The Banking Adjudicator is concerned that banks may be contravening the Code of Banking Practice by failing to rewrite their documents in plain language.
As a result, in the interests of fairness he will disregard any unfair terms and conditions in bank documents when dealing with your complaints.
Also, banks will not be able to hide behind legal and technical language because the adjudicator, Neville Melville, says he will likewise disregard such language unless the bank can prove that it was explained to you.
All bank documents were supposed to have been rewritten in plain language and all unfair provisions removed by October 1 this year under the Code of Banking Practice to which all the major banks subscribe.
Before October 1, Melville says his office was given the discretion to decide whether reasonable steps had been taken to introduce plain language contracts.
The Banking Council of South Africa has informed the adjudicator's office that most of the major banks have complied with the undertaking "to some extent", but that the process had been delayed.
Melville says based on what the Banking Council has said, he is not in a position to determine whether banks have complied with the plain language requirement. He has called on the banks to indicate when they will be ready, because the Code of Banking Practice represents a collective undertaking by member banks to their customers.
Lora Rossler, public affairs manager at NBS, says the plain language project covers, among other things, legal contracts, letters on a vast range of issues, brochures, reports and publications.
It is a massive undertaking that the banks voluntarily undertook to implement. NBS appointed a team that put in place an extensive plain language project plan and prioritised the aspects to tackle first.
"There is limited experience and skills in South Africa in terms of plain language writing, specifically pertaining to the redrafting of legal contracts. We have therefore collaborated with the Banking Council to work jointly on some documents and have reworked some ourselves, for example, computer generated letters," Rossler says.
"Staff awareness training will start later this month," she says.
Len Stander, general manager of customer care and service quality at Absa, says Absa has committed itself to revising its contracts and that the process had started early this year. It is a major task as it involves all documents relating to the relationship between the bank and its customers, he says.
Clive Poplett, director of service delivery at Standard Bank, says Standard has completed most of the revision exercise, including documents in respect of mandates, safe custody and suretyships.
Most other credit documentation (guarantees, resolutions, consents, and so on) have been finalised, and the rest should be ready by early next year, Poplett says.
"In the spirit of the Code (of Banking Practice) and in the interests of fairness to our customers, we accept that should any unfair terms and conditions in recent bank documents come to light, the Banking Adjudicator has the discretion to disregard confusing legal or technical language," he says.