Latest news with #R187
Western Telegraph
23-05-2025
- General
- Western Telegraph
Angle lifeboat called to three rescues in 12 hours
Angle lifeboat was first tasked at 8:59am on Monday, May 19, following a call for assistance from a 37-foot yacht with one person onboard, struggling with the sea conditions 17 miles off St Ann's Head. The lifeboat launched shortly after and began making best speed to the vessel, arriving on scene around 40 minutes later. After a quick assessment of the situation the safest option was to rig a tow and take the vessel to safety. The crew rigged and passed a tow and a course was set for Dale. After a successful tow lasting just over two hours, both vessels arrived safely off Dale. With the skipper content that he could motor to a safe anchorage under his own power, the tow was dropped. With no further assistance required, the crew was stood down and returned to station where the lifeboat was readied for further service by 1pm. The second call of the day came at 8:12pm when the crew were tasked to assist a 21 foot open boat with two crew onboard that had run out of fuel near the mid channel pole at the entrance to the Milford Haven Waterway. With a tanker inbound to the Haven and with no means of propulsion there was concern for the safety of the vessel's occupants. The lifeboat launched and was on scene with the vessel around 10 minutes later. After a brief assessment of the situation the safest course of action was to take the vessel under tow to Neyland. During the tow, just past Milford Haven, the lifeboat was immediately re-tasked to respond to a distress signal from a yacht 22 miles south south east of St Ann's Head. The left their current casualty vessel on the nearest available mooring and began making best speed to the distress position. Tenby All Weather Lifeboat and Coastguard Rescue Helicopter R187 were also proceeding, and 45 minutes later Angle Lifeboat acquired a radar target, before gaining visual of what they believed to be the casualty vessel. Once alongside the vessel, the crew found the yacht's skipper safe and well and it transpired that he had become disoriented and activated his DSC. With this, Tenby Lifeboat and R187 were stood down to return to their respective stations. Following an assessment of the situation the safest course of action was to take the casualty vessel under tow and return them to the safety of Milford Marina. The lifeboat and casualty yacht arrived at Milford Marina at 3am and left the yacht and its lone occupant safely alongside. The crew were then stood down and returned to station where the lifeboat was readied for further service by 3:30am.
The Citizen
23-04-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Former customer charges Absa with perjury and defamation
Saying the bank misled the courts in attempting to repossess his late father's Roodepoort property. First the bank, then numerous consumer bodies that are supposed to protect consumers – but which 'failed in spectacular fashion' in this case. Picture: iStock Aubrey Larkins has lodged charges of perjury and defamation against Absa for claiming his parents were delinquent in repaying their home loan account after discovering not only were they not in arrears – they were in credit. The bank had attempted to foreclose on the property in 2015, claiming the Larkins were R187 000 in arrears on three mortgage bonds, but when Aubrey – a seasoned financial professional – looked into the matter, he found the accounts were more than R22 000 in credit. By that time, family members had clubbed together and paid off the arrears to avert foreclosure. Charging a bank for defamation over an accusation of debt delinquency is a novel approach, and it remains to be seen how this works out. Larkins says he has no financial interest in bringing these charges against Absa, other than to highlight what he sees as systemic failure in the institutions created to protect consumers – from the Banking Ombud to the National Credit Regulator (NCR) and National Credit Tribunal (NCT). Cases brought before these bodies are supposed to prevent disputes clogging the courts, but in this case, he says they failed in spectacular fashion. Absa responds that it followed due process in line with court rules at all times (see response below). ALSO READ: Court rules in favour of clients in Standard Bank home loan dispute Here's what happened … The story goes back to 1978 when Aubrey's parents bought a house in Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg, financed by his father's employer. As part of a severance package in 1990, the Larkins were required to approach a bank (Absa) to take over the outstanding balance on the home loan. Over the next few years, they ran into financial difficulty and secured a total of three mortgage bonds. By 2005, the total debt owed was R188 118. When Aubrey looked into the accounts in 2009, he found the debt had barely shifted over the preceding four years, with an amount of R187 000 still owing. The first three bonds on the property had run for between 15 and 19 years. That