Wesbank denies repossession of 45,000 vehicles
Vehicle financer Wesbank has denied claims that it would repossess more than 45,000 vehicles due to non-payment during the national lockdown.
This comes after claims on social media that Wesbank would undertake a massive repossession campaign targeting non-compliant customers.
Wesbank to repossess how many cars? 😳
— Sizwe Dhlomo (@SizweDhlomo) May 18, 2020
Bruh, 45 000 cars. The thing is, what are they going to do with them? They must just leave them & hope the clients catch up. https://t.co/agD6iMT4gz
— Sizwe Dhlomo (@SizweDhlomo) May 18, 2020
But head of marketing and communication Lebogang Gaoaketse says these claims are unfounded.
“That tweet is untrue and it’s unfounded. Instead it’s irresponsible to a great extent especially during a time when people are vulnerable.
“We are not repossessing 45,000 vehicles, at all.”
Gaoaketse says they have tried to trace the source of the information but have reached a dead end.
“We’ve tried to find out where it comes from but the source has no source.
“It’s preposterous because we don’t even have space to house that many vehicles. We’d be out of business overnight if we repossessed that many vehicles.
He adds: “It’s just an absurd number.”
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Covid-19 has forced many industries to close their businesses and many banks, including Standard Bank and FNB, have been agile in working around ways to provide relief to clients.
Gaoaketse says Wesbank has received more than 100,000 applications from customers needing a payment holiday.
“Our efforts are focused on providing customers relief.
“At least 56 per cent of our customers that have applied have been granted this relief. That number for me is a good number.”
The relief period is for a maximum of three months across the board, as guided by industry bodies such as Banking Association of South Africa and the South African Reserve Bank, Gaoaketse adds.
Lebogang Gaoaketse explains: