A couple from Heideveld say they were scammed out of R22 000 after trying to buy a car from a Facebook page named “Bank Repossessed Vehicles”.
“We want to remain anonymous because these frauds have our address and my husband’s ID copy,” says the wife.
“This is quite a devastating situation. It’s less about the lost money now and more about trying to bring this type of injustice to light.”
In May, the couple bought a white 2016 Kia Rio Sport from Jackson Maselela, who is an admin of the Facebook page and claims to sell repossessed cars at affordable prices.
The husband says he trusted the page as there was a website and contact numbers, and he was called from a landline number to discuss the purchase.
“My husband had his suspicions, but each question he asked the car team was met with a reasonable answer. These guys messaged him via WhatsApp every other day from the start of the process until the end (of 25 May 2021),” says the wife.
She says after striking a deal, they received an invoice and contract in the name of Olgars Auto from Maselela and they paid the R22 000 in full.
“Jackson tried to get a further R10 000 claiming that the car was incorrectly priced,” she adds.
“I only communicated with Jackson on the day we were supposed to receive the vehicle (26 May). I tried calling the landline number, which ended up being disconnected.
“When we started to suspect that there may be fraudulent activity, we went to the bank to try and reverse the transfer, unfortunately the funds were moved already.
“We went to the police but not much can be done.
“I’ve reported the group (to Facebook) but since there is no malicious content posted or any irregularities in the Facebook community guidelines, the outcome doesn't seem promising.”
Olgars Auto, which is situated in Sandton, and whose address and logo are being used on the page, says there is no affiliation with Maselela.
“We are currently having a private investigator helping us to bring these guys down. We can assure this matter is being handled and we hope to conclude it soon,” the company said in a statement to the Daily Voice.
Maselela’s phone went to voicemail when the Daily Voice tried to contact him on the number provided by the couple.
The Facebook page has four administrators, including Maselela, and has over 60 000 members.
The group was created on 17 March 2021 and is still active with about 15 new posts per day.