Max writes: I was called by a company who promised to send me a discount card that I can use for airtime, electricity and groceries. I asked for a written offer so that I could check their address and contact details. Soon afterwards an amount of R258.00 was deducted from my account.  I quickly called to enquire about the card and they promised to get back to me but never did. Now they do not answer their phones. I subsequently gave my bank, Absa, instructions to stop the deductions but they changed the deduction date and name of company and the debit orders keep going through.

Maya replies:

This type of telephonic product selling is not uncommon and often consumers do not realise what they have agreed to. Do not provide anyone with your banking details telephonically unless you are 100% certain that the company is legitimate. Take time to read through the information and find out if the company is above board. A Google search or checking out the Hello Peter website will tell you if others have had issues with the service provider.

Absa Bank investigated the matter and found that the client did show interest in the service offered and had agreed to take the service.

The issue, however, is whether or not the company has delivered on its services and Absa is awaiting an investigation by the company to provide proof that the service was delivered.

The problem is that the bank, in this case, is not a party to the agreement. Under the current payment rules the contract for a debit order lies between the person who has bought a service / product, and the company who has sold them the product / service.  The bank merely facilitates the payment between the two parties.

In this case the correct channel would be to lodge a complaint with the National Consumer Commission as the service provider has breached the Consumer Protection Act by not delivering on the services.

This, however, does not mean that one should not raise a complaint both with the bank and with the Payments Association of South Africa (PASA). There are far too many unscrupulous companies abusing the debit order system and in order to maintain the integrity of the system, the banking industry needs to ensure that those who access the system do so in an ethical manner.

If numerous complaints are raised about a service provider, PASA has the ability to investigate and remove the service provider from the debit order system. If you believe you have unauthorised debit orders going off your account contact both your bank and the Payments Association of South Africa at pasa@pasa.org.za.

Your bank has an obligation to refund unauthorised debit order transactions that are reported within 40 days. Absa introduced a first-to-market free online tool that allows Absa customers to reverse unauthorised debit orders at no cost within the first 40 days. The tool is available on the Absa Online Banking Portal and therefore does not require customers to go into a branch.

This article first appeared in City Press.