Standard Bank Complaint

I have a small debt recovery that I have been paying off by debt recovery through Standard Bank for a few years. This amount is deducted from my account on the 30th of every month by Standard Bank. Yesterday I received a message on my phone informing me that my bank account had all but been emptied. I contacted Standard Bank immediately, only to find it was them who had, without my authorisation, consent or knowledge, deducted all of my funds. After being passed from department to department - on my own cell phone bill, it came to light that there was an admin 'error' on their side and the monthly debit was not taken off by them on the 30th December, so they took it upon themselves to transfer all of the money out of my bank account. Again - as mentioned before - with no warning or permission from me. I requested that they refund me immediately and ensure to send a letter confirming exactly why they had deducted the money without my permission - as far as I am aware - that is ********** activity - tantamount to theft - AND with an apology. In fact - I did ask one of the numerous consultants I spoke to if Standard Bank were in the practice of *****ing from their customers. Because when you break it down - taking money out of someones account without their knowledge or consent is the equivalent of *****ing. Eventually I received a commitment that the request to refund had been processed and the money would be refunded, and I would receive a letter explaining EXACTLY how this error occurred, confirmation that it would not happen again and a decent apology.

I was then contacted almost immediately by Bokwa Attorneys who informed me that I had been handed over by Standard Bank. ?. I explained the situation again and she then read my file and confirmed that I was owed an apology as noted on the system. This would be the second time Standard Bank had handed me over for no reason - at their error - I have still yet to confirm that this is not going to affect my to-date, perfect credit rating. I would like assurances of this as I am not going to ruin my financial future due to admin incompetence. 27 hours later and still an empty bank account. I have contacted the Bank again - only to be fobbed off and transferred (their 'reference' system is ridiculous - the persons name - and yet when you quote it they have no idea what you are referring to) until I was transferred to their attorneys, again. Thankfully I was transferred to a very helpful manager called JJ who contacted the bank himself and who kindly followed up with them on my behalf - I was having no joy.

SO: Standard Bank messed me around, wasted my time, effectively ****** my money and handed me over TWICE purely due to their own incompetence.

Is there not a law that protects Standard Bank Customers (or ANY bank customer), from the bank withdrawing money from their account without their permission, their authorisation or consent and without even notifying customers that they are doing that?

I have bills to pay, children to feed, and I feel that my rights have been violated, the money I work incredibly hard to earn and which budget to the cent, was taken from me with no warning, for no reason, and I now no longer trust Standard Bank with my finances. I have stuck with them for well over 10 years, although they have the highest fees of all the banks - and my loyalty has been repaid by shocking customer service and my bank account being emptied.

Apparently they have now reversed the withdrawal of all of my money - although it is not yet reflecting. REGARDLESS: I should not have been subjected to the stress, the waste of my time and effort due to their incompetence.