East Coast Radio - Catch Up Consumer Hacks with Wendy Knowler

Still using the green ID book? Let your bank help you out, pronto

Loading player...
Home Affairs has launched a site that shows you the closest bank branch where you can apply for a Smart ID Card. It's at myhomeaffairsonline.dha.gov.za.

There are 372 participating branches so far, and new ones appear on the site as they sign up. Since March, more than half a million people have applied for a Smart ID through a bank rather than a Home Affairs office.

The reason to bother: the green barcoded ID book is the fraud-prone one. It's far easier to abuse than the card so if you're still carrying the book, look up your branch and go and swap it.
12 Aug English South Africa Education · Self-Improvement

Other recent episodes

Check the stars before you sign

Before you buy a car, look up how it performed in a crash test. Global NCAP has been crash testing cars sold in South Africa for years and the results are free on its website. The gap between models is enormous. Two cars that look alike and cost almost the…
28 Aug 1 min

"No refunds" is not the last word

Have you ever booked a photographer, a venue, or an event planner, and then had to cancel? You may well have been told the deposit was non-refundable - end of discussion. The Consumer Protection Act says otherwise. You may cancel an advance booking, and the supplier may keep a reasonable…
27 Aug 1 min

Ask what they'll buy it back for

A woman came to me wanting to sell gold coins she'd bought years earlier as an investment. Here's the thing about anything sold to you as an investment that you can hold in your hand: coins, collectibles, memorabilia. There are two prices: what a dealer will sell it to you…
26 Aug 1 min

A discount you can't use isn't compensation

When something goes wrong, companies love to offer a voucher or a percentage-off-your-next-purchase as compensation, rather than money. One family was given 25% off future flights by SAA. Generous, until they tried to book and found there was simply no way to apply the discount at the payment stage because…
25 Aug 1 min

Cancelled isn't cancelled until they say so in writing

A woman's husband had a stroke seven years ago and hasn't been able to use his phone since. She says the account was closed. The billing carried on anyway. This is the among the most common complaint I get. You phone, someone says they'll cancel it, and nobody does. Months…
24 Aug 1 min
All episodes