RCS Makro claim malpractice

Good day,

I use RCS at Makro as a credit account to keep my credit record up to date and in good standing.

I have never defaulted on this account in the past. Until the Covid pandemic hit me hard as well: I 'm an independent consultant and my contract at Sasol was prematurity terminated as result of the downward economy on their side. Thus, I made arrangements with RCS, used my available savings to keep my account on par, until I realised early July 2020 that my funds will not sustain the demands.

I pay insurance in the RCS account, and on 3 July I adhered to all the requirements to do claim: all documentation was sent through and then the wait started. Days became weeks which became months. As and when I had funds, I paid it over to the RCS account while I awaited feedback. No feedback, but then the threatening calls started coming in from the credit department: pay or else...Everytime I took the time to explain: dates, documents sent through, no feedback. I was told that the claims department is still working on it: understandable as many South Africans were in the same boot as I was.

The viscous cycle continued, so I re-sent the claim documents through again , and again. Still no feedback and still the threatening calls. Then I started insisting on direct contact details to resolve this matter: the calls were either not answered or if it was, I was told that they would phone me back: that never happened.

Then I managed to get a new contract at the end of October 2020 for the next 3 months: when I was phoned to collect money I could at last say: I can bring my RCS account up to date at the end Of November 2020, which I did. I was told if the account is up to date, all is in order and I could use this account again.

So with a huge credit amount in my account now, I decided today, while the shops were quiet, to do some Christmas shopping: mostly for food as a vacation is not possible this year and we need to stay in. I did my shopping, went to the till point: and JUST to make sure all is in order, I asked that my available credit amount was checked before I proceeded with the purchase. All good I was told, here is the credit slip: good to go. We went ahead and I shopped for WAY under my credit limit. I give the necessary cards to pay, but the transaction was declined 3 times: to my shock and surprise!

My groceries then get left behind and off we went to the customer service counter. That's when it became clear that there are major issues: 1. My account is blocked because my claim is still being processed; 2. My account can NOT be unblocked until the claim is finalised, BUT I can choose the cancel the claim by leaving my groceries there, go home, call the claims department and state that I am now employed, send the letter of employments to the claims department and wait for feedback...??? 3. My credit is clocked until all the above measures at adhered to.

Finally, furious, disappointed and humiliated, I go back to my shopping trolley, accompanied by shop assistants to choose the items I wish to buy by paying for it via cash. Obviously I choose the most essential food items, pay for it by cash and return home (quite a drive) to try to resolve the issue.

I proceed to call the claims department and explain the situation. The lady who is trying to assist me manages to get to my claim, but IT HAS NOT BEEN PROCESSED YET!!! She said that the claim has not been registered because the initial documents received (sent numerous times!) could not be opened. I can not explain the shock and frustration I felt, but I tried to keep calm because at least the lady tried to assist me, but that was before the next revelations and shock!

As my claim has ONLY been registered TODAY and there is NO TURNAROUND time, I'll have wait for the first week in January 2021 to follow up again: by the 7th to get an understanding of what was approved - if it was approved - to be paid back to me, which should be confirmed to me via SMS.

Secondly, they will TRY to backdate the claim as per the date of the termination letter, no promises, and depending on the outcome they will start paying the claim amount during January 2021, BUT every 3 months I need to resend my work status to them + bank statements etc. Also, December has now pasted, so the claim will only be reviewed during January 2021. I still needed guidance on next steps from my side: what do I do now? Nothing I’m told: wait till you get feedback in January and take it from there…SO, I ask, what about the credit on my card? Is it available? No, sorry I’m told, as your claims was only registered today, no credit will be available until I can prove income again as the claim will be dealt with as a new case!!!

Furthermore, all interest charged while the claim was processed (which was obviously noted as 3 July from my side) will be UNDER CONSEDERATION – AT BEST. So, I asked: YOU made the mistake on your side, right? “Yes mam, sorry.” And I can not use any of the credit which I have paid into my account at any stage? “No mam, your account will remained blocked until you can prove new income”. So why them I ask was I told in all the threatening calls to pay the amounts and all will be well? “Different department mam, but you must still pay your installment end of December as the claim will only be processed in January – we will send you and SMS ”.

Now, as you can imagine, this is where I lost it! I confirmed: account blocked, still pay, no definite outcome of the claim, and proof of income every 3 months. Out of patience and desperate to work towards a satisfying outcome, I dare to ask: is there any alternative way to resolve this matter? “Yes mam,” I’m told, “you can cancel your claim, but December has already passed, so we can only attend to it in January 2021, because you have now submitted the claim – we’ll SMS you the outcome of the claim then”.

Now I ask you: am I the only person the whole of SA that has experienced this problem or are other customers also being ********** and basically black mailed to drop claims against RCS after managing to get their accounts up to date during the lockdown??? Furthermore, will my interest still grow “until I get the outcome of the claim? At the rate it is going now, I’m going to pay more interest without getting to use any of my credit: this should thus be called “AN INVESTMENT ACCOUNT” in RCS’s name!

Please investigate this malicious practice before other consumers as also caught off guard?!