STANDARD BANK RETAINS THE HUMAN TOUCH IN TIMES OD CRISIS

I don’t think 2020 has been good to anyone. My worries and woes started long before the lockdown however, as I was retrenched in February 2019 and I was left with a bunch of debtors and a homeloan that I couldn’t repay. I requested a three month payment holiday from Standard Bank on my homeloan and they granted me one until end September 2019 – when I was able to catch up on my bond payments with my UIF payouts. My very pregnant daughter who lived in Vietnam and her husband moved in with me during August as they wanted to have their baby born on home soil. They both worked as digital nomads (remote working). I had grand plans to convert a section of my house into a flatlet to rent out on AirBnB as I live in a very popular coastal town, and this in my mind would enable me to be able to afford my bond payments after the UIF payments ceased. My kids in the interim would pay rent and thus cover all other expenses. That was our plan. But life had other plans. They both lost their jobs during the course of February/March, AND Covid hit. Before the Covid lockdown however, somewhere in middle March, I app**** for assistance from Standard Bank yet again, because we were now in a household with three adults, a new born baby and no income with a bond to pay. We were ready to start the renovations on the flatlet area, and estimated that it would be done by April, to then start advertising it as soon as possible. Then Covid happened. I immediately emailed Standard Bank again. Somewhere in-between my myriad of emails and pleas for assistance, and of course all the other applications for assistance from Standard Bank customers in a similar , my correspondence got lost and I ended up being handed over to the Standard Bank Lawyers for collection. I was furious. From my side I have done everything requested from me to get the assistance that was so widely advertised, and yet, here I was in this Covid Couldron with the rest of the country, trying to bat all the financial onslaughts from all sides and I am being pestered by calls from Standard Bank lawyers. After a very tough 2019, 2020 proved to be the straw that threatened to break the camel’s back. I became convinced that I will eventually lose my home. Until I spoke to Susan Chetty of Standard Bank. I missed Susan’s initial call and was surprised with her compassionate manner in which she received my return call. After months of stress and uncer*****y, sending emails and requesting updates on the status of my accounts, Susan took all of 30 minutes to sort out my homeloan, which was by now-about 4 months in arrears. She undertook to recall the lawyers, spread my arrears over a period and Standard Bank granted me a two month holiday period! The relief I experienced, the compassion, the understanding the hand of help that Susan, and by default Standard Bank displayed and extended today, tells me that in spite of the social distancing, in this time of crisis, Standard Bank retained the Human Touch! Well done, and thank you!