OLD MUTUAL - Hard Pass. Run for your Life. Keep left. Do not support. Stay away.

To anyone who is in need of financial services, please consider all other options before turning to Old Mutual (including hiding your money in your mattress or your walls).

My experience with OM is as follows: A loved one of mine passed away in June 2021 and he has named me beneficiary to his OM contract.

We - OM and I - made contact 19th July 2021 regarding the documents that I need to submit (IDs, death certificate and option forms - PLEASE NOTE, the contact person did not send me a copy of the option forms, I had to request them. So the FIRST mistake on their part).

Two different people had sent me two different forms - as luck would have it, I completed the incorrect one (a Death Claim form for investments that were not applicable to me). I sent this form in and received no feedback or confirmation that I had sent the correct information and attachments (the "confirmation" is an automated reply - useless).

I followed up on the status of this claim several times - the 3rd or 4th time, I received an email that TWO OTHER forms needed to be completed.

They were also still requesting the IDs and death certificate, which I have already sent in, which goes to show that not a single person had actually looked at that email.

There was also no instruction/guidance provided as to which types of Investments require which of the various forms to be filled in. I am not an OM employee so I would not have known which were the correct forms.

So I sent the information back to them - with all attachments (IDs of myself and my deceased loved one who is the OM client, bank account details, proof of address and the details of death). This happened on 18/10/2021, Monday.

Today (28/10/2021) marks the NINTH business day that no feedback has been received. I have followed up with them twice.

The other important details to note are: 1. Phoning the call center is USELESS and probably heart attack inducing because the consultants are NOT supervised (When I requested to speak a manager, they could not point me to one as there was no manager on duty. They could also not put me through directly to the contact person that I was dealing with over email). 2. You are not guaranteed to receive a personalized email response - most of the responses are automated. 3. In the 3 months since I started this process, not ONE OM employee/advisor/contact person has phoned me back. 4. These are the useless email addresses: - *** (I have received only automated responses_ - *** (from this email, a contact person SOMETIMES replies - for privacy reasons I won't list a name because unlike OM, I can conduct myself in a professional manner - but other times it is automated responses. So I suppose this person only responds when they feel like it. Hmm... what a great job to have. Wish I could send out automated replies to my clients). - *** (I don't really know what these people do - I suspect that this is as big of a mystery as the rest of it).

But anyway - this guy emailed me regarding a debit that had gone off of the bank account after my loved one had passed away and from my understanding, this money needs to be claimed from the Deceased Estate. Why this email was directed at me, I don't know. Foreseeing an excuse for OM to delay their claim payout (I was delusional enough at this point to think that we were close the conclusion of the process...HAHA, silly me), I offered to maybe pay this to them and then we can speed along the process (I am just pausing to appreciate the irony of my hopeful thoughts). I received no feedback but another person did repeat the email.

So in conclusion, if you need something from OM, don't use the basicsandfunerals email either. - *** (again, only automated replies)

So in the 3 months that I have started to communicate with OM (19 July 2021), the following has happened: NOTHING

I actually cannot believe that these people (OM) are governed by an official body because the level and quality of service is absolutely shocking, disgusting, gross and appalling.

I mean, many of these OM employees are professionals but nothing in the way that they handled my case has showed this. It is actually jaw dropping.

I get the picture that OM runs an internal competition amongst its employees to see who is the biggest clown, the biggest prankster. And I picture the inside of any OM office as a big circus - with clowns and merry go rounds, the whole shebang.

Nowhere in that image do I picture any professionals.

The only good thing I can say about OM is that their facebook page is quite entertaining - it's an absolute hate-fest and clearly this level of service is common. (Just don't expect any help from them please, you will only receive random inbox messages about how sorry they are that you experience this and that someone will be in touch soon. My personal favorite was when one of their "financial advisors" invited me on Facebook. HAHA - hell will freeze over before I ever take out any of their services).

So please, to anyone reading this, do NOT make use of OM's financial planning and other services UNLESS: 1. You hate your family and you don't want them to get a DIME after you leave them behind 2. You enjoy putting your money somewhere where nobody will ever get it (including possibly YOURSELF) 3. You like receiving a lot of reference numbers with which you can do nothing.

I would rather eat my money or burn it, than entrust it to OM.