After a significant spike in the number of illegal debit orders, banks say action has been taken to clean the industry of rouge players. Despite much fanfare around the introduction of DebiCheck which puts customers in control of approving debit...
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Should you just hand back the keys?
You have bought the car of your dreams but within a year or two you realise that the installments, petrol and insurance are all just unaffordable. The car of your dreams is now giving you nightmares – so what can you do about it? One option is...
The fight against illegal debit orders
Why has it taken banks so long to take action against illegal debit orders? FNB recently issued a press release stating that it would reverse all debit orders and refund customers who have been victims of ProCall and Mzansi illegal debit orders....
Is The Entertainer still value for money?
The Entertainer is an app that typically gives discounts on spa days and offers 2-for-1 deals on meals, but some consumers are complaining about the service, which demands an annual upfront payment to access these deals. Complaints centre around...
Four mistakes to avoid when you’re in a car accident
By Sumarie Greybe, co-founder at short-term insurer Naked It’s the time of year for festive-season parties and holiday travel and, along with them, headlines and awareness campaigns about carnage on South Africa’s roads. The average driver in South...
Car repair industry overhaul will benefit motorists
The Competition Commission has long frowned on the monopolistic motor service and parts industry. But with their new set of proposals that’s all set to change. Motorists are set to save money when proposals drafted by the Competition Commission...
Should you use a financial price comparison website?
Shopping online is a perfectly acceptable way of getting what you want. But should you be doing that for your financial and risk products? Financial price comparison websites have changed the way in which consumers evaluate, apply for and consume...
Even financially sophisticated people fall for scams
About a year ago I was having coffee with an acquaintance who works in the financial industry. He is knowledgeable and well informed, so I was surprised when he told me about this amazing forex fund that he had invested in which was making him a...
Selling your car successfully
Selling your car can be a stressful experience, especially if you’re new to doing it. Follow these tips to sell your car without getting ripped off in the process. When it comes to selling a car, women in particular feel intimidated by the exercise...
What are your rights if a business goes bust?
When the economy takes a knock it’s not only consumers who struggle ‒ businesses struggle too. During the tough times it’s not uncommon for businesses to go bust as they battle to make ends meet. But it’s not always the economy that puts a strain...
Previous Articles
Free trial offers: how to avoid getting burnt
Companies sometimes offer free trials in an attempt to entice customers to sign up to a service or to buy a product they’re not familiar with. Trials are prevalent in the services and cosmetics industry where customers are offered free access to test products or given...
Buy-aid schemes: an alternative to bank rewards programmes
I have to confess that the concept of a buy-aid scheme is new to me, yet it is an industry with a turnover of well over R1 billion and annually pays out in the region of R130 million in bonuses to members. Cape Consumers, which recently re-branded as Bsmart, is the...
Car hire: the devil is in the detail
It may be tempting to take the keys of your hire car and drive off so that you can finally enjoy your holiday destination with your family. After all, you’ve waited a long time for this break and with all the political turmoil and work commitments bogging you down,...
Know your rights when it comes to your gym contract
Many of us would have prioritised our health and fitness in our New Year's resolutions, which may have included joining a gym. But before you signed on the dotted line of your gym contract, did you make sure you were familiar with the terms and conditions? It’s about...
Regulator challenges “set-off” rule
Court ruling may put an end to banks transferring funds without permission. Last year I came across the case of a Standard Bank client who had money deducted from his current account to settle his outstanding credit card, without his permission. In this specific case,...
Less SLOW Lounge for FNB customers
How many SLOW Lounge visits will you qualify for? My husband and I both travel frequently for work and the SLOW Lounge offers a little bit of respite from the general chaos and mayhem of airports, so we tend to maximise our usage most months. The FNB initiative with...
Why save for a holiday when you can borrow?
We’ve lost the plot when it comes to borrowing and saving Recently I had a conversation with a young woman who, along with her husband, is under debt review. She told me that they had just let their lifestyle get ahead of them – they bought a house, went a bit...
Over half of top shopping apps collect users’ personal information
More than half of the top 60 Android shopping apps collect users’ personal information through trackers, a new study finds, with South African favourites LetGo and OLX among apps with the highest number of trackers. The result is from a privacy risk assessment on...
Is MiBiz too good to be true?
There is a big difference between knowingly investing in a high-risk technology business and being sold misinformation. I recently wrote about a group of companies: AllQuotes, BuyDirect and MiBiz, which fall under a parent company called FinGroup. I wrote about...
Should you use a foreign currency account to save for an overseas holiday?
We recently ran an article on the various options for offshore bank accounts and highlighted foreign currency accounts (FCA) which are effectively on-shore accounts that are linked to your local bank account and have low minimum deposit rates. These could be used, for...