I was stuck without a car for 3 days because Absa froze my account

Listen to your banks’ warnings folks, unless you want to be stuck without a car for three days.

I recently took my beloved Renault Duster for its annual tune-up and what was supposed to take a few hours ended up being a few days.

This is because my Absa bank account was frozen on the same day I handed in my car, meaning I couldn’t pay for the service and had to leave it there for two nights longer than expected.

This, however, wasn’t Absa’s fault. It was mine completely. So you can view this as a cautionary tale at my expense.

Murphy’s law strikes again

Banks are required to keep up-to-date information on their clientele as stipulated by the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA).

This includes things such as a recent copy of your ID, your current address, and your source of income.

The reasoning behind it is to fight money laundering and other financial crimes by establishing a framework for effective identification, verification, and reporting of suspicious activities.

After what I believe has been almost a decade (don’t quote me on that), Absa realised it was time for my FICA info to be updated.

On 23 August 2024, the bank sent the first email notifying me that I needed to submit new docs or my account would be blocked within 30 days.

I can’t recall what I was doing back then when I saw the mail, but it clearly wasn’t listening, as I made no effort to heed the warning.

A few weeks later, Absa said I had 14 days to provide the data or face the music, and a week after that, it cautioned that only seven days remained.

The deadline came, it went, my account was still perfectly uninhibited, and I was blissfully ignorant.

Come 10 December, Absa decided it was time to try something else and sent an SMS.

This time, however, it only pleaded that I submit the paperwork but gave no timeframe for when my account would be blocked.

On 6 January 2025, I got the same SMS once again, and on 20 January for the final time. All of them fell on deaf ears.

Absa gave it a few months and got fed up. On 4 March, it once again sent an email stating that if I do not update my FICA information, my account would be restricted within 30 days.

At this point in time I fully believed nothing would happen as I was supposed to be punished over half a year ago already and, as your probably expected, I did nothing.

On Wednesday, 14 May 2025, it was time for my car to get a service and I dropped it off bright and early and went about my business for the rest of the morning.

Unbeknownst to me, though, Murphy had finally decided the time had come to impose his feared law.

I was scheduled to receive my car by mid-day on the 14th as it was only meant to go in for a routine checkup.

But, since it is teetering on 100,000km, some preventative maintenance was also needed.

Practicing what I preach every now and then, I gave the green light for the added work and the mechanic said it would take a bit longer, and that I’d only get my car the next morning.

A few hours later on the same day, at 16h33, I got the dreaded SMS-email combination from Absa confirming that my time was up and that certain account functions were now restricted – without stating which functions they were.

I vividly remember, I thought “how bad could it really be? I may not be able to buy a car right now but I should probably still be able to pay for my service.”

I decided I’ll go get my car when it was ready the next day and sort out the bank stuff when I had the time on the weekend.

Thursday afternoon arrived and my wheels were done. I got dropped off by a friend and walked in to pay my dues.

First card swipe. Declined. Second. Declined. I tried an electronic funds transfer, also, declined.

I called the bank asking what was going on, and the operator said no money would be able to go out of my account until my FICA docs were updated. No exceptions.

It was close to 17h00 and I didn’t have everything I needed at hand so getting my car back that day clearly wasn’t going to happen.

Home I went with my tail between my legs, leaving my freshly tuned-up Duster in the workshop parking lot.

Minutes after Absa’s doors opened the next morning – now we’re already on Friday the 16th – I was there with my paperwork in hand feeling like a schoolkid standing in front of the principal’s office.

I was advised by the operator that this would be quicker than going the online submission route, which I probably would’ve done if I didn’t call the bank first.

Lo and behold, as I get to the front someone is already in the stall beside me highly upset because their account was likewise blocked due to outdated FICA information.

The father complained that he was unable to get to work or buy food for his children due to the issue, and pleaded with the teller to expedite the approval of his documents.

I handed over mine, and quietly waited about 10 minutes until I was asked to provide my fingerprints.

Shortly afterwards the Absa employee said that everything was uploaded to their systems and that my account should be opened in 48 hours.

She calmed my nerves by saying that, because I was there so early and in-person, it should be quicker than if I did it online, and said that she’s confident I’d be swiping again by the end of the day.

Early afternoon I had yet to receive any notification that I was compliant again, but I had a hunch, so I walked walked to the nearest shop to see if transactions went through.

For the first time in, probably, ever, my face lit up when money actually went out of my account.

Not five minutes later I was in an Uber on the way to rescue my ride from the winter cold.

I finally got it back about 50 hours later than I thought I would, it drives noticeably better than before, and I’m five figures poorer but at least I can spend my own money again.

On Saturday, 17 May, at 10h24 in the morning, I received the email from Absa confirming that I was no longer under so-called “FICA restrictive control.”

The moral of the story is: don’t be like me, heed the warnings of your bank unless you want to go carless for a few days.