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How I lost R50,000

A CONSUMER wants to warn other people from doing business with Bonus Cars in Johannesburg.

This was after the dealership, which operates from 2 Central Avenue in Mayfair, allegedly placed a car they had no intention to sell on their floor.

The disgruntled client, Nomaswazi Mdakane, says she is battling to get back the R50,000 she paid as a deposit for a Golf 5.

She claims that the dealership issued her with a receipt that did not bear their particulars.

"Not only did they pocket the deposit, they are also denying the sale ever happened," she says.

Mdakane works as a Metrobus driver and says she noticed the dealership as she drove by. They offered finance to people who have a bad credit record.

Mdakane says she is a member of a stokvel where they take turns to help each other financially. In August it was her turn.

Her intention was to buy a car soon after getting her money.

On August 30 she went to Bonus Cars after she spotted a black Golf 5 they were selling for R100,000.

Mdakane says she then spoke to a sales manager known as Nazneem. He offered to get her finance on condition that she paid 50 percent deposit.

She says she then went to the bank to withdraw the money.

Mdakane withdrew R35,000 from her account and her mother gave her a R15,000.

She then went to the dealership with her younger sister to pay the deposit to Nazneem.

She was required to produce her ID book and a driver's licence which she did and these documents were photocopied and faxed to the dealer's financier.

"I could not get my car on a Friday as promised because Nazneem had gone to church (mosque) by the time I arrived. But he promised to deliver the car the following Monday."

But the next week, Nazneem told her that her application (for finance) had been declined and she had to call Richard Cassim of their head office for an update.

She says Cassim acknowledged they had received her money.

Two weeks went by and she had not heard anything. Then her misery started when she demanded her money back.

The dealership then denied ever receiving R50,000 or selling a Golf 5.

Mdakane says they were only willing to refund her R5,000 and this prompted her to seek legal advice.

"They told my attorney they never had the car I claim I was buying. But they could not explain what car I had bought from them in the first place," says Mdakane.

She says when the attorney demanded proof of the R5,000 receipt, Nazneem then said Mdakane had stolen their receipt book and he had video footage that would confirm the incident.

She says after receiving her attorney's letter of demand, they then laid a charge of theft against her.

"They told the police I stole their invoice book in which they issued me with their receipt and changed figures to extort money from them," says Mdakane.

"This does not make any sense. Iit took them three weeks to realise they had no invoice book and also claimed their records showed I paid them R5,000."

Cassim told Consumer Line that "Mdakane was a thief who stole their invoice book to extort money" from them. He said they did not have the vehicle Mdakane claimed she had bought from them.

He claimed they only have proof that she paid R5,000.

Cassim did not say which vehicle they were going to finance as they did not have the one with registration numbers JRD227GP which appears on Mdakane's receipt.

He said all the information was in the invoice Mdakane had allegedly stolen from the dealership.

Mdakane says the dealership tried to put pressure on the police to revive the case "in order to cover their tracks" .

The investigating officer, whose name is known to Sowetan, said he had an interview with Mdakane last Friday.

Mdakane says: "They are defrauding consumers and are sending police on a wild goose chase.

"Can you imagine, pregnant as I am, running away with an invoice book, for what?"

By the time of going to press, Cassim had not sent the proof that they had received only R5,000 that he was willing to refund.

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