An ehailing driver from Strand was swindled out of R9 000 by “a beautiful woman” in the guise of a car salesperson who gave him a private bank account to pay the deposit.
Yanga Peter, 22, was shopping around for vehicle to transport tourists when a friend gave him the contact details of the salesperson who had sold him a car.
Peter said he was put into contact with Wendy Sango in May by a colleague.
Peter said he met up with Sango at a petrol station.
Peter said Sango had informed him that she worked for HalfWay Toyota in Ottery, and that she would put through an application for a 2019 Avanza SX he wanted to purchase.
“I believed her because it's easy to believe in a beautiful woman. She explained that I wouldn't wait long (to get a response on loan application).
“In June I got a call back from her to say I have been approved for the car but needed to pay a R9 000 deposit. I did just that and then the waiting game began,” he said.
Peter said he waited for almost three months before approaching the dealership in Ottery.
“After a while (she) ignored me, and when I went to the dealership I was told and also shown that my finance application was rejected at each and every bank because of my credit score.
“They also told me that she doesn’t work for the company anymore and hadn't worked at the Ottery branch before.
“My heart sunk because I was to use this car to create income and change the living situation for my family. Now I lost the money I saved up and also the opportunity to do what I wanted.”
Peter said he had intended to use the Avanza to transport tourists, as he was in the process of obtaining a tour guide certification.
“This was the final stage of my plan, I am almost done with getting my tour badge, and now this.”
But after he had gone to the police he messaged Sango to say he had now involved the authorities.
Peter said Sango promised she would pay back his money.
“She even said the bank would pay it back, but she hasn't, I am doing this to let people know about her.”
Sango asked him not to go to the newspaper and has promised Peter she would pay him back his money on August 31.
Weekend Argus’s attempts to contact Sango on multiple occasions were unsuccessful as calls went unanswered and WhatsApp calls and messages were ignored.
HalfWay Toyota’s team leader at the Ottery branch, Charmaine Goldman, said that Sango had left the company over a year ago.
“Wendy does not work for us, she never worked (at the Ottery branch), she worked in Khayelitsha and that branch has been closed for a year already,” she said.
“We have no affiliation with Wendy. In fact we don't know where she is, or who she is working for.
“She used to work for us, and she obviously had some of our application forms with her, I can't say, and I don’t know what she is doing.”
HalfWay Toyota’s sales manager, Agesh Naidoo, said Peter approached their branch to enquire about an application.
“The customer came here about a week and a half ago, he spoke to me and then he told me about Wendy giving him banking details for him to deposit (money into).
“He wanted to know whether his application was approved or declined, so our team helped him get all those details.”
Naidoo said it was the first time he heard that Sango had used the company's name and that an investigation would be launched into the matter.
“We encourage the customer to report her to the police because clearly she took his money.”
Police spokesperson, Captain FC van Wyk, said a case of fraud was registered for investigation.
“According to reports the complainant was led to believe that an application to obtain services has been approved. After he paid deposits as requested he enquired from the motor vehicle company and was informed that his application was declined.
“The suspect is yet to be arrested,” he said.
Consumer goods and services ombud Ouma Ramaru said a direct deposit into the “sales consultant’s private banking account” may prove challenging for Peter.
“There is a lack of responsibility from the consumer, once you transfer money into a private account, the law can just say it was a personal transaction.”