Margate plant hire firm conned
A number of plant hire machines have been stolen, using exactly the same modus operandi.
A MARGATE plant hire company was conned out of its new R1-million tractor-loader-backhoe (TLB) last Wednesday.
The owner of TLB Plant Hire, Gerhard Grove, told the Herald yesterday (Wednesday), a man posing as a customer approached him for a quote last week.
The next day the customer called back and sent the company an FNB document with proof of payment.
Mr Grove said the TLB was loaded onto a truck and its operator was driven to Pinetown and booked into a bed and breakfast establishment for the night.
“The next day, our operator had to leave. He phoned the customer, who said he would be there shortly to fetch him, but he never arrived,” said Mr Grove.
When the operator alerted Mr Grove, he checked the TLB’s tracking unit, which showed movement in the morning, but was then disconnected and removed so the machine could no longer be traced.
The payment also turned out to be fake, along with all the company details the customer had provided.
“I have had quite a few people contact me and say that they have also had machines stolen, using exactly the same modus operandi,” said Mr Grove.
He has offered a R50 000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the machine.
He warned other plant hire companies to be on the lookout for ‘Arnold’. “Even if we don’t get our machine back I would like to try and help others so the same doesn’t happen to them,” he said
The case is being investigated by Durban SAPS, but no arrests have yet been made.
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