MBOMBELA – Over the past few months 42 200 motorists have been affected by the “Drive a car from R699 per month” deal which turned out to be an apparent pyramid scheme.
National media has reported that the police and National Credit Regulator (NCR) are now investigating the mastermind behind this alleged sceme, Mr Albert Venter. Locals are still not sure where to go from here and how to determine exactly how much they owe on a vehicle they obtained through a deal which now proves to may have been too good to be true.
Ms Melody Nolan, one of the victims, wants to help those without Internet access and who only rely on their local newspapers. Firstly, you need to obtain a copy of your application for the vehicle loan at the bank. Scrutinise your income and expenditure on the application and see if it is correct. Write an affidavit regarding the whole application process – this is extremely important- in which you mention how it was done and what figures you gave to the Satinsky Group. Remember to state everything, no matter how irrelevant you may think it is.
If there is clear evidence that your application is not truthful or lacks full disclosure you should open a case with the police for fraud against the party that made the application on your behalf and remember to get a case number. Record any conversations or threats from Satinsky representatives, no matter how trivial. Get an E-NATIS report on the history of your vehicle and compare it to what you were told you were getting. Your E-NATIS report can be obtained from you local traffic department This report will list any prior owners of the vehicle. Remove your stickers from your vehicle as you are advertising for a company that no longer exists. It has also been reported that Venter has lodged a claim of R20 billion against WesBank and a claim of R1 million against Ms Maria Nel who created the Facebook group. The value of the vehicles purchased through these deals totals R2,8 billion and were obtained with the help of Satinsky, Nedbank, Absa and Standard Bank. The NCR is also investigating the three banks involved. According to Mr Chris de Kock, executive head of WesBank, the banks displayed poor judgement and he knew it was a Ponzi scheme from the beginning. He accused the banks of “not doing their homework”. Lawyers now refuse to handle the court case as their biggest clients are banks.
The court case against the Satinsky Group, Standard bank, Nedbank and Absa Bank resumed on August 7 and is still ongoing in the Port Elizabeth High Court. On August 30, motorists plan to have groups of consumers descend on banks in their home towns to ensure the banks comply to their requests. Enquiries: Melody Nolan on 072-506-2986.
