MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A Hartenbos Heuwels man contacted the Mossel Bay Advertiser, saying he had been taken for a ride by a so-called maintenance man, who went off with his cash and did no work.
Peet Groenewald said that about three weeks ago, the man arrived at his house and asked if there was any maintenance work he could do.
Groenewald showed him what needed to be done. The man, aged 33, looked neat and was a smooth talker, Groenewald said.
The fraudster gave Groenewald a verbal quotation for the work and said he needed 50% of the total of R2 500 in order to buy materials.
The handyman was to start work the next day, but he arrived that day, without his workers, and asked for another R300 because the materials ended up being more expensive than originally thought.
He was to start the following day.
Groenewald said the man never arrived and made the "best excuses" each day as to why he could not come and start the work.
"I realised he had lied about his circumstances and he admitted this later. He's a professional liar. He never bought the materials and I am battling to get my money back from him."
Groenewald warned people not to be taken in by the man. He has a photograph of him and his ID card. The "handyman" willingly gave over his ID card to be photographed.
His WhatsApp profile picture is a photograph of himself. Groenewald has saved this photograph.
He says he is will open a complaint at a police station.
"Anyone else who has been tricked by this man can contact me," Groenewald (082 375 3891) says, adding that he was finding it difficult to get hold of the trickster on the phone now.
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