A very unpleasant South African welcome

“Even though I had been told that I would regret the move, I had made up my mind to immigrate and retire here in South Africa, nothing or no one would change my mind,” she said.

Now living and settled in Killarney, Hanuseiwicz appeared to have proved everyone wrong, until she met a man who would change her perception of how business was done in South Africa.

“A friend of mine introduced me to a curtain maker based in Emmarentia who was full of sweet words and promises. He promised to make me curtains and months later I’m still living in a home where my neighbours can see me,” she said, pointing at her living room window without net curtains.

Hanuseiwicz said the curtain maker made her pay a deposit and since then, she said he’s continuously lied about when she’ll get the curtains, delayed meetings numerous times, and has not kept any of his promises.

“A few weeks ago I went to the [Oriental] Plaza in Johannesburg, and I was surprised to see how quickly curtains were made. I took some of my own material and in just a few hours they were done,” she said.

Showing the Gazette some of the curtains made at the Plaza, and the one pair she had received from the curtain maker, Hanuseiwicz said she was shocked at how she had been lied to.

The elderly woman claimed that ever since moving here, she has been lied to and manipulated out of her money by people she had hired to help refurbish her new home, including the company that built her new kitchen.

“I love this country and the people, but the amount of time a person has to wait for things to get done is unbelievable,” she added.

“I would like to warn other people not to trust as easily and only to pay once the job is done, otherwise they will be as disappointed as I was.”