Pensioner takes a swipe at SASSA card ordeal
A Durban North pensioner is raising a fuss after she was denied the use of her SASSA card at two Clicks stores in the area.
DURBAN North pensioner, Laura Dawn Rae, has recently raised concerns about the use of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) cards after she was denied usage of her card at two Clicks stores in the area.
The 67-year-old said that she first encountered resistance at the Clicks pharmacy in La Lucia Mall in April. When she attempted to buy an item from the store the cashier refused to swipe her card, claiming that they have been experiencing ‘problems’ with the SASSA cards.
On Monday last week Rae said she was shocked to discover that she was once again denied the usage of her card at the Kensington branch.
“All I wanted was to buy my medicine and go home, but again they refused to swipe my card. When I inquired about the issue the cashier said to me that they have recently been experiencing issues with the cards, and that they believe the new till system was to blame. After the whole rigmarole of waiting in the queue at the dispensary I was eventually forced to go to another pharmacy to buy my medicine,” she said.
Pensioners who receive a grant from the government can use their new SASSA cards as debit cards, swiping them to pay for basically anything at any store, including petrol and groceries.
Rae, who often walks to her desired destinations, said that the issue was unacceptable, and refused to simply ‘let it slide’. She was also outraged that neither of the stores had put up any signage to warn their customers of the issue.
“I have seen too many people just accepting things, but I refuse to do so. When the issue affected me twice in the spate of a few weeks I decided to take additional steps. My biggest concern is that the issue will spread and that other companies will also begin to refuse the use of the cards. At the moment the cards are very practical. I don’t want to have to draw money or to walk with cash. I have read too many stories of people being robbed at ATMs. Elderly people are especially targeted,” she said.
She added that the issue with the cards was not only an inconvenience, but also an embarrassing experience.
When the Northglen News contacted the Clicks pharmacy at Kensington Square, a representative, who did not want to be named, confirmed that they had recently upgraded the till system at the store.
“We suspect that the new software is not agreeing with the cards. We reported the issue to our IT department two weeks ago, but have not received any response,” he said. The staff at the La Lucia branch refused to give any comment.
Susann Caminada, the national spokesperson for Clicks, was alarmed by the news and insisted that they were not aware of any issues with the SASSA cards at their stores. “Normally we do accept the cards. I have escalated the issue and a full investigation will be done to determine the cause of the issue. We would like to extend our sincerest apologies to all of the pensioners who have been affected,” she said.
