Momentum Misled Me Into Paying R12,000 With No Guarantee of Reinstatement – Please Be Careful!

I recently joined Momentum Medical Aid. I was out of the country for three months and couldn’t manage some of my accounts, which meant Momentum couldn’t debit my contributions. I stayed in communication with them via email during this time. When I returned, I found that my policy had been terminated due to non-payment — which I fully understood.

To fix the situation, I contacted Momentum through their official WhatsApp line. Their agent clearly informed me that if I paid the three months of missed instalments and sent proof of payment to ***, my policy would be reinstated without any further conditions. Based on this agreement, I paid the full amount of R12,000 and sent the proof immediately.

After paying, I received a completely different message from Momentum. I was told that my membership “was terminated with effect 1/9/2025 for nonpayment,” and that if I still wished to reinstate, I now needed to complete a reinstatement form, which is subject to fund approval. Only if the fund approves, they will then tell me the arrears to settle within 7 days. In other words, after taking R12,000 from me based on a clear agreement with their agent, Momentum changed the terms and now says reinstatement is not guaranteed at all.

This is extremely misleading and unfair. It feels like Momentum just wanted the R12,000 paid into their account, because the conditions I agreed to were suddenly ignored the moment the payment was made. This is a monthly contribution, not a debt I owed them — it is shocking that they would accept the payment first and then introduce new rules afterwards.

I want to warn others: Do not pay arrears upfront to Momentum in the hope that your policy will automatically be reinstated. If you are not 100% sure you can afford it or if they cannot give you written confirmation of reinstatement BEFORE payment, rather use that money to join another medical aid that is transparent and straightforward. Don’t find yourself in the same situation where you pay thousands only to be told that reinstatement is just a “possibility.”

Momentum needs to fix this, honour the agreement made by their own agent, and stop misleading clients into paying large amounts without guaranteeing what they promised.