BARRY ELS writes:
Have you perhaps been approached by a smallish man who calls himself Albert and claims to be a paving expert?
During recent building operations he enquired on several occasions and I asked him to return after building was completed. He then duly contracted to do work for my daughter, the owner of the property where I reside.
After a two-day delay he and his team of four workers showed up after 11am and started the basic levelling work. But then they all promptly disappeared, after having worked for only a few hours.
My borrowed wheel barrow and several garden tools were also found to be missing. Albert had asked to borrow these because his equipment “was locked in a garage” to which he had been unable to gain access.
He had claimed to have in stock 48 square metres of small paving bricks which were identical to the existing paving and apparently difficult and expensive to come by. My daughter had paid him half of the agreed amount so he could purchase sand, cement and weed control poison.
I would describe him as very convincing, talkative and sly. A good Afrikaans word comes to mind: “skelm”!
Please be careful of this man. I would appreciate any information. My telephone number is 071-341-2349.
