Overcharged: 220+% Bill

I have been a very happy Santam customer for some time.

Unfortunately, they have now destroyed this, and I am being forced to consider changing insurance customers.

On the 31st May 2018 I changed my insurance cover, as the vehicle is currently not in use, bringing the premium down from R770 (and a couple cents) to R313.85. It was explained that as the debit orders had already been processed, that they would not be able to change the amount that I was billed, however, I would not be billed on the 1st July, and get a small discount (up until the remainder of the credit was depleted) on my 1st August payment. I have done this before, and so that was expected, and understandable.

I was however shocked to get a notice from the bank on the 1st of June that my account was overdrawn, so I immediately made a deposit, and investigated. I discovered that SANTAM had debited me R1694.56, more than double even my original premium!

I called to inquire, and, after explaining to the lady on the phone, was told that I would receive all extra charges as a refund as soon as possible, and, as an apology, this refund would be the full value, down to my actual premium. On the 5th, SANTAM deposited R515.18 into my account, bringing the the amount owed by SANTAM down to R865.53 I called again, and was promised that it had been escalated, and I would receive the outstanding money. On the 7th, I called, and was promised that the outstanding money had been paid, and I should contact ABSA. Well, today is the 13th, and I have still not received my refund. I actually have no money for food, so this is unacceptable.

I called today, and spoke to a gentleman who requested my bank statements, as, apparently SANTAM has no record of the amount that I was billed, and, on top of that I WAS ACCUSED OF NOT PAYING LAST MONTH'S PREMIUM. I don't know if he took me for a fool, but I know for a fact (and provided my statement) to show that I have not missed a single payment, and definitely paid the previous month. To make matters worse, he claimed that my new premium is in fact 10% more than the document that I was emailed.

If I had infant missed a payment, I would have received a notice of some form, SANTAM would not simply have dismissed it, and double charged the following month, as, I am fairly sure that this would have meant that I was uninsured for that period, and, if I was uninsured for that period, then there would have been no service to charge for in any case.

I demand the refund that I am owed, and believe that SANTAM should pay 20%pa interest (compounded weekly) on all money that was ****** from my account. I further believe that SANTAM should pay a further R50 for the statements that I was forced to pull from ABSA bank, due to their own incompetence.

I hope that someone can fix this before SANTAM loses my business permanently. I was in the process of considering home insurance, but, I can assure you this will no longer happen.