THE CREDIT Ombud released a report today that said it had seen a decrease of 45 percent in complaints and enquiries that came through its call centre, because many industries saw a decline in profits and, as a result, had to close their doors amid the Covid-19 economic destruction.
This had an impact on its statistics, as the organisation saw a drop of 29 percent in the number of disputes opened and a 37 percent decrease in the number of disputes closed.
“The drop in numbers may be the result of 2020 being the first full year in which we no longer assisted consumers with credit bureau information relating to banking queries, and with non-member complaints being referred to the National Credit Regulator,” it said.
Despite the challenges, the Credit Ombud said it had saved consumers about R3.45 million.
The most common non-bank credit cases dealt with by the Credit Ombud ranged from disputes regarding consumers’ statements of account, fraud and prescription of debt, it said. Many cases had resulted in balances being written off and refunds being facilitated, or consumers had been assisted with entering into payment arrangements.
The most common disputes relating to credit information cases included insufficient or incomplete credit information at the credit bureaus, prescription, outdated credit information and fraud.
The office said it had resolved more than 60 percent of the disputes in consumers’ favour, signalling that consumers’ complaints were fully or partially upheld.
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