How to lose a bonus

A future client of mine came to me with tears in his eyes this morning. Ok, that's a little dramatic, but he was really miffed, to say the least. I call him a future client, because he isn't a client of mine, but he will be very soon.

He is currently insured with a direct insurer. You know the type that promises bonuses if you don't claim? Ok.

Now, our hero, has been waiting for his cash back bonus for about 3 years and he was absolutely certain that it was due this week. He eagerly checked his bank statement... nothing. So eventually, when he couldn't wait any longer he called the insurer's call-centre, only to be told he has to wait another 2 years.

They explained to him that when he insured his wife's car, about a year ago, the car was inspected by an auto glass company. Round about the same time, they repaired a small chip on her windscreen, which they duly claimed from his insurance. So, his insurer regards that as a claim, and his 3 year period until the cash back bonus starts all over again.

So his R200 windscreen repair claim cost him about R3'500 in a lost bonus.

So, is a cash back bonus really all it's cracked up to be? Is it really worth waiting 3 years to possibly get something out? Whilst all along, our hero could have saved on his monthly insurance premium instead. But he waited for a bonus that he didn't get!

If it were me, I'd rather save every month than wait for a possibility of getting some cash back 3 or 4 years down the road. And let's be honest, this is South Africa. We have arguably the highest road accident and crime statistics in the world. What are the chances of not claiming for 3 full years? Not very good.

Who stole me?

Seriously... Identity theft is becoming a major problem here in South Africa.

I had a client call me last week, she had just applied for vehicle finance, and had also just been informed that her finance had been declined due to a bad credit rating. Now, that's where things get interesting. She hadn't applied for credit since early 2007, and then she had no problems.

But someone had after that... on her ID number, and they had run up a bill of R25k on a credit card and about R7k on a clothing account. Needless to say, they aren't paying those accounts!

So how do you get this mess sorted out? With great difficulty and a whole deal of red tape and all the associated bureaucracy, that's how. Including police case numbers, filling in dispute forms, lodging complaints, holding on for 2 hours in the credit bureau automated telephone system, time off work and so on.

Fortunately for my client, she has Identity Theft cover on her household insurance policy. It should make the experience a bit more bearable, not pleasant, but bearable.