Paying for the privilege
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Roderick asked me: "When you have an account with a retailer and it is fully paid up, why do they still debit you with account fees when you have a zero balance? I buy maybe twice a year from this retailer and always pay my account up as quick as possible. Is this normal practice? Is it ethical?"
It's normal, and it's perfectly legal. The National Credit Act allows stores which offer their customers accounts to charge a monthly service fee, capped at R60, whether you owe them a cent or not. Woolworths charges about R52 a month, the highest in the market, whether you have a zero balance or not. That's more than R600 a year for an account Roderick uses twice.
If you hardly ever use a store account, work out what it's costing you a year, and if it isn't worth it, close it.
It's normal, and it's perfectly legal. The National Credit Act allows stores which offer their customers accounts to charge a monthly service fee, capped at R60, whether you owe them a cent or not. Woolworths charges about R52 a month, the highest in the market, whether you have a zero balance or not. That's more than R600 a year for an account Roderick uses twice.
If you hardly ever use a store account, work out what it's costing you a year, and if it isn't worth it, close it.
