A WesBank client who is currently battling with the financial provider at the Constitutional Court over allegedly being defrauded, says his family has suffered depression after losing their belongings.
The disgruntled client, Mzukisi Ndara, said his family had been forced to sell their properties after WesBank blacklisted him.
He said the situation forced him to sell their properties in Beacon Bay and Dorchester Heights in East London.
Ndara said this even led to his wife, Unathi Ndara, losing her life.
This started when Ndara, a former senior manager at the Health Department in the Eastern Cape, entered into an instalment sale agreement to purchase a used 2004 Nissan X-Trail 2.2d SE.
The vehicle was valued at R270 000, but Ndara allegedly purchased it for R297 990 after the bank and dealership misled him.
The vehicle was a manual and diesel model that had travelled 6 470m.
He took the matter to the Constitutional Court last week after various courts dismissed his case.
Asked for comment, WesBank said Ndara is within his right to pursue the legal options available to him. The bank said his case had been tested across various tiers of the South African justice system and the courts had consistently found in favour of WesBank.
In court papers, Ndara said the vehicle was delivered on November 25, 2004.
The vehicle was presented as a used one by the dealership to promote and demonstrate its features to customers in its first registration on October 8, 2004. But WesBank and the dealership presented the status of the vehicle as a new Nissan X-Trail and a superior model.
Ndara said this was the reason the price of the vehicle was allegedly inflated to R297 990.
Ndara added that WesBank and the dealership carefully and fraudulently sought to hide the information that the motor vehicle was used.
“In addition to the fact that the respondents fraudulently withheld the true facts and sold the aforementioned motor vehicle at an inflated price of R297 990 with an interest rate of prime plus 4.5% as opposed to prime less 2% to which I was entitled as a senior manager or director of a government department under WesBank Government Scheme agreement.”
Ndara said the net instalment he was required to pay was R8 000.22 without car insurance. This amounted to R8 857.09 after he added insurance.
He said WesBank also failed to provide him with a copy of the offer to purchase despite numerous promises to do so.
“The result of which was that the same was signed by the dealership’s employee single-handedly,” he said.
“I respectfully submit that was not an oversight or mistake on their part, but was committed through a fraudulent connivance among respondents. Such an inadvertence was deliberate and in direct conflict with WesBank policy of July 1, 2023. The policy titled WesBank Electronic Record Transmission, Retention and Destruction Policy, expressly mandated the process manager had to monitor and evaluate the documents to ensure the completeness and correctness of the electronic record (paper documents) filed failing which any action or omission by any WesBank personal or agent that constitutes a material deviation from this policy must be reported to the process manager.”
Ndara further said that at that time he also owned a Nissan Almera 160 that he was still paying monthly instalments for after he had received a vehicle finance loan from ABSA Bank.
He said he had to trade the vehicle for R140 982.91 to settle the debt with ABSA but WesBank secretly added the money to the retail price of the sold motor vehicle Nissan X-Trail.
“Effectively this means that I was also liable and continued to carry the burden for Nissan Almera.
“The net effect of the Instalment Sale Agreement was that I was paying for two vehicles - the X-Trail and Almera, and this again reflected the orchestrated fraudulent conduct of the respondents,” Ndara said.
Ndara said he requested the termination of the agreement but WesBank refused and made a reload application, an attempt to restructure the agreement. He added that this was done without his consent and signature.
“It was even alleged in the motivation that I was battling to cope with instalments whereas in fact and in truth I did not agree to restructuring and my letter was clear that I wanted termination of the agreement.”
Ndara after numerous attempts fighting for his right WesBank blacklisted him. He said he was forced to sell his properties in Beacon Bay and Dorchester Heights to pay the full amount owed to WesBank.
Ndara said, as a result, his family suffered depression.
“I wish to add that in and as a consequence of the unlawful actions of the respondents as set out above, my wife and I started to agonisingly suffer depression such that she was virtually in and out of hospital almost quarterly, sometimes she had to be hospitalised not in the healthcare centres of our choices because the funds in medical aid were exhausted.
The financial constraints I am now continuously exposed hitherto are a direct result of credit worthiness and diminished reputation and impairment of dignity and loss of quality life for status, precipitated by blacklisting on credit bureau by WesBank, whereas I was credit worthy before hence the conclusion of the 2004 instalment sale agreement.”
Ndara added: “In and as a result of the above, I continue to endure pain and suffering, stress and trauma, emotional shock, severe depression which destroyed me and led to constant and continued hospitalisation and continuation of the footing of the medical bills for my late wife until her demise on May 31, 2023.”