Banks in South Africa are not doing enough to solve consumers' problems, Neville Melville, the Banking Adjudicator, says.
At present, on average 45 percent of complaints finalised by his office are in favour of consumers and this figure is still far to high. Ideally, the banks should be resolving all legitimate complaints internally, he says.
Consumers can also take charge of their banking affairs to prevent problems. Here are some tips from the Banking Adjudicator:
* Make sure you have adequate life assurance to cover the outstanding amount on your home loan or any other loan if something happens to you. If you don't, the financial consequences for your family may be severe;
* Make sure your homeowners insurance cover is up to date. If you don't and something happens to your home, you will have to continue to repay your loan and you may have to borrow more money to rebuild your property;
* Read the fine print on any bank document you sign;
* Be extra careful about signing sureties. You can be called upon honour them at a time when you cannot afford to. When the debt for which the surety was signed has been settled, insist that your bank cancels the surety; and
* If you want to be certain that you have been paid by somebody is depositing money directly into your account, ensure that the person deposits cash and not a cheque. Beware too of relying on bank receipts which may be bogus. Don't release goods to people until you are quite certain that you have been paid.