#EditorsNote : Victory over #Momentum is us reclaiming our “customer is king” crown
|Published
The consumer victory over Momentum is living proof that we can reclaim our “customer is king” crown from oligopolies that place profits ahead of life if we speak with one voice.
Driving to work on Tuesday, my heart sank when a doctor with stage 4 cancer phoned a radio station about the terrible treatment he is enduring from his medical aid.
The doctor has had to incur extra costs by taking the legal route to force his medical aid to pay for his treatment. The most painful part is that there is medication available that could potentially save his life, and yet the medical aid refuses to pay for it because they deem it too expensive.
Unlike the Ganas family, whose two-year battle with Momentum was joined by the media and general public, the doctor appears to be hopelessly alone in his fight.
It is against this background that the consumer victory over Momentum should be used as a springboard for us to unite against the might of oligopolies.
It is regrettable that medical aid societies, insurance companies and banks take advantage of reduced competition to tactfully collude and bleed their customers dry. It is even more shocking how much we pay each month towards our medical aid only to be told that funds have been depleted after two or three visits to the chemist, or that certain conditions are not covered.
It is the same thing with insurance companies; they will gladly accept our premiums each month only to find the smallest loophole to reject a claim.
If the media is truly the voice of the voiceless, it must lead in exposing and dismantling these sharks.
Individual fights are futile against the financial muscle of corporate mafia. We should unite against this rip-off and demand stricter laws that protect consumers.
Phathisani Moyo is news editor at The Star