Client takes Cartrack to consumer watchdog over rejected R150k claim

A Cartrack client has taken the company to the National Consumer Commission (NCC) after his R150,000 warranty claim for his stolen car was rejected because he had failed to test his tracking device every three months.

The company also repudiated Ofentse Vinjwa’s claim because he had missed a few payments.

Vinjwa’s car was stolen in Hammanskraal, Tshwane, in June. The 36-year-old man told Sowetan Consumer that his claim for the R150,000 warranty that Cartrack offers to its clients once their stolen vehicle is not found, has been met with rejection by company with unfair reasoning.

“They said I did not test if the [tracking] device was working every three months. They also said I was inconsistent with my payments. Sometimes I missed payments but my account was active,” Vinjwa.

He had been with Cartrack since May last year and claims that some of the conditions of his contract were not properly explained.

“They also sent me terms and conditions after the purchase of the contract was completed. I agreed without knowing the contents of the terms and conditions. They did not explain the terms to me at the time of sale. They argue that they sent terms when the sale commenced,” he said.

He lost the appeal of the outcome and then approached the NCC for recourse.

Last year, Sowetan received several complaints from Cartrack clients regarding their rejected claim because they failed to test their tracking devices every three months as per requirement.

They said they should not be burdened by testing the system as it belong to the company and not to clients. Cartrack, at the time, said the practice was fair and was in their customers’ interest.

In April, the National Consumer Tribunal slapped the company with a R5m fine after it found that it used unfair marketing tactics involving customer referrals, bills that were not updated and failure to cancel contracts on request.

It was also ordered to pay another R5m to settle complaints laid by 167 customers after an initial 210 complainants were received by the NCC.

NCC’s probe identified six contraventions of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA).

According to the settlement, Cartrack was found to have made 82 customers enter into agreement on terms that are excessively one-sided and involve misleading conduct and require customers to waive their rights.

The company was also found to have failed to disclose material terms and conditions of the agreement to customers during the marketing of its services.

In Vinjwa’s case, Catrack spokesperson Lauren Human said the company did a fair assessment.

“Mr Vinjwa’s account was in arrears when his vehicle was stolen on 16 June 2026. His last successful payment was received on 28 March 2026, and the account was in arrears at the time of the theft. The outstanding arrears were settled only after the incident,” she said.

She further said the terms and conditions were provided to Vinjwa when he signed up.

“His account was in arrears at the time of the theft and therefore does not qualify for the Limited Recovery Warranty reward,” she explained.

However, the NCC said Cartrack cannot rely on contractual terms that were not disclosed to the consumer when the agreement was concluded to repudiate the consumer’s claim.

“In other words, a term that was not brought to the consumer’s attention at the time of contracting cannot subsequently be relied upon as a basis for rejecting a claim,” NCC spokesperson Phetho Ntaba.

Regarding their settlement agreement with Cartrack, Ntaba said the agreement covered specific complaints and circumstances, and did not absolve Cartrack from prosecution in the event of new contraventions.

“The NCC continues to prioritise such complaints. Consumers are advised to read the terms and conditions of contracts they are entering into,” said Ntaba.

Meanwhile, Human said Cartrack continues to assess warranty cases in line with its revised terms and conditions, which were refined at the request of the NCC.

“The NCC matter related to certain aspects of Cartrack’s subscriber agreements where enhanced clarity was required. These changes were implemented at the time of the matter and remain in effect,” said Human.