In South Africa, we see the vulnerable and financially needy being preyed on. One example of this is that grant beneficiaries at the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) have seen their Sassa grant payments disappear and deducted without their authorisation.
Sassa has now released a message to alert Sassa grant beneficiaries and alert them to how to avoid this from happening, saying:
Protect your grant from any unauthorized deduction/s.
The agency has said that should beneficiaries find that their Sassa grant was withdrawn without their consent, they can lodge a dispute. Here's how.
How To Lodge A Sassa Dispute
- Send an SMS to 34548
- At the top of the SMS, enter 'Topic: Dispute'
- Under that, type 'ID Number:' and then add your ID number
- Under that, type 'Name and surname:' and then add your name and surname as they appear on your ID
- Under that, type 'FSP Name:' and then add the company you are lodging a dispute against
- Under that, type 'Duration of the policy:' and then add how long the policy has been deducting
- Under that, type 'Reason for dispute:' and then either say 'I never signed a contract' or 'misrepresentation'
Sassa disburses more than 19 million permanent grants to vulnerable people living in South Africa every month. Their grants include the Older Persons pension grant, Disability grants, War Veterans grant, Care Dependency grant, Foster Child grant, Child Support grant, Child Support grant Top-Up and Grant-in-aid.
Sassa grants play a pivotal role in providing support to vulnerable individuals and families in South Africa through the distribution of grants from the South African government. Grants assist families to afford basic goods and services.
