Loans & Debts

Applying for a bursary

Q: I am a post graduate student. My question is regarding a scholarship which I applied for and wanted to ask if it is ok for me to take.

I am presently studying in a different state and this scholarship is from the central govt. but I needed a proof of residence of this state for the application. So I got in contact with an agent and he managed to get my application approved for which he is taking a part of the scholarship money.

Anyway, generally I never applied for scholarships in my schooling or college or bachelors but because I have a few unplanned heavy expenses related to my education course, I applied for it thinking it would help. But I am in a dilemma whether to use it or dispose it or just use it for this particular purpose and dispose the remaining or use it for my other personal expenses and if not, then how do I dispose it?

Friend financially assisting one to purchase a house

Q: I had rented a house and thereafter negotiated with the landlord to purchase the house. As I did not have the funds to purchase the house, my friend offered to assist by loaning me the full purchase price payable to him as arranged. He forwarded the monies to the seller and the legal transfer process from the seller to me commenced. Soon thereafter my friend went through some financial problems and his family members demanded that I repay the loaned amount to him (my friend) within 24 hours. I was very troubled as I could not arrange such a large sum within such a short time and whilst I was at work another friend happened to pass by. We greeted one another and he noticed the troubled look on my face. Upon his insistence I explained to him the situation and he there and then phoned his bank and asked them to transfer the money to my first friend's account. I was surprised and asked him about the repayment and he said that the house is yours and we will talk about the repayment. Upon my insistence he suggested that I pay 4000 rental monthly for now and then we will discuss the repayment.

NB. Since the house was in the process of getting transferred to my name from the seller, he (second friend) asked the conveyancer to continue with the transfer into my name and when I queried with him, he did mention that the house is yours and it is for you. I continued paying the monthly stipulated rental until one day he passed away.

Upon his death I told my wife to ask my friends widow about the house and she said that she is aware of the situation. She sent her brother to my house who then said that they prefer keeping the house as an investment for the children and they do not want to sell. I did not pursue the matter further until I recently mentioned it to an aalim who felt that it could probably be that I am paying interest and the widow is receiving interest as the amount given to me by the second friend was a loan and not a purchase price of the house.

Can you please advise as to what the status of the above transaction is and who is the owner of the house and what is the status of the monies forwarded to me by my second friend as I would not like be involved in interest in anyway.

Refusing to settle one's debt

Q: My brother took a loan from me for 2-3 days by telling me that he needs the money urgently and he had sold his shop and would get money in 2-3 days and pay me. But he was lying to me. He was under heavy debt taken from many people and was not selling his shop (I don't know if he had a shop at all). He just wanted to take money from me.

Four years have passed and he has not returned a single penny. Had he told me the truth, I would have given him only a small amount of money as a loan, and not all my money from which I was making my earning. Now he is expecting to receive some money (about 25% of my loan) but he refused to pay me. The reason is that he wants to educate his daughter at a medical college and needed money for her.

My question is: If my brother gets any money, is he obliged to educate his children first or pay my loan first? He argues that his children are his responsibility. My argument is that I gave him all my money I was using to earn a living for my children.

Using store loyalty points to pay off a debt

Q: I owe money to a person. In lieu of direct payment, I occasionally do some shopping on the creditor's behalf and thus reduce the amount I owe. What happens if I use my store benefit/loyalty points when shopping?

Example: total amount purchased R500. I used my loyalty point balance of R100 and total amount paid was R400. I occasionally also purchase items from this store for my personal use. Do I reduce the amount I owe by R500 or R400? In essence - who is entitled to the benefit/cash back reward from the store?