Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listed insurer Old Mutual’s share price dropped by around 6% as the company faced a wave of online backlash over the last week.
The share price was trading at about R11.99 on Tuesday at 8.30am.
Over the last year the company’s shares have declined by 8.19%.
Social media fire-storm
The sharp drop in the share price of Old Mutual could be attributed to the public relations nightmare the company was facing.
This was after a user’s post on social media sparked outrage over the company allegedly defying a court order.
The disgruntled social media user named Sebabatso Molefi went viral on March 5.
“Dear @OldMutualSA please advise why you are refusing to release my mother’s money even though a court order has been provided. You are in contempt of court and I am about to lose my cool right now,” she wrote on X.
Molefi accused Old Mutual of giving her mother the run-around in paying out her pension.
The post was re-shared 2,800 times and has been viewed over 1.4 million times.
The post caused a social media fire-storm and led to a number X users coming forward and complaining about Old Mutual.
Based on images that were posted on X the court order was issued in mid December 2023 and show that Old Mutual was instructed to make payments to the plaintiff and their lawyer.
South Africans call for a boycott
Molefi’s post seemed to resonate with other X users who started to post their own experiences with Old Mutual and how the company allegedly failed to pay out their claims for frivolous reason.
The company is facing calls for a public boycott.
Grammy Award-winning DJ Zakes Bantwini was one of these people and said that his mom was only paid R380 in life cover when she passed away.
Yey labantu Dinangwe, Only R380 we receive as a payout for my mother’s life cover with Old Mutual #oldmutual https://t.co/AIpOlp6Iyq
— Zakes Bantwini (@ZakesBantwiniSA) March 9, 2024
After a barrage of emails back and forth between Molefi and Old Mutual that was shared on Molefi’s X account, the company finally agreed to meet with Molefi and the meeting is scheduled for March 12.
Old Mutual apologises
On Monday, Old Mutual said it was “committed to finding a solution, and we would like to apologise for the way we have managed the outcry on social media”.
“Our reluctance to engage and debate on X stems from the complexities of the case and our desire and duty to protect the personal information of the individuals concerned,” Old Mutual said.
“We need to ensure that our compliance with the court order is consistent with our obligation to comply with the pension funds law and tax law. Our intention is to ensure the parties are paid. We are investigating ways to solve the problem and will be meeting with the family this week.”
IOL NEWS has reached out to Molefi, she noted on X that she would not be speaking to the media until her meeting with Old Mutual was completed.
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