Questions: What to do

Just as an aside that occurred to me as I was writing this entry. Edwafin registered its last issue of Debentures on 1 December 2008, months after they (we all) discovered they were in trouble. Lawrence (FSB), please take note.

I write this entry with some trepidation, as I am not an attorney, and my attempts to get my money have also been unsuccessful thus far. Many of the readers have written to me, asking me what to do, and I need to tell them right from the start that they need to see an attorney as soon as possible if they want to act on the situation.

Before doing that, however, consider a few choices that are possible in my view. Whatever steps you decide on, keep in mind that you may possibly lose some, most or all of your investment capital and probably interests due as well.

1. Do nothing, and wait to see what happens in the weeks ahead. If Edwafin gets back on its feet, you might be a winner after all. Alternatively, other more experienced individuals, may perhaps as a group, decide to take legal action. It is possible that the authorities will also step in to try and resolve issues. You will need to take your cue from that.
2. Try and get your investment back. There are strict steps to follow in this respect and you need an attorney to assist you. Keep in mind that you might not succeed before everything collapses.
3. Apply to have Edwafin liquidated. Obviously an attorney is also needed for this, and the word is out that such an application is already being brought against Edwafin.
   

What not to do

• Don't get your hopes up too high, whatever you do. The possibility that you have lost, or will be losing money is rather high, and there is no magic to change that. Accept your possible loss, even though it is extremely hard to do. Should the tide turn in your favour you will only be happier for it.
• Don't try and phone Edwafin. Even if they answer, and even if you speak to the main man himself, you will achieve nothing but frustrations. These people are beleaguered, and don't or won't listen to your reasoning.
• Don't visit the Edwafin offices hoping to appeal to them or get some sensible response from them; you can't, they won't - it's a waste of time and you will lose your temper and your dignity.
  
• Don't threaten physical violence. It's not going to happen! Your feelings of hatred and revenge is only harmful to you, and it does your karma nor your health any favours.
• Don't write to Edwafin with threats of legal action. Useless - they have heard it all. As I said they are under pressure, they are impervious to your threats. If you want to take legal action, then do so by a visit to your attorney.
• Don't return you debenture certificates willy-nilly - with a possible covering letter - in an effort to get your money back. You will simply be ignored. I'll tell you in a moment what I did, and how I still didn't get my money back.

What I did in an effort to get my money back
Please note that the steps I took were not successful to date, but at least I think I'm covered in case the whole business collapses and I have to claim my stake. It is important that you get the assistance of your attorney, as the clauses of the prospectuses need to be followed to the letter (discovered to my chagrin).

The steps I was instructed to follow by Patrick Stapleton are:

• Fill in form CM42. It is a government form, and can be downloaded from here (if link is broken, please let me know. Asking Edwafin for a copy is also a fruitless exercise).
• Write a letter stating that you want to place a "put option" on your debentures.
• Send the above documents along with the original debenture certificates to the Edwafin head office.
• Wait for your money to arrive in your bank.

Yet, it is not as as simple as it sounds. What I did:

• The first step was to obtain copies of the prospectuses from CIPRO. That is a total nightmare, and I will provide you with some help below.
  
• Completed form CM42, and wrote a letter to place a "put option".
• Made certified copies of my debenture certificates.
• Armed with the prospectuses, and convinced of my case, my attorney wrote a letter and enclosed everything in a dispatch by courier to the Edwafin offices.

The result - well your reading this blog. They don't even have the common decency to acknowledge receipt - I had to wring it out of them, and then it was a halfhearted attempt by Verona Cowan. These people are extremely devious - always keep that in mind.

I cannot put enough emphasis on the advice to consult with your attorney, and that you need to go through clause 12 with a tooth comb, to get it all legally correct. Unless you are in the law field, you cannot do it by yourself.

Getting Prospectuses
If you have debenture issues C or D, then you can download the prospectuses from my website at this link. Just folow the Edwafin links. You have it easy!

This was an expedition in itself, and for your convenience I have a downloadable table of Edwafin prospectuses below. These are not the prospectuses itself but provide you with the tracking number of the prospectus that may pertain to your debenture issue.
To work out which prospectus applies to your debenture, look at the date of your debenture issue. Scan the "Receipt Date" of the table for the date that just precedes the date on your certificate. That prospectus, or possible the one just before that (if the date on your certificate is very close to, or coincides with, the "Receipt date" on the list) in all probability applies to your situation. It is identifiable by the unique tracking number.
There are two ways of getting the copy you need (you have to pay about R200.00 per prospectus). The easiest way is to go to an accountant, and request them to do it for you. They regularly have contact with the CIPRO offices to register companies and the like, and should easily be able to get you the copies you need. I said "should", as my accountant seemed to find it hopelessly difficult to do this for me, thus I did it the more difficult way.

1. Log on to the CIPRO web site and register as a customer (Menu - left hand side under "Log in"). Remember the name that you have supplied as you will need it later.
2. Deposit some money (about R200.00 per prospectus) by following the instructions. Like most organizations they make it real easy for you to pay them.
3. Log off, and write a friendly letter to the Disclosure Department, requesting a copy of the prospectus and provide them with the dates and tracking number.
4. Send the letter by fax to: 0866738168. Provide them with a phone number and email address in case they need some more money. Also, if it is a large parcel they won't email it to you, so you need to give them a postal address as well.
5. Wait!

Here is the list of debentures that are registered with CIPRO at the moment.
Debenture Prospectuses at CIPRO

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