A number of Eastern Cape teachers are crying foul after monies were deducted from their salaries for insurance policies and beneficiaries they have never heard of.
As a result, some teachers are said to have since opened criminal cases after amounts ranging between R100 and R1500, were allegedly deducted by insurance company Assupol Life.
They claim this was done without their consent, with some deductions dating back more than two years.
Assupol spokeswoman Mpumi Mda, who could not comment on what the insurer would do about the complaints, yesterday said the problem was not exclusive to Assupol.
“We are aware of syndicates in the Eastern Cape that are selling false policies.
“These syndicates obtain the pay sheets of the victims, possibly at a payroll office or through a connection, and submit business without the client’s consent.
“This challenge, however, is not exclusive to Assupol Life but to other insurers as well. Due to the sensitivity of this matter, we cannot respond on individual cases we do not know specifics about,” she said.
So widespread is the problem in the province, that Saturday Dispatch has in recent weeks been inundated with complaints from across the province.
Some affected teachers who spoke to Saturday Dispatch this week come from areas such as Port Elizabeth, East London, Kwelerha, Elliotdale, Uitenhage, Kenton-on-Sea, Grahamstown, Mdantsane, Port Alfred, Mthatha and King William’s Town.
Many claim to have been sent from pillar to post when they tried to rectify this with the insurance company.
Others claim the premiums would be cancelled after complaints, for such deductions to resurface again at a later stage.
A Kenton-on-Sea school teacher Nosipho Dyonase, who started working for provincial education department in 2015, is one of them.
Dyonase said she had been paying thousands of rands in insurance premiums for four beneficiaries she did not know.
“I had no insurance policy with Assupol, but later discovered money ranging from R100 to R1500, was deducted for three other policies.
“I complained and they promised to cancel them, but that was never done. I also discovered I was paying R700 monthly since 2015 for beneficiaries I never heard of,” she said.
She has since opened a fraud case with East London police. However that could not be confirmed by police spokesman Captain Mluleki Mbi by the time of writing yesterday.
Matata Mnukwana, a teacher at Xuba Junior Secondary School in Elliotdale, was also not happy when monthly premiums of R500 were deducted without his consent.
“I only noticed this after months. When I went to cancel that with Assupol, I was told the person who was working with their brokers in this fraud was based at department’s headquarters in Zwelitsha.
“I was told the people who give away our information were the ones entrusted with our confidential information at the department,” he said.
Mnukwana said an address listed in his fraudulent policy was in Lusikisiki while he lived in East London. He said he knew of more than 10 other teachers in Elliotdale who suffered the same fate.
A teacher at King’s Mission in Kwelerha, Nozuko Xulubana, has been defrauded of over R8000 in monthly instalments for past 10 months.
She started working for the department after graduating from Fort Hare in 2015.
She said most of those she graduated with – and who have since been absorbed by the department – are having similar problems.
Provincial education spokesman Loyiso Pulumani, said he was not aware of any formal complaints laid with the department.
“However we view this in a very serious light and we urge all those affected to come forward so that we can formally investigate this fraud,” he said.
Provincial secretary of Sadtu, the biggest teachers union in the province, Chris Mdingi, yesterday said some complaints had been reported to their office.
He said it was tantamount to “fraud and theft” and that those responsible “should be speedily brought to book”.
“We condemn this in the harshest terms. It is fraudulent and theft at its best. It is very unfortunate and needs to be stopped with immediate effect,” Mdingi said.
The Afrikaans teachers union, Die Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysersunie (SAOU), last week issued a warning to all their provincial affiliates alerting them of what needs to be done in the case of monies being deducted.
The union said affected members should:
lReport the matter to police and request an affidavit or case number;
lReport it to the insurance company, saying people must also ask for a reference number for calls or keep e-mails as proof; and
lMembers needed to write a letter to the education district office for them to cancel the deduction, and that such letter should also be kept as proof of communication, they stated in their statement. — asandan@dispatch.co.za
Teachers cry foul over pay deductions
As a result, some teachers are said to have since opened criminal cases after amounts ranging between R100 and R1500, were allegedly deducted by insurance company Assupol Life.
