Kimberley - More than 350 cases of fraudulent deductions from Sassa grant recipients in the Northern Cape have been referred for investigation.
This is according to Sassa provincial spokeswoman, Inno Khunou, who indicated that 98 of the reported cases had been successfully resolved.
Khunou was responding to the increasing number of complaints from grant beneficiaries regarding unauthorised deductions .
Some beneficiaries in Kimberley indicated that they had monthly deductions of R200 for electricity and a further R100 deducted for airtime from their grants.
Khunou said the problem of fraudulent and unauthorised deductions from accounts of beneficiaries had not only been experienced in the Northern Cape.
“The South African Social Security Agency nationally is inundated with inquiries about deductions made against social grants in general and unauthorised deductions in particular. The issue of those deductions are two-pronged.
“Firstly, direct deductions (authorised) are those that are made, for example, for funeral policies, with the consent of the beneficiary. Here, the law allows only one deduction not exceeding 10 percent of the grant value. Deductions from children’s grants and temporary disability grants will be discontinued in December and these beneficiaries will have to make alternative arrangements with their financial service providers.
“The second leg of deductions are the unauthorised deductions, for example, electricity and airtime,” Khunou said.
She urged anyone who experienced similar problems to contact Sassa’s offices immediately to resolve the matter.
“Sassa wishes to emphasise that a beneficiary who experiences these deductions, which they claim not to have authorised, needs to lodge a complaint at the nearest Sassa office or call the Sassa Northern Cape toll-free line on 0800 003 077.
“They will receive a reference number to help track progress and note the official handling of the matter. Thereafter, a dispute resolution form is filled in and an affidavit is taken. The case is compiled with its merits and referred to Sassa head office for thorough investigation and resolution.
“Having satisfied all the pertinent questions of the investigations, Sassa will then take a decision whether the complainant is to be refunded or block the deductions for those meters or cellphone numbers. In some instances, deductions made are linked to meter numbers and cellphone numbers of beneficiaries and, when approached, they acknowledge the deductions.”
Khunou also advised beneficiaries to be vigilant with their pin numbers and Sassa cards.
“Sometimes, parent give their grandchildren their grant pin numbers or write them down and then the children use the pin to buy airtime or electricity.
“Hence, each case is dealt with on its own merits and investigated fully. Purchases to those cellphone and meter numbers are blocked and deductions will never go through again.”
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