Update
GEORGE NEWS - An hours-long sit-in by local attorney Wilhelm van der Vyver and his elderly mother, Donna, at First National Bank in George probably spared Donna a lot of additional distress at a time of mourning after her husband's passing last week.
Dawid van der Vyver (81) passed away on Wednesday 8 April after being hospitalised when he fell ill [not the coronavirus].
The policy was part of his bank account benefits from at least 2012, according to Wilhelm, and since 2018 he had to make monthly deposits. When Wilhelm called the bank's call centre on Thursday to enquire about the procedure to obtain payout, he was told that he would have to first get an executor's letter and open an estate account because no beneficiary had been registered to the policy.
"I became anxious because that meant the money would be paid out to my mom three to six months from now, but she needed the money for the funeral now," said Wilhelm. "As it is we are in a trying time with the lockdown and this was all adding to the distress and pain caused by my father's passing."
After a return call from the call centre's team leader did not realise by Saturday - as was promised by an agent - Van der Vyver took his mother to the branch on Tuesday morning, 14 April. They refused to leave before he could speak to the bank manager and state his mother's case.
His relentless insistence and refusal to leave, as well as a call to George Herald from inside the bank to make them aware that the press has been alerted, was apparently the right approach. The money was eventually transferred after more than six hours.
"My dad left very accurate and neat documentation behind with specific instructions. There was no way that he would be negligent about not having a beneficiary on the policy. In terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services regulations (FAIS), the onus was on the bank to prove that its broker had informed my dad about such an important specification," said Van der Vyver.
"My concern now is other FNB funeral policy holders. Your typical person is not financially well-off and needs the funds to bury their loved one. That the bank does not properly arrange for its clients' policies to be in order and then use it to delay payment up to a point where it is almost irrelevant, is a shame."
George Herald is awaiting comment from FNB's media desk. This story will be updated at www.georgeherald.com as soon as their response is received.
Update: bank relents and pays elderly client after sit-in
'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'
