The first signs of trouble began already with the interest payment that was due at the end of October 2008. It came late. The money was sent to us by cheque and was dated 4 November 2008 - four days after the end of the month. By the time the cheque had been cleared by the banks, it was at least 10 November before the interest money could be accessed.
The reason for the delay in payment, EDWAFIN said was that they had implemented a new computer database earlier during 2008, to manage the EFTs more efficiently. Unfortunately, the database, had left them in the lurch and they had to sign 4000 cheques by hand. That is fair enough, for those of us who work with computers this is normal for the course (even if such a program costs millions? A letter dated 15 May 2008 informed the investors of the new database, this was followed by a letter of 2 October concerning the commissioning of the database).
Then came the end of November 2008
A letter of 28 November informed the investors why that month's would only be paid by the 15th of December 2008 together with the December interest. Caveat: the cheque (the database was still not operational, and thus EFTs could not be done) was postdated to 15 December. An extra 1% was added for administrative costs, etc. The cheque could also not be cashed over the counter, obviously covering the company legally in case things would go wrong.
This was rather irritating and inconvenient seeing that it was the end of the year. But, hey, things happen in life and one has to accept these situations when they can't be changed. However, notice the last paragraph of the letter below. I feel the urge to repeat it here in view of what was to happen:
I trust that you all have a wonderful festive season. Remember that you have invested into a very good company, with a high reputation.20081128 Edwafin Letter Late Payment
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