They claim this was done without their consent, with some deductions dating back more than two years.
Assupol spokeswoman Mpumi Mda, who could not comment on what the insurer would do about the complaints, yesterday said the problem was not exclusive to Assupol.
“We are aware of syndicates in the Eastern Cape that are selling false policies.
“These syndicates obtain the pay sheets of the victims, possibly at a payroll office or through a connection, and submit business without the client’s consent.
“This challenge, however, is not exclusive to Assupol Life but to other insurers as well. Due to the sensitivity of this matter, we cannot respond on individual cases we do not know specifics about,” she said.
So widespread is the problem in the province, that Saturday Dispatch has in recent weeks been inundated with complaints from across the province.
Some affected teachers who spoke to Saturday Dispatch this week come from areas such as Port Elizabeth, East London, Kwelerha, Elliotdale, Uitenhage, Kenton-on-Sea, Grahamstown, Mdantsane, Port Alfred, Mthatha and King William’s Town.
Many claim to have been sent from pillar to post when they tried to rectify this with the insurance company.
Others claim the premiums would be cancelled after complaints, for such deductions to resurface again at a later stage.
A Kenton-on-Sea school teacher Nosipho Dyonase, who started working for provincial education department in 2015, is one of them.
Dyonase said she had been paying thousands of rands in insurance premiums for four beneficiaries she did not know.
“I had no insurance policy with Assupol, but later discovered money ranging from R100 to R1500, was deducted for three other policies.
“I complained and they promised to cancel them, but that was never done. I also discovered I was paying R700 monthly since 2015 for beneficiaries I never heard of,” she said.
She has since opened a fraud case with East London police. However that could not be confirmed by police spokesman Captain Mluleki Mbi by the time of writing yesterday.
Matata Mnukwana, a teacher at Xuba Junior Secondary School in Elliotdale, was also not happy when monthly premiums of R500 were deducted without his consent.
“I only noticed this after months. When I went to cancel that with Assupol, I was told the person who was working with their brokers in this fraud was based at department’s headquarters in Zwelitsha.
“I was told the people who give away our information were the ones entrusted with our confidential information at the department,” he said.
Mnukwana said an address listed in his fraudulent policy was in Lusikisiki while he lived in East London. He said he knew of more than 10 other teachers in Elliotdale who suffered the same fate.
A teacher at King’s Mission in Kwelerha, Nozuko Xulubana, has been defrauded of over R8000 in monthly instalments for past 10 months.
She started working for the department after graduating from Fort Hare in 2015.
She said most of those she graduated with – and who have since been absorbed by the department – are having similar problems.
Provincial education spokesman Loyiso Pulumani, said he was not aware of any formal complaints laid with the department.
“However we view this in a very serious light and we urge all those affected to come forward so that we can formally investigate this fraud,” he said.
Provincial secretary of Sadtu, the biggest teachers union in the province, Chris Mdingi, yesterday said some complaints had been reported to their office.
He said it was tantamount to “fraud and theft” and that those responsible “should be speedily brought to book”.
“We condemn this in the harshest terms. It is fraudulent and theft at its best. It is very unfortunate and needs to be stopped with immediate effect,” Mdingi said.
The Afrikaans teachers union, Die Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysersunie (SAOU), last week issued a warning to all their provincial affiliates alerting them of what needs to be done in the case of monies being deducted.
The union said affected members should:
lReport the matter to police and request an affidavit or case number;
lReport it to the insurance company, saying people must also ask for a reference number for calls or keep e-mails as proof; and
lMembers needed to write a letter to the education district office for them to cancel the deduction, and that such letter should also be kept as proof of communication, they stated in their statement. — asandan@dispatch.co.za
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