Tsakani – A group of Tsakani residents are reeling after they were allegedly robbed of thousands in their savings by a tombstone company.
The group bought tombstones for their deceased family members, but when the company was supposed to erect the tombstones, it was full of excuses and then abruptly closed shop.
The only sign of its existence is a company sign at its now vacant offices.
All three cellphone numbers it gave its clients are no longer in service and all its offices in the East Rand are vacant.
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Pensioner Makie Ngwenya said she could not believe her eyes when she visited the company’s office in the first week of January and found it was closed.
“One of its neighbours told me it moved out in December. I thought I was dreaming and still can’t believe I was robbed of R14 000 of my savings.
“I worked hard and deprived myself of luxurious things to afford the three tombstones for my late mother, husband and grandson,” she explained.
Ngwenya added that didn’t suspect that the company might one day vanish with its customers’ money.
“They were running a special to buy two and get one tombstone for free and unsuspecting residents like me fell for that.
“We are now all left with the purchase slips as proof that we lost our hard-earned money,” she added.
Another victim, Nomonde Mthethwa, lost R19 000.
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“I had planned to unveil the tombstones in September. I had made arrangements for the event, but in the days leading up to the big day, the tombstones were still not erected.
“The company owner told me they are still waiting for the delivery. As the days progressed, they stopped taking my calls and when I went to their offices, I discovered they had moved,” she added.
Tsakani police spokesperson Sgt Lerato Mngomezulu advised the group to take the matter to a civil court.
“Unfortunately, we don’t deal with civil cases. The two parties had a contractual agreement that the service provider failed to honour.
“We are urging residents to be careful with their money, as criminals are lurking with plans of robbing unsuspecting residents of their hard-earned money,” she said.
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