A settlement figure is a specific thing, and asking for it by name is what gets you one. It is the amount that closes the loan today, including interest to the settlement date, rather than the balance shown on your last statement. Sanlam publishes one number for personal loan enquiries.
Sanlam personal loan contacts
- Telephone: 0860 726 526, weekdays 08:00 to 17:00
- Alternative number: 011 359 7700
- Head office: 2 Strand Road, Bellville, and 11 West Street, Houghton Estate, Johannesburg
- Website: sanlam.co.za now redirects to sanlamonline.co.za, which is where the loan pages and the call-back form sit
There is a call-back form on the site if you would rather not hold. For a settlement, the telephone is better, because you want the figure confirmed while you are on the call and then sent to you in writing.
Ask for these four things
- The settlement amount and the date it is valid until, because it changes daily as interest accrues
- A written settlement quotation sent to your email, not a figure quoted verbally
- The payment reference to use, and confirmation of which account the payment must go to
- Written confirmation once the account is paid up, and when it will reflect as settled on the credit bureaux
The paid-up letter is the document that matters months later, and it is far easier to obtain at the time than to chase afterwards. Ask for it explicitly rather than assuming it will arrive.
Your right to settle early
Under the National Credit Act you may settle a credit agreement early at any time, and the credit provider must give you a settlement amount on request. On most agreements the early settlement amount is the outstanding balance plus interest and fees to the settlement date. On some larger agreements an early termination charge may apply, so ask whether one is included in the figure you have been given and how it was calculated.
Also worth asking: whether the loan carries credit life insurance, and what happens to it on settlement. If the cover was paid for upfront over the term, part of it may be refundable when you settle early. That is a question the desk can answer and most borrowers never think to ask.
Do not pay a settlement into an account given over the phone
Payment-redirection fraud follows settlement conversations closely, because a large single payment is being arranged and the amount is already known to the fraudster if they have intercepted your mail. Use only the banking details printed on the written settlement quotation from Sanlam, and if those details differ from what you were told verbally, phone 0860 726 526 back on the published number and confirm before paying anything.
If something goes wrong
Put the dispute in writing and keep the reference. A complaint about a credit agreement goes to the National Credit Regulator, and a disputed listing on your credit record is taken up with the credit bureau and then with the Regulator. A complaint about the conduct of the financial services provider goes to the National Financial Ombud Scheme. All three are free to approach.
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