Universal Diverse Marketing investors may have lost hundreds of rands they invested with the company.

Universal Diverse Marketing investors may have lost hundreds of rands they invested with the company.

UDM was a private investment programme that gave anyone with money a unique opportunity to let their money work for them.

The investors, who now cry foul, said UDM owner Mark Greyling had told them the company offered an opportunity to achieve high returns, which were never achieved anywhere else, for from as little as R100 with no limit and with extremely low risk.

This led to some investors withdrawing their money from banks and investing it with UDM. Some even got loans that they are still repaying.

The investors were also given guarantees, which only covered their principal investments.

Since 2006 most investors received their monthly returns - until December last year when this stopped.

Joe Mogatusi said he believed UDM was a genuine investment company that would not disappear with investors' money like so many fly-by-night investment companies that had ripped off unsuspecting consumers.

In a brochure, Greyling assures clients that the company differs from those that had vanished off the face of the earth. The brochure says: "Successful people do what unsuccessful people don't. This is testimony to people who know what they want in life and will do what it takes to achieve it."

Mogatusi said he too wanted to be successful in life when he invested his life savings with this company.

Last week Greyling said there were certain risks involved in investment.

He said the programme was successful and had to convert from a close corporation to a limited company towards the end of last year.

He said this was why it had stopped monthly payments and the converting of shares.

"We had created enough shares to sell above the current investments," he said. "This, and the sale of our three franchise opportunities. would have created enough cash flow for growth and a possible buy-back of shares."