A RESIDENT of Gauteng is urging Durbanites to be aware of a woman who conned him in the sale of what was supposed to be expensive sneakers.
The man said he was interested in buying sneakers and when he searched the internet he found an advert on Gumtree where a woman was selling them cheaper than anyone else. The advert said the woman was based in Durban but would courier the shoes to the buyer.
“At this stage I was really excited about it so on 5 February I WhatsApped the number given and a woman replied and said her name was Fortunate Tenza. I always courier things to friends nationwide and I like to have faith and trust people. I explained to Fortunate what I wanted and she agreed that she had the specific sneakers at R700. I told her I needed two pairs and I was willing to pay for the courier fees of R99, and my total was R1 500. We both agreed and I told her as soon as I had the money I would transfer it into her account,” he said.
On Sunday 7 February, he said he asked Fortunate which bank she used so he could arrange that she received the money immediately, as he wanted the sneakers urgently.
“She suggested I ewallet the money to her so that it could be withdrawn immediately and said she would courier the shoes on the same day. She was very responsive and kept sending me pictures of the sneakers I wanted.She confirmed she had received the money on the same day. After a few hours after I hadn’t heard a word from her I kept calling and calling but she would not answer or reply to my messages,” he said.
He said he received a parcel on 10 February, and to his surprise he opened the parcel only to find two pairs of cheap counterfeit sneakers which he hadn’t asked for.
“On the waybill the name she used was Snenhlanhla. I called FNB ewallet services and they informed me she had already drawn the money out on the day I sent it and there was nothing they could do. She finally replied to my message, saying I must send the parcel back, but how do I trust a lady that does this?” he said.
In response to queries by Berea Mail, Gumtree’s spokesperson Claire Cobbledick, said: “We are very disappointed to hear that this customer had this negative experience. Our Customer Service team have investigated and this woman has already been blocked from posting further ads on our site. While scams are rare on our site, unfortunately they do occur and if you are the victim of such a crime, it’s important to take action immediately.”
She said people could do this by laying a charge of counterfeit trading at their nearest police station. The police then contact Gumtree’s dedicated helpline, policereports@gumtree.co.za or the victim could put Gumtree in touch with the investigating officer, so that Gumtree could supply them with the information necessary to assist with the investigation.
“It is also very important that the victim let us know what happened by typing help.gumtree.co.za into their browser and filling in the contact form, this allows us to block the perpetrator’s device ID, IP address and email address so that they cannot post ads or correspond with others via Gumtree,” she said.
Cobbledick said Gumtree advised users not to purchase items before viewing it in person. If, however, the item is only available in another province, it is best to make use of Gumtree’s validated partner, www.paywithshepherd.com, an escrow service powered by Standard Bank.
“Shepherd will collect the item from a seller and courier it to the buyer for inspection. If the buyer is satisfied with the item, he can accept it via the courier service, after which his funds are released to the seller. If he is not satisfied, Shepherd will refund the buyer and return the item to the seller,” she said.
