Hunt for holiday scammer: Victims unite on Facebook to vang con
HOLIDAY SWINDLER: Lize Botha, 31, of Ottery
Angry South Africans are looking for an Ottery travel agent called Lize Botha who is suspected of scamming mense out of their holiday money.
Clients say they pay for their bookings, only for them to be cancelled before check-in.
Mandy Fernandez from Johannesburg told Daily Voice she first made contact with Lize after winning a raffle for a stay for her and her husband at The Westin Cape Town Hotel on the Foreshore late last year.
But when they arrived for their holiday last Monday, they were left high and dry.
“During the lockdown, I joined a group on Facebook called Destashalize, where people can post things to raffle off,” explains Mandy.
“Lize used to post a lot of holidays using the name Ardent World Travel and Tours. I entered a few of the raffles and I spent R1 500 to win the prize at the Westin.
“My husband Chris and I saved up for the holiday to celebrate my 40th birthday but after driving all the way from Johannesburg, we were shocked when we got to the hotel and found out our booking was cancelled by Lize about 12 hours before we got there.”
The disappointed couple spent a week in the Kaap but had to fork out for alternative accommodation.
“We had to change our plans and at the end of the day, it cost us about R21 000.
“I went online and saw there was a whole group on Facebook dedicated to exposing Lize because people have been scammed by her for a very long time.
“I even saw some of the people who won trips overseas and when they travelled there, they had the same experience as us.”
Mandy said she tried multiple times to get hold of Lize, 31, but the suspected con artist had subsequently deleted her social media profiles, while the number provided is no longer in use.
She will be laying a charge when she gets back home this week, she said.
The “Ardent World Travel and Tours disgruntled clients” Facebook page says about 50 people have so far come forward while some have laid charges of fraud with police.
According to the group, Lize lived with her parents in Ottery.
While the Daily Voice was also unable to get hold of Lize, we received emails from 20 people stating they had purchased holidays from her, all of which did not materialise and they have not heard from her since.
One of the statements from the disgruntled clients reads: “Bought a 2-night voucher for R12000. Accommodation wasn’t paid when checking in. Lize sent her a fake POP and asked her to pay the R12k in the meantime. Refund never cleared.”