Since the middle of last week, the Sejf payment agency’s outlets in Bolesławiec have been closed. There is no information on the door of the outlet on Mickiewicza Street, not even an explanation of why it was closed. At the agency’s branch on Łukasiewicza Street, customers are greeted only by notices saying that the agency has been moved to the Dom Chleba located next door. A Dom Chleba employee explains that the agency kiosk appeared at the premises briefly but was then removed. The situation is similar at the third Sejf Agency outlet on Starzyńskiego Street. An empty cashier’s room was left in one of the service premises there.
Sejf Agency closed all three outlets in the middle of last week. Even before the closure, people whose payments had not reached their destinations on time were coming to the agency’s cash desks. Sejf employees explained that they were experiencing temporary payment problems and that all February payments would be settled. It is not known how many customers are still waiting for overdue orders to be processed. It is known, however, that the case has already been reported to the police. An investigation into Sejf Agency is currently under way. Police are checking how many people were defrauded and whether everyone who reported the matter is an injured party.
How can you protect yourself from dishonest intermediaries?
Sejf Agency is not the only financial intermediary operating in Bolesławiec. Many residents use such services. How can people avoid problems similar to those currently experienced by Sejf Agency’s customers? “Before making a payment at a financial intermediary’s outlet, you should check whether the company is registered in the business activity register, for example under PKD 65.23Z,” says Tomasz Skuła, the representative for the city of Bolesławiec of the Dolnośląska Agencja Finansowa Elixir. “No less important is whether the intermediary has a guarantee fund demonstrating its solvency. It is also important whether the company takes care to secure the transport of customers’ money and has civil liability insurance for its business activities. There have already been many cases of dishonest companies in this sector in the country,” adds Tomasz Skuła. “It is often the case that a lower price does not guarantee reliability. The fact that both individuals and institutional clients use a company’s services is also evidence that it is safe,” says Skuła.