Statistics from the office of the Credit Ombud reveal an increase in the
number of women it has assisted in the first half of this year as compared to
the same period in 2012. Woman came knocking on the door of the Credit Ombud
for assistance with disputes ranging from credit bureau listings, non-bank
credit and debt counselling matters.
‘It seems as though more women are becoming aware of and are using our
services. We experienced a 29% increase in the number of women our office has
assisted when compared to the same period last year,’ says Credit Ombud Manie
van Schalkwyk.
Not only has the number of women assisted in this office increased, but
the gender gap in the number of cases logged is increasingly becoming smaller
.‘We have noted that the gender gap is
closing in respect of the number of cases that are brought to our
office. Looking at the statistics, our
office has traditionally assisted more males than females, but during the last year, that gap has become drastically smaller,
sitting at only 8% more male consumers this year as compared to 15% last year,’
he adds.
‘The work which we do through our outreach programmes is starting to
close the gap and resulting in more informed consumers across the board,’ adds
van Schalkwyk.
The top complaints from female consumers relates to statements of
account. The most common issues arising from this category of disputes are
incorrect balances, which result in:
Consumers complaining that they paid up the accounts, but that this
does not reflect on their statements
·
Consumers complaining about being handed over to debt collectors
when their accounts should not have been handed over (for some reason some of
the credit providers’ systems do not reflect the account as paid up)
“The fact that women are complaining about their statements of account
is in fact a very positive sign. We continuously advise consumers to scrutinise
their statements to ensure the correctness thereof. If women are complaining
about the accounts it means that they are heeding the advice and they are
checking their statements, which is essential.” says van Schalkwyk.
This year’s theme for Women’s Month is, ‘A Centenary of Working Together
towards Sustainable Women Empowerment and Gender Equality’. The office of the Credit Ombud recently
appointed its first Deputy Ombud, Reana Steyn. ‘Our office always strives towards developing and empowering women and Reana’s
appointment will serve to enhance the service our office provides to consumers
as she has vast experience within the credit industry,’ says van Schalkwyk.
Reana’s vision for the office is to focus on up-skilling and developing
employees, especially women, to enable each person to reach their personal
potential. Expanding the reach of the office through continuous interaction
with the member organisations and a variety of PR and consumer education
activities is also top on her agenda. ‘I believe that there are millions of
consumers who still need our assistance and advice. Every single person is important
and I will strive to reach and assist as many consumers as possible because so
many people have nowhere else to turn,’ says Reana.
Research recently released by Student Village, an organisation which
conducts student research and offers advisory services to students, indicate
that in the age category between 18 and 24, females were spending more than
males when it came to non-essential items such as jewellery and music. Developing
wise spending habits from an early age is vital in preparing consumers to
handle their credit matters in the future. ‘In 1956 women were bold and took
steps towards emancipating themselves.
In this era, the battle has now changed form and it’s a struggle towards
achieving financial freedom, the first steps of which requires taking control
of your credit and financial matters,’ adds van Schalkwyk.
Traditionally women have taken the back seat when it comes to finances
in their homes. Times have changed and
life has shifted since then and many households are headed by females or have
women as the main bread winner. Achieving good credit and financial habits
requires going back to basics and ensuring that the small issues are taken care
of. Van Schalkwyk advises women, especially those who are married or living
with partners to:
·
ensure that account and other payments are made on time – check
that your partner is also making payments on time
·
have house rules and open communication to ensure that there is
consent and consensus on purchasing major goods and applying for credit
·
check statements regularly to ensure that the correct information
is reflected and for you to know exactly what the outstanding balance is
As part of Women’s Month activities the office of the Credit Ombud aims
to partner with the Consumer Affairs office in Gauteng to educate consumers on
credit and financial well being. ‘We aim to partner with key stakeholders in
the industry as well as with government to educate consumers, especially
females during Women’s Month,’ adds van Schalkwyk.
Consumers can contact the office of the Credit Ombud for free assistance
on matters relating to listings on the credit bureau and all non-bank credit
transactions, such as clothing and furniture retail accounts, micro loans and
all other forms of credit available to consumers outside
the formal banking sector. The office
can be contacted on 0861 66 28 37; on the website www.creditombud.org.za or at ombud@creditombud.org.za
