How Sassa beneficiaries can protect themselves from dodgy deals

The simple act of throwing away your grant receipt or statement can mean funeral cover premium deductions being made from your Sassa grant for a policy you never wanted or needed.

Evashnee Naidu from social justice organisation the Black Sash has warned social grant beneficiaries to be careful when handling their grant documents and cautioned them against signing documents they do not understand.

The Black Sash has helped several beneficiaries who have been tricked into signing up for funeral policies they did not need.

“People should keep their statements and any piece of paper they get from Sassa because it might have the beneficiary’s ID number, which can be used to open a fraudulent insurance policy,” said Naidu.

She said insurance companies are also manipulating unemployed youth into becoming touts for them. Sowetan has noticed several digital content creators inviting unemployed youth to apply as agents, where the minimum requirements are a smartphone and grade 11 with no experience in sales needed.

Naidu said that by law loan sharks are not permitted to operate within 100 metres of Sassa offices.

“But now you find them with their tables near the gates inviting people to take up loans and bank cards. The insurance companies also rebrand themselves frequently to hide themselves once they have been found to be tricking pensioners,” said Naidu.

Sassa said it has received 124 complaints since July last year to cancel dodgy funeral policies.

However, the national office of the ombudsman said it has not received any complaints from either Sassa or its beneficiaries.

“Our office has the authority to investigate these complaints, and we encourage affected individuals to lodge their complaints with us directly,” said spokesperson Amukelani Maringa.

Tips from the ombudsman’s office:

• Ask for a copy of your funeral or insurance policy and read it thoroughly. Make sure you understand the terms and conditions of your policy and contact your insurance company if you have any questions.
• If you are buying a funeral policy from a salesperson, always make sure that they have a licence from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
• Ask them to show you their licence. If you have any dealings with a salesperson, the administrator or the insurer, keep written proof of the dealings and always make sure you know who the insurer is.
• If there is an application form, fill it in yourself if possible. Make sure you read everything on the form, including the fine print. Ask questions if anything on the form is not clear.
• If you are not happy with a new insurance policy, you have a 30-day “cooling-off” period after you receive it to cancel it without penalty.

Sowetan