RE: FNB / FNB Credit Card / Discovery Credit Card

I had a Discovery Platinum Credit Card for many years and always made any payments due on time. Unfortunately, life happens, and the business that my then but now ex-husband owned never turned a profit. We separated on the 5th November 2017. I was working for him and he shut the doors of the business early in 2018. Our divorce was finalised in November last year. As a 40-year-old white woman, I have tried to find work, but with no success. I have eventually found a free-lance transcribing job that allows me to make a small amount of money for a great deal of typing, and their payment is made weekly via PayPal. I know that I owe Discovery Credit Card money, and I have emailed each set of attorneys’ that have taken over credit control and collections of my debit portfolio for Discovery Credit Card a full detailed description of what has/is happening in my life. There has been more than one group of attorneys. I have offered to make small payments, that have never been good enough or acceptable. I opened an FNB Easy Account on the 28th February 2019. For the first time, I made a decent amount of money last week, well just over R 1,100.00. FNB chose to put a debit order through on my Easy Account for my outstanding credit card debt, without any notice/warning. Now I understand that there is a “right of set-off” law that allows banks the right to do this, if the debt in question is held by the same bank, but I was not contacted or consulted to find out if the debit order in question would result in my having any hard ship as a result. I have Multiple Sclerosis, and my primary concern every month is finding a way to pay my Discovery Medical Aid, at a cost of over R 5,000.00. There is no cure and my only hope of halting/delaying any disease progression is through disease-modifying drugs … a sub-cutaneous injection of Betaferon self-administered ever second day. I have been without my meds for a little while now. My chronic medication cannot be obtained from the government. I contacted FNB Customer Services this morning telephonically, explained everything to them, and the consultant told me that she couldn’t assist in reversing the debit order in question, and put me through to FNB Credit Card division. I held and held, until the little bit of airtime that I had was exhausted and the call automatically ended. My dad bought me R50 more airtime, and I called again, this time for the consultant at FNB Credit Card to hear my entire story and respond by telling me that she too couldn’t assist, and I’d need to be put through to Discovery Credit Card, which was done. The first consultant at Discovery Credit Card kept on hitting keys on her phone keypad continuously, beeping in my ear, and the call was abruptly ended, I was cut-off. I called back and the next gentleman, after hearing my entire story (who I could hear quite clearly) was rude and unhelpful, complaining that he couldn’t hear me and eventually telling me that the account was closed, he couldn’t assist me, and he put me back through to FNB Credit Card. I held until my airtime once again ran out. Now every time I am transferred to another department or call them, I need to input my ID number and more verification information, which I then must repeat verbally. And then I must tell that consultant the entire story from beginning to end. I can’t go into an FNB branch, because they refuse to assist me with anything relating to a Discovery Credit Card. But, somehow, FNB or First Rand (who underwrite Discovery) managed to put the actual debit order through that took the money for a Discovery Card from my FNB Easy Account. Please tell me how I get it back? How am I supposed to get back on my feet if the carpet is pulled right out from under me without any warning what so ever, and no one I speak to CAN or WILL assist? I don’t even buy airtime for myself, because there simply isn’t money. I also acknowledge that I owe them money, and I have every intention of settling the debt somehow, but I need to be alive and functional to do that, I need my medical aid, and I need the chronic meds for my multiple sclerosis. Right now, even if I can pay my medical aid, I still need to save up to R 1,300.00 to see my neurologist to get a new script for my Betaferon. You can’t tell me that it’s fair to do this to someone?