How long does it take to get your money back from an investment policy that you have cancelled? Does it require the same agent you signed up with?
I opened it in Maun through an agent in April 2022 and was effective starting 1 May. Maturity date is on 30 April 2047. I paid P350 for 3 months and ended it because my employment contract had ended. The agent told me that they will freeze my account for a year in good faith that I will find a job and continue but I never did. In April I communicated with him and he told me that in 4 days I will get my money. He told me I should have given him my account number and wait for 10 days. When I ask he always tells me that he is not in the office and will get back to me.
I contacted the insurance company. They haven't replied yet but I think I know what they'll say.
The problem is that you signed a 25-year investment policy and asked to cancel it after just 1 year. I suspect that if you read the small print of the policy document you'll find that you can't do this and expect your money back. This is partly because the insurance company was expecting 25 years of premiums and you've cancelled that agreement. It's also partly because of what is sometimes called 'front-loading'. When you sign a long-term investment policy the agent who sold it doesn't want to wait for 25 years to get their commission. They want it now. What happens is that their commission is paid in the first year or two of the policy. That means that your early premiums don't go into the policy, they go to the agent. It's only after a few years that you actually start to save money and earn interest. That's the 'front-loading'.
Let's wait to see what the insurance company says but I'm not optimistic that you'll get any money back. Meanwhile the insurance company needs to get some better agents. This one seems to know or care very little.
Where's my refund?
Please assist in reaching out to a drilling company for my refund. The company started off well with a site visit to my farm and did the point confirmation for the borehole as promised. They were to send me the report after deposit and this never came. On request for this the director kept saying he will share this but it never came.
He later gave me a confirmation date for the drill appointment which was the 21st Aug and on the 20th I reached out to him in order to prepare for the drilling but he never responded. Fast forward he missed the drilling dates and to this day he only reads my Whatsapp and doesn't respond. He is a tough person to reach on voice call and he always has excuses like the truck had a break down and they are trying to rectify. His last comms to me was a letter stating he will attend to my drilling before the end of September and am wondering if he feels I should wait for him while there are other guys who can assist sooner.
I sent him a letter demanding my refund because I no longer want to work with his company so I can seek help elsewhere and still he reads my emails and Whatsapps with no response.
I think you've done everything right so far. And he's done everything wrong. I'm sure we all understand that companies sometimes have problems, things that delay them but that's no excuse for going silent. Section 14 (1) of the Consumer Protection Act says that consumers are entitled to "timely performance and completion" of services they've paid for. It goes on to say that we're also entitled to "timely notice of any unavoidable delay". It's really very simple. Suppliers should keep to their promises and let us know if they can't.
In your case the company are being rude. They can't just tell you that they've picked a new date, they need to be negotiating with you. They need to be asking politely if they can come on a later date. They should be the ones offering you a refund, not you asking for it. I contacted the company but so far all I get is blue ticks. I'll keep you informed.
Update: The owner of the drilling company says I can "expect to hear from my lawyers". I look forward to it.
No comments:
Post a Comment