Mosaic Funerals is cautioning their clients to be aware of a funeral policy scam that could affect their cover and is encouraging them to get in touch to check on the status of their funeral policies.
Mosaic Funeral Group spokesperson, Ronnie Collins, has expressed the group’s deep concern for their clients’ funeral policies. “It has come to our attention that individuals not employed by Mosaic have been personally visiting, SMSing and phoning Mosaic Funeral Group clients and making disparaging and false claims about our services. These individuals have also urged our clients to make funeral policy payments into unverified bank accounts, instead of to Mosaic.”
Collins states that this would put their policies at risk and could leave some clients without cover. “We have received complaints from clients being harassed in numerous locations nationwide. We have received affidavits from our clients in the Groblersdal, Dennilton and Kwaggafontein areas and will be taking the appropriate action.”
It seems that these unscrupulous individuals have devised a clever plan to scam Mosaic Funeral policy holders into switching their policies under false pretences or simply paying their usual policy fee into a bank account other than that of Mosaic. Mosaic clients across the country have reported that they continuously receive SMSs and telephone calls, instructing them to switch their policy provider or pay their premiums into an unknown bank account. Others have reported phone calls of a threatening nature as well as face to face visits to their homes from individuals telling them that they need to make payments into an alternative bank account.
Collins urges all Mosaic clients to make contact with them if they have been approached by any individuals, claiming to represent Mosaic Funeral Group or otherwise, regarding their Mosaic policies, to confirm that their cover is still in place. “We are concerned that the individuals in question are intentionally misleading consumers who may risk losing their cover.” He affirmed that Mosaic’s customer care team is standing by to explain and alleviate any uncertainties that clients may have.
“We will not allow our clients to be subjected to harassment and misinformation, and we will not allow them to be put at risk of losing their funeral cover. We will take appropriate action following an investigation. Mosaic Funeral Group is built on a reputation of being there for people during their hardest times and we stand by this,” concludes Collins.
How to Avoid Funeral Policy Fraud
Mosaic’s Funeral Cover Policy team have provided some valuable tips on how to ensure that you are not a victim of a funeral policy scam.
1. Make sure you only take out funeral cover from a reputable organisation: You can verify this with the FSCA by calling them on 080 020 2087 to see if the company is registered with them and are allowed to provide cover. A legitimate policy provider will also never ask you to pay cash up front before you have the final policy documentation.
2. Make sure you understand what you are signing: Never allow yourself to be fooled by complicated paperwork or legal jargon. You must always request the full policy information and read the fine print carefully. Ask questions if you don’t understand the terms and conditions. Financial service providers are obliged to disclose all the policy terms, to be transparent and to provide all the details.
3. Only deal with legitimate company representatives: It can be surprisingly easy for someone to impersonate the staff of your legitimate policy provider. You should never provide details of your policy and banking details to any representative who phones you. If you feel uncomfortable during a phone call, rather hang up and phone your provider directly or visit your nearest branch in person.
PERSONAL FINANCE