Terrible service. Cancellation of benefits without notification

<p>On the 18th of January I requested for my beneifts to be cancelled as I was switching to a different Medical Aid. I specifically requested to be notified of when my benefits will be cancelled. Before I sent the email, on an online chat with Bonitas I was told that cancellation takes a month to process.</p> <p> </p> <p>I received an email on the 24th saying that my query will be attended to. On the same day I received another email saying that it has been referred to the relevant department and I will be notified when the termination date will be. That was the last correspondence I received from them.</p> <p> </p> <p>My debit order didn't go off for this month. So I was a bit concerned. I started an online chat with Marilyn. She advised me that my benefits were cancelled on the 31st of January. This is unacceptable. I specifically requested to be notified of the cancellation date. Now I've been not covered for a week. She advised me that my benefits can be extended until the end of Feb BUT I would have to pay for the week I wasn't covered. Bonitas wants me to pay for their mistake. How is this fair? I also mailed them last week to enquire about the cancellation- no reply. </p> <p> </p> <p>I can't believe that Bonitas has done this and still want me to pay for their error. Even if their standard procedure for cancellations is a month, it should have been terminated on the 18th of February. They cancelled my benefits 13 days after I requested it, which is not a problem- I just needed to be notified. </p> <p> </p> <p>Marilyn did escalate it to her team leader- Marilyn. So I'm waiting to hear from her. I can't accept anything less than continuing my cover and not paying for the week I wasn't covered. Should I incur any emergency medical bills, I have grounds to prove that Bonitas is liable.</p>