Kimberley - The National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (Numsa) as well as the Financial Services Board (FSB) and Metal Industries Benefit Funds Administrators (MIBFA) have warned pensioners against paying for their surplus pension fund claims to be processed.
This comes after about 300 pensioners queued outside a house in Homelite on Wednesday where services are apparently offered to facilitate the payments... but at a fee of R300.
Pensioners believed that the fee to process their applications was little in comparison to the money that would be deposited into their bank accounts.
“We do not think that this is a scam. We only need to bring in our identity documents, a pay slip and proof of residence.”
One pensioner said that he was promised R24 000, although his application had not been approved seven months after he had paid the fee.
Some stated that they would pay R300 once their applications had been approved while another group indicated that they had already paid R300 upon presenting their ID books on Wednesday.
One “employee” of a nameless “company” that facilitates the MIBFA payments, said on Wednesday that she was unable to provide the media with a copy of the application form and referred all enquiries to her daughter.
“We have not settled any payments yet but when we do, we will hold a spit braai and a press briefing. Lawyers do the same thing but charge the pensioners up to 10 percent of the payouts. Depending on the years of service, we can process claims of between R20 000 and R500 000.”
The daughter who indicated that she had set up a community help centre last year, indicated that it would take between six to 18 months to finalise payments.
“We have special powers of attorney and the R300 is for the administration, making copies and petrol to save the pensioners from driving all the way to Johannesburg. We assist pensioners from all companies by forwarding their identity numbers to our agent in Johannesburg where the surplus pension is calculated and paid directly into their banking accounts. Our business does not have a name and we are not a branch of MIBFA. We are not a registered company... we are here to assist the community.”
She added that they were open on Mondays and Wednesdays for new applications.
“On Tuesdays and Thursdays people can come and check their applications and on Fridays, I work with the bank accounts.”
Numsa local organiser, Tshepo Mokhele, said the union was aware of the business that was operating in Homelite and urged their members to visit Numsa offices at 1 Wales Street instead.
“We process surplus payments free of charge. The fund was set up by the unions to assist all metal, manufacturing and engineering workers who were underpaid.”
The MIBFA added that they had also received complaints where agencies were making use of their name in order to allegedly scam members of the public.
“Pensioners should contact us directly on 086 150 4455 because we can check if their names appear on the database to confirm if they qualify as well as the payment of a claims.”
The MIBFA confirmed that it had no agents or offices other than its headquarters in Johannesburg.
“There is a zero tolerance for anyone who may be misrepresenting us. The funds are in respect of the interest on pension funds.”
The FSB indicated that it had also received a number of complaints of allegations of bogus companies claiming money on behalf of the MIBFA.
“Any organisation linked to the MIBFA should produce an application form with a registered letterhead and cover page marked with the trademark logo. It is very difficult to stop bogus companies or to charge them criminally because they simply change the company name. We instead advise community members on what to look out for.”
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