Will Payouts

[Joe78]

Hi all. I have a query, which I'm not quite sure how to articulate, so please bear with me.

Is it normal/typical for an insurance/will payment to take 7 years to payout from the persons time of death to be paid out. And is one required to collect the payout in person?

My friends dad, whilst working in South Africa, was killed by accident on the job. This happened on the 7th of January 2008, and only now has my friend been given the green light to collect said payout. And has also been "told" by the companies representatives that she must come in person, all the way from the U.K, to South Africa to collect the money.

Now, she tells me that the company will happily pay for her flight over, but all other expenses, hotels, food etc, must come out her pocket.

She has asked me for X amount of money to see her through the trip, and of course she insists that she will pay every penny back. And I'm sure she will.

There is just a nagging doubt in the back of my mind that something is not quite right with what she had told me. But just for my own piece of mind, and my bank balance, I need to be 100% positive that what she has told me is in fact plausible.

I would genuinely appreciate any advice that can be given.

Thank you for taking the time to read what I have said, and thank you for any subsequent replies.

[Buenchico]

I think we can ignore the word 'will' in your post; nothing you've written suggests that any payment is to come from the estate of the deceased person.

So I assume that we're looking at a payment that's (allegedly) being made in respect of negligence by the employer. I have no knowledge of the South African judicial system but here in the UK it's not unknown for contested claims to take well over a decade to work their way through the courts; so there's at least a possibility that the story might be true.

However unless there's a quirk in South African law that I know nothing about, there would seem to be absolutely no reason whatsoever why the recipient of any payout should have to collect it in person. We live in a world where people and businesses transfer sums totalling billions of dollars around the world every second of every day but airlines aren't full to capacity with people going to collect it all!

Avoid!

[Peter Pedant]

Well B-C the legal system is Roman Dutch
but that doesnt mean anything to anyone

That was the legal system before Napoleon liberated the place - sorry the mother country

I would scrutinise the paperwork
if a scam were suspected, you may demand the nominee turns up in person, but my knowledge of insurance pay outs in RSA is limited to nil

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/An_Introduction_to_Roman-Dutch_Law/General_Introduction

[Joe78]

Thanks, guys. Appreciate your time.

[themas]

Sounds suspicious to me. I would query it with the South African Embassy.

[Retrochic]

Joe -forgive this query but is your 'friend' one you met on the Internet? This reeks of a scam but not on the part of the 'company' in South Africa. Basically ask to see the paperwork. A friend of ours husband died a few year back and was insured through his Company in Quebec. She moved back to Uk after his death and the Insurance money was paid directly into her Bank Account in the UK. Be very wary!!

[Peter Pedant]

I think it is a scam
demand nicely to see the paperwork

[chrissa1]

This has "scam" written all over it. How close is this friend of yours? Did you know her father?

As has been said, in this day and age, no one should have to personally fly thousands of miles to collect a payment.

I wouldn't give her the money. Sorry.

[SirOracle]

Any insurance payout is forwarded to the recipient either by bank transfer or by cheque. Unless things have changed recently in South Africa payment would be sent to the beneficiary,with no need for travel to S Africa.

I am sure it is a scam as already pointed out here.

[Hopkirk]

Have you ever actually met this 'friend'?