Frozen Accounts? Scared to death

<p>I tried to swipe for an item and the terminal declined the transaction. I then opened my mobile application which said that I do no have any active accouts with Capitec. All of my savings and earnings are in Capitec accounts. I was horrified. It turns out that I sold an item on Gumtree a few days prior to the hold on my account. The buyer paid me via EFT. After struggling to reach me he panicked and phoned ABSA client services. He only phoned for advice; he did not submit any affidavits or SAPS case numbers accusing me of *****/********; . It seems that this is all that is necessary to have everything you own seized. Instead of just putting a hold on the money that he paid to me, all of my accounts were frozen. They could only get unfrozen if both involved parties presented themselves to a Capitec branch with affidavits stating that there has been a resolution of the matter. This was technically difficult as I was in JHB with no money and the other person was in Cape Town. My livelihood suddenly became dependant on a stranger that paid me a small amount of money. He had complete power over everything I owned. The unfreezing of my account depended completely on his willingness to cooperate. Fortunately he was not out to ********* me. He comp**** to my (desperate) requests and had his lawyer draw up an affidavit to reverse the hold on my accounts. It took a day before I could have access to money again.</p> <p> </p> <p>I would like to thank Dain at Capitec Rosebank who helped me and patiently listened to my plight. The reference number is ********** 3.</p> <p> </p> <p>What I would like to know from Capitec Bank is this:</p> <p>1) Who authorised the universal hold on my accounts? What processes and procedures were followed according to the Law?</p> <p>2) Can any anonymous person who has ever paid money into my account phone their bank and freeze my accounts?</p> <p>3) How am I protected against this unfortunate occurence in the future? ( I feel that my finacial security has been violated)</p> <p>4) The trust that drives me to give my money to Capitec has been compromised, in fact, my belief in the value of saving money has been questioned. What philosophy do you adhere to in order to build trust between the client and the Bank to ensure that there is common belief in the idea of money? </p> <p> </p> <p>Your help and correspondence will be greatly appreciated</p> <p> </p> <p>Carl</p>