A Year of Errors, Emotional Distress, and Still No Resolution

I am lodging this complaint after almost a full year of ongoing issues with Old Mutual — issues that continue despite countless calls, promises, and so-called “resolutions.”

This all began when Old Mutual attempted to debit my account while I was on maternity leave and later incorrectly handled premium holidays. Since then:

Payments I made were not properly allocated. My debit orders were cancelled without my consent. I was repeatedly told I owed payments I had already made, forcing me to send bank statements multiple times. I suffered unnecessary stress trying to prevent policies from lapsing. Old Mutual acknowledged their errors — yet failed to fix them.

Despite everything, further unauthorised deductions were made in September and October. When I queried the refund owed to me, instead of paying it out, Old Mutual pooled my refund and app**** it as a “payment holiday” that I never requested, never authorised, and did not consent to.

To this day, I still have not received my refund.

This has caused financial hardship and emotional distress. I suffer from anxiety, and every call ends in tears because I am forced to repeat myself to different consultants who provide no proper solution. The mental toll of this ordeal has been severe.

After nearly 12 months of trying to resolve a mistake that was not mine, I am demanding the following:

1. Immediate reversal of the unauthorised payment holiday app**** to my policies.

2. Immediate payment of my refund directly into my bank account.

3. Reimbur*****t of all fees, charges, or financial impacts caused by Old Mutual’s mistakes.

4. Written confirmation that none of my policies have been negatively affected.

5. Compensation of R10,000 for the emotional distress, anxiety, inconvenience, and hardship suffered due to Old Mutual’s negligence and continued failure to resolve the issue.

I have always been a loyal customer, but this experience has been completely unacceptable. If this matter is not resolved within 48 hours, I will escalate it to the National Financial Ombud and other regulatory bodies.

No customer should have to beg for fair treatment — especially for almost a year.

Shannon Daniels