Civil Servants Warned
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Top StoriesA civil servant in Mungwi district has urged members of the public to exercise caution when sharing personal financial information after discovering that a lending institution had been deducting money from his salary for a loan he never obtained. Peter Mulenga, a teacher based in…
A civil servant in Mungwi district has urged members of the public to exercise caution when sharing personal financial information after discovering that a lending institution had been deducting money from his salary for a loan he never obtained.
Peter Mulenga, a teacher based in Mungwi, says he sought the intervention of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) after noticing unexplained deductions from his salary account.
Mr Mulenga said he endured the deductions for three months before discovering that they were linked to a loan he had neither applied for nor received.
He explained that the unauthorized deductions negatively affected his household budget and caused him significant distress.
“I was surprised to see deductions being made from my account for a loan I never got. At first, I did not know where to seek help, but after approaching the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the matter was investigated and resolved,” he said.
Mr Mulenga disclosed that with the assistance of the Commission, the money that had been wrongly deducted from his salary was recovered.
He has since advised civil servants and members of the public to be vigilant when sharing payslips, national registration cards, bank account details and other personal information, warning that such information can be exploited by fraudsters for financial gain.
“People should be very careful about who they share their payslips and banking details with. What happened to me can happen to anyone if personal information falls into the wrong hands,” he cautioned.
Meanwhile, CCPC Kasama Office Investigator Milner Kazembe said intensified consumer awareness campaigns by the Commission have contributed to a reduction in complaints relating to consumable goods.
Mr Kazembe, however, noted that the Commission continues to receive numerous complaints from civil servants concerning the financial sector, particularly cases involving unauthorized or unsolicited salary deductions.
He encouraged consumers whose rights have been violated to promptly seek assistance from relevant regulatory institutions.
“Consumers who encounter unfair business practices, unauthorized deductions or other forms of exploitation should promptly seek assistance from relevant regulatory institutions,” he said.
Mr Kazembe further urged consumers to regularly monitor their bank statements and salary accounts in order to detect any suspicious or unauthorized transactions.
He also disclosed that the Commission plans to engage school headteachers across Northern Province in consumer sensitisation programmes aimed at raising awareness on consumer rights and available avenues for redress.
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