Shockingly poor service as a new member

I reached out to Bonitas at the end of November as I wanted to move from Discovery Health to Bonitas from 01 January 2024.

I was contacted by Thandiwe Uwane from Tenda Health who assisted with my application. I provided proof of membership with Discovery from 2017 to current however I was asked to provide proof of earlier cover which is not available as a standard document on the Discovery website. I requested a special letter from Discovery , who were also surprised Bonitas is asking for cover dating prior to 2017 however they put in a request for a special letter to be sent which I received while I was on leave in December.

Join returning to work on 03 Jan, I contacted Bonitas because I was unable to create a profile on the app to download my digital card as it stated my membership was not active. I also enquired why my debit order did not go off and was told because of the public holidays I needed to make a manual payment which is ridiculous. I was told I am on a waiting period and had no cover because Tenda Health neglected to send my proof of medical cover with Discovery through.

I asked for a Supervisor and spoke to Joyce Phiri who said she would resolve the matter however, 4 days later I emailed again as I still had no reply from her. I cannot accept the risk of my children and I not having medical cover in the event of an accident.

This shocking service has left a bitter taste in my mouth and if this is my initial experience as a new joiner, I can only imagine the frustration if I ever need to apply for authorisation. I asked that my membership be cancelled immediately and I will go back to Discovery who were competent and I would have peace of mind that my family and I were covered however there was no reply to my request.

I dissuade anyone from joining Bonitas. I will rather pay a slightly higher premium at Discovery but deal with professionals.