Bank installs caretaker at home-owner's property that looked 'abandoned' (she was in arrears)

Wendy Knowler details what happened and why, on The Money Show.

Did you know that if the bank financing your home thinks it's abandoned, they can get an insurance company to install a caretaker to protect the asset (jointly theirs and yours) until you move back?

Consumer journo Wendy Knowler investigates this practice after a query from someone who owns a house in Weltevreden Park in Roodepoort.

In arrears with her bond repayments, Mpho decided to go and stay with her family nearby when the electricity supply was disconnected.

Between herself and her siblings, they ensure the property is checked on regularly, she told Knowler.

“The longest period I was away from the house was between the 20th and 30th of December, as I was on holiday with my family in Durban."

“However, I was appalled to discover that a company had gotten a locksmith in and taken control of my property, claiming to have been sent by Nedbank - which finances my home loan - to ‘guard’ the house."

Mpho 

The home owner was particularly taken aback as she says Nedbank did not contact her, except via an email address she has not used since 2013.

And now, Mpho adds, several personal items are missing from her home, and she has before and after photos taken by the agency to prove it.

This case illustrates just how important it is to ensure that your bank has your current cellphone number, email address and physical address on record as your contact details.

"Apart from issues such as these, while a court can’t grant a judgment against you if the bank bringing the case can’t show that it sent you a Section 129 notice (a formal letter of demand), the bank’s only obligation is to send this letter to your chosen address by registered post."

Wendy Knowler, Consumer Journalist

The bank does not have to prove that you received the notice.

And that’s why so many default judgments are granted against alleged debtors, i.e. without their knowledge or participation, Knowler cautions.

To hear more details of this consumer saga, listen to the interview audio at the top of the article