Residents warn of elusive repair man

HILLCREST residents David Sumpton and David Terblanche have warned residents about a repair man operating in Hillcrest and Botha’s Hill.

According to Terblanche, the man took approximately R2 540 from them after he promised to fix their gate.

“On Tuesday 21 January he came to our house to complete a quote for the repair. He told us that he needed to buy a part to complete the repair, and asked for the cash up front.

“He seemed very trustworthy, so we never suspected anything. Since then we have spoken to several other residents about this man and they knew who he was and what his modus operandi is. Another resident lost R30 000,” said Terblanche.

Terblanche also reported that he has been sending SMS’s to the repair man, but he has been responding with erratic messages that do not make any sense.

“It seems he is still doing this even with other types of repair jobs . That’s why it is vitally important to report incidents such as these and warn other residents,” said Terblanche.

Sumpton also claimed that they had attempted to report the man to the Hillcrest SAPS, but were met with indifference.

“They simply laughed at us and told us that we could not open a case.

“We were told that we had to go to the small claims court, but at this point it seems like a lost cause,” said Sumpton.

Lt France Mkhize of the Hillcrest police said that they had not received any complaints regarding the repair man, and stated that he would investigate the claim made by Sumpton and Terblanche regarding the officer’s refusal to open a case.

The Highway Mail attempted to speak to the repair man but there was no answer to numerous phone calls.