Complaint Regarding Settlement Letters and Customer Service

I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction with the service I have received from MBD. My experience has been consistently frustrating, with the exception of one or two agents who have shown genuine empathy and understanding. To date, I have settled three accounts with MBD, but I have never received a settlement letter for any of them. The most recent account, a Standard Bank account, was settled around the 23rd/24th of August.

Upon making the final payment, the agent informed me that I should follow up the following Monday regarding the settlement letter, acknowledging that it was time-sensitive. She even went as far as to say she would escalate the matter, follow up on my behalf, and call me back—none of which happened. When I called instead, another agent informed me of a 7-day waiting period and told me to follow up on Wednesday, 4th September, contradicting the information I was previously given.

I stressed the importance of receiving accurate information to manage my expectations and the application process I am currently navigating. Yet, when I followed up today, I was repeatedly transferred, forcing me to retell my story each time while trying to keep my frustration in check. I was then told that it takes 7 days for the payment to clear and an additional 7 days for the letter to be requested from the relevant department—information that was not provided initially, and which would have saved me a great deal of time and frustration.

This lack of consistency and accountability from MBD agents is extremely disappointing, especially given my history of not receiving settlement letters despite similar processes in the past. The last agent I spoke with offered only vague assurances that the letter could arrive at any time, which I feel was simply an attempt to pacify me. His suggestion to call back again tomorrow felt like a way to push the problem onto another agent rather than providing a real resolution.

This entire experience has been not only frustrating but also demeaning. It’s ironic, considering how MBD aggressively pursues customers for payments with frequent, inconvenient calls and threatening texts, often delivered with little regard for the customer’s circumstances. Once settled, however, we seem to become invisible.

I strongly suggest MBD either implement a more reliable settlement letter process or clearly communicate that customers should rely on credit profile updates, rather than engaging in this unproductive back-and-forth. The poor customer service and lack of resolution leave me with little confidence in MBD’s processes.

At this point, given the similar experiences reported by others on platforms like Hello Peter, I am seriously considering escalating this matter to the Ombudsman, as I no longer have faith that MBD will resolve this satisfactorily.