made no sense, so he started to write to the bank, while taking over his parents' monthly home loan instalments. Absa supplied bank statements back to 1992, but did not provide the reconciliation he required to explain how the outstanding debt could remain so high after more than 15 years of payments. He asked for copies of the original loan agreements, but these were supposedly destroyed in a fire. ALSO READ: Court reverses home repo judgment after Nedbank bungled calculations Seeking help beyond the bank Not satisfied with the responses from the bank, he then reached out to the NCR for help in 2010 but was told it would not take on any disputes older than three years. He was told he would be given a 'non-referral' notice by the NCR, which would allow him to take the matter up with the National Consumer Tribunal. That never happened. Further attempts to seek legal redress from Legal Aid and lawyers acting pro bono came to nought. In 2014 he launched an application with the National Consumer Tribunal asking that the Absa accounts be frozen until such time as the case could be heard by a proper authority. The matter was set down to be heard by the tribunal in January 2015. ALSO READ: Smackdown for Standard Bank in home repo case Bank's lawyers A few days later, Absa's attorneys, Strauss Daly, served summons on the Larkins to appear in the North Gauteng High Court for non-payment of their account. Section 130 of the NCA specifically prevents credit providers from proceeding with debt enforcement while matters are pending before the National Credit Tribunal. Apparently undeterred, Strauss Daly and Absa applied to the court for summary judgment, claiming that the matter was unopposed (it wasn't). Absa's case was brought in the Pretoria High Court rather than Joburg, where the property is located – an attempt to frustrate justice, argues Aubrey. It didn't help that the Larkins made use of incompetent or conflicted attorneys who failed to pass on correspondence from the bank. This left them blind to the incoming judicial missile, with the court granting summary judgment against them in March 2015. A little over a week later, the local sheriff turned up at the door with a warrant of execution on the property – which precedes a public auction. Aubrey complained to the Law Society of the Northern Provinces (LSNP) about the attorneys on both sides, but that didn't go anywhere. A principle undergirding our legal system is the right of a respondent to be properly served with a complaint and given time to prepare a defence. What about the outstanding NCT complaint which should have frozen the high court legal process? When the matter came before the tribunal, the bank's legal representatives from ENS appeared shocked and requested time to step outside the court to contact their clients. When they returned, they claimed this was conducted unknowingly by another division of the bank's legal department. The matter was dismissed by the NCT on the basis that it was subject to a superseding judgment in another court. Soon thereafter, a family member stepped up and paid the outstanding arrears. ALSO READ: Gauteng man takes Absa to court over alleged unlawful car repossession Judgment rescinded With the property now safe from foreclosure, Aubrey decided this was the time to pounce and reverse what he saw as the injustices of the previous years. He approached the court in 2022 for a rescission of the 2015 judgment against his parents. This was granted, along with an instruction to the bank to pay the Larkins the overpayment of R22 447. He then asked the Bank Ombud to look into the interest charges on the account. There were no original documents to analyse (the ones apparently destroyed in a fire), but the Larkins stuck to their claim that interest rates were fixed – the bank arguing they were floating – leaving plenty of room for dispute. The ombud responded that his hands were tied until Absa willingly agreed to withdraw the 2015 complaint before the high court, despite the judgment being rescinded. Aubrey's father passed away in 2021 after a long illness made worse by the couple's inability to afford private healthcare. 'This is a case riddled with irregularities, lies and neglect by the institutions intended to protect consumers,' says Aubrey. 'I asked for assistance from every single institution intended to protect us and got nowhere, and I am very familiar with the law and finances. What chance does someone less knowledgeable have when faced with similar circumstances?' Absa's response Moneyweb reached out to Absa for comment and received this response from Nondumiso Ncapai, managing executive at Absa Home Loans. 'Thank you for bringing this documentation to our attention. 'We have investigated the matter, and we are comfortable that due process was followed in line with the court rules. 'While we cannot discuss details of customer matters with third parties, we welcome the opportunity to engage Mr Larkins directly to create any further clarity he may require.' This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
