EDITOR – I noticed that a strange debit order came off of my account last month for an amount of R199. Debit order details said ‘SERVICE AGREEMENT EXTL EM’.
I got hold of my bank and was told that it will cost me R22 to do a trace.
After a few days they got back to me and told me that the debit order was from Extreme Lifestyle. I tried phoning Extreme Lifestyles six times; four times my call was dropped and the other two times I was told that they were off-line and that I should call back in 10 minutes’ time.
My bank has informed me that if I fill in a form within 40 days, and pay a certain amount of money, I can get a refund from them. A stop will be put on this debit order.
What they also told me is that they cannot stop this company from changing the amount and re-debiting my account whenever they feel like it.
When I asked them how this company got permission to debit my account and where was the proof, the bank told me that it was a legal matter that I had to take up with the company and not them.
So, my bank blindly accepts any debit order request, from anyone, and makes no effort to check that the account holder has given permission. And our only recourse is to take costly and time-consuming legal action against the company doing it.
I agree that these guys are thieving frauds, but surely the bank should take some responsibility for how debit orders can just be indiscriminately put onto someone’s account without any written or verbal proof from the account holder.
Please be warned that this fraud is real and happens a lot. Make sure you meticulously check your bank statements every month.
Ryan Purvis
Cato Ridge
