OLD AGE PENSION RIP-OFF

My husband is an old age pensioner and when he went to try and draw his pension of R1710 this month after the debacle at the ASBA ATM (see relevant review) he went to Pick n Pay, Gordon's Bay. Where he was told that he would have to paid for the transaction to draw a statement to see how much pension was available. According to the SASSA website you are entitled to '3 free cash withdrawals at merchants' but how can you withdraw your pension when you don't know the balance? I don't really know who is to blame for this mess - Pick n Pay or SASSA but I do feel at though the old age pensioner cannot win either which way