The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Is this a real job?

A relative of mine was "head hunted" for a job at one of the embassies. There was no interview but the HR keep telling him that they are completing the vetting process. This has been going on since February. The person took both of his phones claiming it's part of the vetting processes. Around June they said they were done vetting, spying and running checks on his family, people of prominent positions and will be returning the phone.

Every month they call to say he will start on the first of the next month but there is no offer letter, no phones returned just empty promises of vetting and a looming start date. I keep telling him this is a scam and keep asking him to report these people to the police but he says what if it ruins his chances of being hired. In addition they keep calling him telling him that they are preparing to disburse an allowance that he will use to attend training and a stay out allowance for being away from home. As part of the benefits of the job they promised to clear all of his debts as they claimed they don't allow for employees to have debts. They claimed to have cleared his mortgage and car loan two months ago. He could not check via his bank app as he doesn't have a phone. The other day I told him to log into his internet banking with my laptop only to find that nothing has been cleared.

I told him this sounds too good to be true. I told him to go to the embassy and ask to see HR but he is not wanting to go but rather just wait. This sounds like a new scam where people claim to be head hunting you for a position, working with inside HR people and God knows swindling innocent Batswana of their cellphones claiming to be vetting them.

You are completely correct. This is a scam. Sadly, your brother is in the same position many other scam victims find themselves. He's invested so much emotional energy in this that he can't see the truth. Luckily he has relatives like you who can try to persuade him but it's going to be a long fight to get him to see the truth. You privately told me which Embassy these scammers pretend to represent and I've contacted them. Perhaps they can alert the public so others don't fall for the same scam.

I'm also happy to talk to your brother if you think that will help?

When will it end?

Good day Richard. Please help me here. Is it possible that when you know you are finishing your loan this month then you are told there are arrears from when I was topping up the loan? I am a government employee and the instalments was taken directly from salaries. I had a loan with the bank and I went there to seek for a clearance letter but now I'm told the loan will only finish in November. I don't even understand what they mean because when I check the loan balance with the app from my phone it says 0. I just want a better explanation from them.

You're certainly entitled to that explanation. It's possible that the bank are correct, that the top-up to your loan forced them to recalculate things and extend your payment period. But if that's' the case, they should have told you about it.

Whatever is true, they need to check their arithmetic and give you a full statement of the loan and explain what you owe and when the loan will end.

I'll also contact them and suggest they check their records and tell you what you need to know.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

They have my car!

I recently pawned my car. I haven't signed the contract yet but when I read the terms and conditions it said I needed to pay a fixed interest of 30%. Now what I want to understand is does this then mean I pay this interest every month or it's once off and I return the money owed in the 3 month period? This is how I understood the terms to be, but now they called and said that 30% is for every month. I borrowed 10k that means I'd have to return 19k which is almost 100% interest on the loan.

My grievance is that if they had explained it I would have never agreed to the loan but I have not signed the contract. They asked me to come back so they can try and rectify because they hadn't explained to me they said they just started so they don't want to be reported to NBFIRA.

I handed over the blue book and agreed to the installation of the tracker and when we got back they forgot to give me the contract. They called me later and they said they want to offer me 25% instead of 30% and that I should come to their office so they can rectify their mistake. I haven't touched the P10,000 yet.

This is a mess. Firstly, you've learned how expensive it can be when you pawn goods. It's not abnormal for pay almost twice the value of the item over three months. Also, if things go wrong with the repayments, the situation favours only the pawn shop. You'll be left without your property and still facing huge payments that will only increase the longer you delay paying them.

However, in your case there might be some hope. If you still have the P10,000 it might be worth sending the money back to them and saying that as there's no agreement in writing, there's no agreement they can enforce. And then, because they told you they don't want you to contact NBFIRA, that's exactly what you should do. That's almost a confession that they know they'll be in trouble. So they deserve it.

Can I have my pension?

I am currently unemployed and I was hoping to be assisted with a portion of my pension fund so I can make a living out of it but with the pension funds regulations I am not getting any assistance while I suffer with financial hardships.

They said I can only have access to my funds if I have a health condition that hinders me from never working again or I just wait until retirement age to encash 25%. Is there no where I can reach out to and launch my plea for an exception because how will I get by till I reach 40 or 45 years?

Unfortunately, I don't think I can offer you any good news. I'm not an expert but I know that pension schemes are very different from other forms of saving. The money you put in a savings account with a bank is normally easily accessible. At worst, the bank might put in some penalties for withdrawing your money but you can get hold of it. But pension schemes are different and the laws that govern them are different and very strict. The money you invest in a pension scheme is for your retirement and not before that. Even when you do retire, there are restrictions on how much you can withdraw and what you can do with the rest.

It might be worth speaking to a financial advisor who can confirm the details in your case and they can probably also offer you some debt counselling and help you to manage your finances now as well as when you retire.