Beware of the newest method being used to get you to part with your hard-earned money.
It seems that people impersonating employees of Global Energy Management (Gem) Pty Ltd are targeting residents under the pretence of selling a new product which will save on their electricity bill.
Roland Hill, an 83-year-old resident from Horison, had quite an experience earlier this week. “I was approached by a man who said he was from Gem and wanted to sell me a product which he claimed could cut my electricity costs. He had all my municipal account details and wanted me to pay him R7 000 cash there and then, which made me very suspicious,” said Hill. According to Hill, he was not sure about this product and the company.
The man was very intimidating and in a rush to get Hill to accept the offer. Hill told the man, who said his name was Carl, that he did not have that kind of money and would need to go to the bank to speak to the manager. “Carl even accompanied me to my bank to see the manager. When I spoke to my bank manager to arrange for an overdraft, he advised me to not make a hasty decision and tell Carl that I need a few days to think about the product,” said Hill.
Hill then told Carl that he need some time to think and he should come back in a week’s time. Hill said that this seemed to make the man very angry and upset. “He kept on pushing me to pay him some money, and wanted me to pay a 50 per cent deposit. I asked him where I should get R4 000 from. In the end, I gave him R500, for which he did not give me a receipt, just to get him to leave. He did not leave the application forms or a telephone number with me,” said a shaken Hill.
Mike Florens, the director of Gem, was contacted to verify if this was indeed an employee of the company. Florens said that their consultants would never ask for any cash to be paid upfront, and wanted to know if the man had given his name to Hill. When he heard the man had called himself Carl, he immediately confirmed that he did not have anyone by that name working for him.
“We are a reputable consultancy business with 27 years’ experience. We simply do not conduct our business in this manner. About four weeks ago, I was contacted by a woman who claimed that her mother had been approached by someone who said they were from our company.
This man accompanied her mother to the ATM where she withdrew about R10 000,” Florens said.
Florens warned people to be very careful when approached by someone with this modus operandi as they are definitely not from his company. He said the public is welcome to contact him if they are unsure about anyone claiming to work for Gem. “A photograph can also be taken and sent to me,” he said.
For more information, or to verify an employee, contact Mike Florens on 082 600 7999 or send him an email to mike@gemx.co.za.
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