Sanlam Personal Loans – Declined Repeatedly Without Clear Reason or Transparency

Complaint: I am lodging this complaint due to prolonged poor service and lack of transparency from Sanlam Personal Loans.

My personal loan application was initially declined in June 2025. Over the following months, I was provided with multiple inconsistent reasons for the decline, including alleged multiple enquiries, newly opened accounts, unfavourable credit history, and even a suggestion of debt counselling — none of which were supported by my credit profile.

Sanlam later confirmed in writing that the true reason was an internal six-month date restriction, which expired on 25 December 2025. After the restriction expired, I submitted updated payslips and bank statements and was advised that my application would proceed.

Despite this, I was later instructed to submit a new online application, which was immediately declined. Sanlam confirmed that the decline was based on an automated credit bureau enquiry, but stated that they were unable to determine what on my credit profile caused the decline.

This position is particularly concerning as Sanlam subsequently provided me with a detailed credit bureau report, contradicting their claim that they could not identify any contributing factor.

After extensive engagement and escalation through Sanlam’s complaints process, I have still not received a clear, lawful explanation for the decline, nor a transparent outcome. The internal complaints process has now been exhausted.

This experience reflects poor communication, contradictory explanations, and a lack of procedural fairness. I have since escalated the matter to the National Financial Ombud Scheme.

I am sharing this publicly in the hope that Sanlam will meaningfully engage and address these systemic service issues.