Deon F

Broken business processes

I am extremely disappointed with the way Sanlam has handled my Retirement Annuity paid-up request and the subsequent refund process. I submitted a request on 20 February 2026 to make my RA policy paid up after SARS regulations limited the tax deductibility of contributions above a certain threshold. After waiting more than two months, I was informed on 28 April that the value had to be recalculated and that I needed to reapply, which I did immediately. Despite the policy already being in the process of being made paid up, Sanlam still debited my bank account on 5 May 2026 — and for an increased contribution amount. When I contacted Sanlam, I was told that communication between departments was “too lengthy” and that the debit order department had not been informed of the paid-up request. I was assured that the debit order would be cancelled and refunded. Instead, on 12 May, I was asked to provide written confirmation guaranteeing the debit order would clear before the refund could even be processed — despite the money already having left my account days earlier. Since then, communication has been extremely poor: * Repeated follow-ups result mostly in automated responses * Response times of up to 30 days are quoted * No meaningful written updates are provided * I have had to spend long periods waiting in call queues for basic information As of 26 May 2026, I still had no formal written confirmation regarding: * the status of the paid-up request, or * the refund of the debit order. For a financial institution entrusted with retirement savings, this level of administrative inefficiency, poor interdepartmental coordination, and lack of customer communication is deeply concerning. This experience has significantly undermined my confidence in Sanlam as a credible financial institution. The lack of communication and broken business processes makes me think I a dealing with a ponzi scheme.