Two Mountains funeral cash payout horror

Their disregard for clients is shocking!

Tuesday, 28 June All required documents handed in at the Giyani branch by midday and SMS confirmations are received at 14h47 that a claim for cash payouts has been received for assessment.

Wednesday, 29 June 13h14 An SMS from Two Mountains reads as follows: "Dear Two Mountains Claimant, Kindly note your claim was sent for further assessment. This will take 7 to 14 days. Enquiries call ***.Thank you."

13h19 A call to the call centre is made for clarity regarding the above message. Lebusa Hlahan conveys a message from the claims department noting that there is a hold because Two Mountains wants to confirm if the deceased is actually dead because we opted for the cash payout and not for Two Mountains to do the burial; hence they want to be certain of the death although a death certificate from Home Affairs was provided. At this point I am horrified and bemused by the response. Lebusa then continues to give me an email address where I can write to to take up the matter as he could not reference to anyone else nor could he transfer me to the claims department.

14h24 We then proceed to call the Two Mountains Head office on ***. The call is answered by an empathetic Nokuthula who takes down contact details and assures us that we will receive a call from claims shortly.

14h36 The claims department reverts and note that the claim is with the risk department for further enquiry however a reason for the further assessment is not stated. In addition, the 14 day turnaround time is reiterated, much to our irritation as we sensed a lack of urgency in resolving the issue within a reasonable time frame as the non payment has dire implications, including added mortuary payments and the emotional stress of being jnable to bury our lived one secondary to Two Mountains delays.

30 June 2022 08h00 Still no word from Two Mountains claims/risk department. The scary thought of having to wait 2 weeks to bury the deceased is unsettling and I am bewildered by Two Mountains blatant disregard as the plans were taken out to carry out the funeral and not to enrich ourselves!

10h00 A follow up via voice call was made to Head office. After being transferred to claims department thrice and the calls being dropped a message was left instead for Claims/Risk department to revert as a matter or urgency. Nthabiseng at reception answered the call and was receptive, helpful and empathetic.

12h00 Follow another follow up at claims department, this is the feedback that was given.Here is free life-saving information: 1. Two Mountains will take any claim that is above R20k for risk assessment and the turnaround time for this assessment is 7 - 14 days because if you opt for the cash benefit and not to use their burial services they want to confirm the death inspite of the you producing a death certificate. They want to conduct an internal risk assessment that includes, amongst other things calling the Dr who completed the BI and calling the hospital where the deceased died - if they died at hospital, and calling the funeral parlor that will do the service all to double check that that your loved one is infact dead. All the latter, takes them 7 - 14 (I assume) WORKING days. 2. When Two Mountains say that they will make pay outs in 48 hours, they mean 48 WORKING hours: 08h00 - 16h00 (8 hours) which amounts to 6 WORKING days.

The matter has since been escalated to "management".

We are distraught and horrified by this unjust lengthy process which for the most part is met by defensive, patronizing and belittling responses from individuals with stunted competence and lack of compassion.