Labourer Arthur Sodinga bought a small RDP house in 2008 after securing a R48 000 home loan with Standard Bank.

But despite repaying almost R300 000 in the past 18 years, last week he still owed the bank more than R55 000, reports the Sunday Times.

Standard Bank claimed this was due to multiple costs and penalties on the original home loan and that the ballooning costs had been ‘appropriate and fair’.

But late on Friday, faced with an inquiry by the National Financial Ombud Scheme (NFO) and a story about the debacle in the Sunday Times, the bank said it would write off the remaining balance on Sodinga’s loan.

‘In Mr Sodinga’s case, we’ve looked at this matter carefully. He is close to retirement, and we recognise how much pressure the outstanding balance would place on him in the years ahead. With that in mind, Standard Bank has decided to write off the balance on his home loan. This decision is simply a gesture of good faith,’ the bank said.

But this comes only after years of back and forth.

Sodinga, who has worked for the Harding family’s business in Bergvliet, Cape Town, for 35 years, is described by them as ‘a poorly educated, kind, hard-working and honest man’.

For Nick Harding, who owns the business and had taken up Sodinga’s battle with the bank, the decision marks the end of months of frustration and emotional strain.

Harding was granted power of attorney over the home loan account in 2016 and has managed it since.

Late last year, believing the loan should be close to settled, he approached the bank for the outstanding amount.

He was horrified to discover despite having paid more than the required monthly instalment for years, the debt had climbed above the original loan amount.

Full Sunday Times report