A couple from Paarl who sold their home to make a fresh start in Stellenbosch says they’ve been scammed out of R40 000 by a builder.
Justine Bantom, 29, says she, her husband and two children have now been forced to move in with her in-laws in Stellenbosch.
Justine says the total cost of the house including labour and material was R80 000 and they paid half of the money five months ago.
But all they have to show for it are the poles and side walls of the house.
“We sold our home in Paarl due to the crime in the area, they used to break into our house so often and we decided to move,” the mother of two explains.
She says they searched for a builder on Facebook’s Marketplace line and found Morgan Contractors.
She says after consultations and several on-site visits by the builder, Sean Dutch, she made payment on 30 January.
DEPRESSED: Justine Bantom
The Nutec house, which was going to be built in her in-laws’ backyard, was going to have two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen and a living room.
“We were convinced that they would do the job and we paid the money,” says Justine.
“First, it was R35 000 then R5 000. We waited for them to come start building the house but nothing.”
She says all the builder bought was five sides and put poles up in the yard on 30 January, but he never returned to finish the job.
Now, every day she sees the poles, and it’s making her depressed.
“This was supposed to be a fresh start for us. My husband was retrenched and I had just finished my studies.”
She says cops advised her to make a case at the small claims court.
“It is difficult to trace the builder, he blocked us everywhere. We lost our money.”
The Daily Voice tried calling the numbers Justine had for Morgan Contractors but they went to voicemail and the company did not respond to queries.