after months of struggling and giving up.</p> <p>I am willing to pay only 10% of the debt as the service was prorata and the debit order was scheduled for the 3rd.</p> <p>You have a better chance of surviving without a medical scheme rather than risk the cancer you get form Bonitas' service.</p>
Hello edfromza,
Thank you for submitting a comment to us through Hello Peter.
This is to confirm that we have received your comment and that we are currently investigating this matter.
Our representative will be in touch with you shortly to discuss this matter and ensure that it is speedily resolved.
Kind regards,
Bonitas Team
Hello edfromza,
Thank you for submitting a comment to us through Hello Peter.
This is to confirm that we have received your comment and that we are currently investigating this matter.
Our representative will be in touch with you shortly to discuss this matter and ensure that it is speedily resolved.
Kind regards,
Bonitas Team
Please note that Bonitas only copy pasted this generic response and in fact did not make an effort to contact me, confirming their behavior as explained in my initial review.
Your letter states that I will be handed over to the Scheme Debt Collector should I not respond with in 30 days.
This review, as well as your reply, confirms that you acknowledged my effort in trying to make contact with you.
You are not accessible via any channels, specifically: Email, phone calls and now even HelloPeter.
Please note that Bonitas only copy pasted this generic response and in fact did not make an effort to contact me, confirming their behavior as explained in my initial review.
Your letter states that I will be handed over to the Scheme Debt Collector should I not respond with in 30 days.
This review, as well as your reply, confirms that you acknowledged my effort in trying to make contact with you.
You are not accessible via any channels, specifically: Email, phone calls and now even HelloPeter.
In my own defence. I will list all the events that took place, leading to where the scenario is now.
2017-01-16 - Initial request to cancel my membership via email
2017-01-17 - I get a generic response which is irrelevant, asking me to get an HR stamp from me employer (they might have refered to my previous employer who did not pay my medical aid anyways as I converted to pay pro rata).
So, I reply and tell them I am getting a new membership and they can cancel my membership the end of the month 31 January 2017 and explained that my previous employer is not paying for my medical aid.
2017-01-18 - I told them that I did not receive any response and that I will be stopping the debit order.
They did not respond.
2017-01-19 17:47 - I phone the call center, ask the agent to explain why they do not respond to my emails. She promised to get somebody to call me back.
They never called me back.
2017-02-11 - They SMS me that I have outstanding debt (So they saw the debit order didn't go off on the 3rd)
I then email them asking for an explanation as to why I would owe them anything after I told them to cancel my membership on the 31st of January.
They rep**** with a generic email on 2017-02-13 stating what the SMS said. (outstanding debt bla bla).
I rep**** on 2017-02-14 quoting the contract I signed where it stated that the membership will be terminated if I don't pay and due to the nature of my payments being prorata, it defaults to a cancellation. I also stated they had enough time to correct me in my queries, should I have not followed the correct procedures.
They never rep****.
In my own defence. I will list all the events that took place, leading to where the scenario is now.
2017-01-16 - Initial request to cancel my membership via email
2017-01-17 - I get a generic response which is irrelevant, asking me to get an HR stamp from me employer (they might have refered to my previous employer who did not pay my medical aid anyways as I converted to pay pro rata).
So, I reply and tell them I am getting a new membership and they can cancel my membership the end of the month 31 January 2017 and explained that my previous employer is not paying for my medical aid.
2017-01-18 - I told them that I did not receive any response and that I will be stopping the debit order.
They did not respond.
2017-01-19 17:47 - I phone the call center, ask the agent to explain why they do not respond to my emails. She promised to get somebody to call me back.
They never called me back.
2017-02-11 - They SMS me that I have outstanding debt (So they saw the debit order didn't go off on the 3rd)
I then email them asking for an explanation as to why I would owe them anything after I told them to cancel my membership on the 31st of January.
They rep**** with a generic email on 2017-02-13 stating what the SMS said. (outstanding debt bla bla).
I rep**** on 2017-02-14 quoting the contract I signed where it stated that the membership will be terminated if I don't pay and due to the nature of my payments being prorata, it defaults to a cancellation. I also stated they had enough time to correct me in my queries, should I have not followed the correct procedures.
They never rep****.
After no efforts from Bonitas trying to contact me, I received an SMS stating my Acc has been handed over to CWX for collection.
I am not wasting more airtime on them. They are more than welcome to contact me as they promised on 2017-01-19 17:47.
All these stupid automated SMS stuff they send out serve as a confirmation that they have the correct contact details in their posession and nothing is preventing them from returning a simple call.
After no efforts from Bonitas trying to contact me, I received an SMS stating my Acc has been handed over to CWX for collection.
I am not wasting more airtime on them. They are more than welcome to contact me as they promised on 2017-01-19 17:47.
All these stupid automated SMS stuff they send out serve as a confirmation that they have the correct contact details in their posession and nothing is preventing them from returning a simple call.
Today, 2017-06-02 15:46, I received a call from Bonitas claiming that they owe me money now.
I told them that they do not owe me as the last payment was made for the last month of my membership.
I informed the debt collectors about this, so they need to resolve this with Bonitas.
Today, 2017-06-02 15:46, I received a call from Bonitas claiming that they owe me money now.
I told them that they do not owe me as the last payment was made for the last month of my membership.
I informed the debt collectors about this, so they need to resolve this with Bonitas.
They called me back now and were very sincere and informed me that no outstanding debt is owed.
I appreciate the apologies and I would like to apologise from my side as well as I was a bit rude to them yesterday due to all this built up tension.
The feedback I gave was that I admire their attempt in trying to speed up their services by using automated systems, but that they should keep an eye out when exceptions occur so they can be more precise in responding to the customers' queries.
They called me back now and were very sincere and informed me that no outstanding debt is owed.
I appreciate the apologies and I would like to apologise from my side as well as I was a bit rude to them yesterday due to all this built up tension.
The feedback I gave was that I admire their attempt in trying to speed up their services by using automated systems, but that they should keep an eye out when exceptions occur so they can be more precise in responding to the customers' queries.
They haven't corrected this matter with their debt collectors and are ignoring my requests to do so.
They haven't corrected this matter with their debt collectors and are ignoring my requests to do so.