A Kenisington mom says she has lost almost R50 000 after she signed up with a debt review company which turned out to be bogus.
Dalene Fischer, 46, says she paid the company thousands every month to help settle her crippling skuld, only to find out they haven’t been paying her bills at all.
She says in 2016, her accounts fell into arrears, and she saw an advertisement for a debt review company, Jacobs and Associates, on Facebook.
“I made contact with them on Facebook and an appointment was set up for a meeting with owner Bevan Jacobs in Bellville. I took all the documents. They did a restructuring plan and I signed the documentation. They were going to pay off my debt,” Dalene explains.
The mother of three says she paid a non-refundable initiation fee of R2000, and thereafter a monthly fee of R3106.07 for 15 months, amounting to R48591.05.
Dalene Fischer says she paid Jacobs and Associates thousands every month only to find out they haven’t been paying her skuld at all.
Pictures supplied
Dalene, who works as an administrator in the accounts department of a large company, says she owed several creditors about R100 000, including clothing accounts, credit cards and loans she had made.
“At the end of 2017, I started getting calls from creditors telling me I have not made any payments. I contacted Jacobs and asked why they were not paying my creditors and they could not give me any answers. He promised they would reimburse me and in email exchanges they agreed to pay me back. To date, nothing has been paid. At the same time, I started seeing bad reviews of the company on Hello Peter and Facebook with people who had the same problem.
“I then went to the National Credit Regulator (NCR) and after they completed their investigation, I received the documentation stating Jacobs and Associates were not even registered,” Dalene says angrily.
The NCR’s Isabella Klynsmith confirmed in a letter: “It appears that Jacobs & Associates conducts services as an alternative dispute resolution agent, without being registered and accredited as such in terms of section 134A of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005.
“Accordingly, the National Credit Regulator will consider taking the necessary steps against Jacobs & Associates insofar as it relates to them engaging in activities without being registered in accordance with the provisions of the National Credit Act.”
Dalene Fischer says Jacobs and Associates never paid her accounts
The Daily Voice tried tracking down Jacobs and Associates, but its telephone numbers, email addresses and website are no longer active.
“I am beyond frustrated. I’ve been to attorneys and no one seems to be able to help me get my money back,” says Dalene.
She has since signed up with another debt review company.
“I signed up with another company and they send me statements of payments.”