Saturday 22 June 2024

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Should they compensate me?

Sir I have a problem with my bank. Sometime in February I applied for a loan at Gemvas. The funds were released April 9 and reflected in my lawyers account after 3-5 working days. My attorneys then paid the seller. The bank called in May to tell me that Gemvas usually sends documents late at Ministry of Finance so they want to deduct first instalment so I avoid arrears. So since I had gotten paid by then they deducted the instalment from my account and assured me that in June the money will be deducted directly from salaries. Yesterday I went to another bank to seek a small loan of P25,000 to purchase sheep from a friend. They called to say they can't help me since am listed at CRB for bad credit. I asked the agent to send me the CRB report only to find out I was listed by the first bank. I met the manager and the lady that helped me with the home loan only to be told they didn't tell me that the first instalment was to be paid in April so that's why am listed.

I have been working for more than 11 years and I have never had bad credit record so I want to sue because this bad credit record will haunt me for the rest of my life. Honestly there should be some sort of compensation for all this. They inconvenienced me. They should give me the money I failed to get because of their carelessness. I want P25,000 compensation.


I'm not an attorney so I can't offer you legal advice but I suspect legal action is not the right choice.

Clearly the bank messed things up big time. Listing you with a credit reference bureau incorrectly can have a serious effect on your future financial life. They need to remedy this situation as soon as possible and make sure your credit history is perfectly clean again. I've already emailed them and they're on it.

However, I think that's probably as far as you can take it. As far as I can see, you don't deserve P25,000 because you haven't lost P25,000. What you lost was an opportunity to borrow P25,000 from another bank and then try your luck with the sheep business. Remember that the P25,000 wasn't your money, it belonged to the second bank and they would have charged you interest on that loan.

What you lost was just an opportunity and we'll make sure the first bank helps to get your life back to normal as quickly as possible.

What can I do?

My husband and I purchased a bedroom suite from a store in Serowe. He was told he needed a payslip which he didn't have so the salespeople advised him to ask someone to apply for him using their payslip and he would just continue paying instalments. He suggested me and they called to ask me if I was ok with it and I went to the store right away. We agreed and I used my payslip. After about 6 months my husband lost his job meaning he had no income now. I tried pitching in to pay but it was not easy and sometimes I would miss it. I communicated this with the salespeople that I was struggling to pay for the goods. I asked them if I could return them. They advise me not to do so saying I would lose money but I didn't have a choice because at the time they were harassing me and even showing up to my workplace every second day which almost cost me my job. The debt was also not dropping significantly because it had arrears I was trying to pay off but they were still adding more interest every month.

I write to you now because this store has now handed my name over to Norman Bisset who are now constantly calling me to demand payments. I have tried my best to explain to them but they just ignore my pleas but all they do is demand payments. I can't afford to pay them because I am going out of a job in a few months even so my pay is so stretched since we are living off my small income which is also unreliable.


Unfortunately, there is very little helpful advice I can give you. As you probably understand now, it was a mistake to buy this furniture and it was another mistake to buy it using hire purchase. It was a mistake to do it your name and it would be a mistake to allow the store to repossess the furniture. The only thing I can suggest is that you speak to the debt collectors and try your best to negotiate a repayment plan you can afford. It will be hard work but the bad news is that debt doesn't ever go away.

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