MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Several frustrated Mossel Bay residents and holidaymakers have said they are still waiting for refunds from Leon van der Walt of Mossel Bay Historic Ghost Walk.
His walks were cancelled, in some cases at the last minute, in late December last year.
The refund amounts range from R300 to more than R1 700 and are owed to multiple people. Mossel Bay Advertiser spoke to six people who are still awaiting their refunds from Van der Walt, who provided the people with various reasons why the walk was cancelled, and why the refund had not yet been paid.
Full price
Marita Carse was told she would need to pay the full price of the walk before attending and booked spots for herself and 10 of her family members for 26 December, paying a total of R1 725.
The walk was due to start at 20:00 that evening, with the meeting point outside the entrance to the Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex.
"At 17:00 that afternoon, he sent a message saying he had a few personal problems and could not make the walk. I asked him for a refund and on 30 December he told me he would pay back the money on 15 January," she said.
Refund
Another Mossel Bay local, Carlien Joubert, said she had booked a walk with Van der Walt for three people on 24 December.
Joubert paid a total of R525. She said that when the day of the walk came, she received a WhatsApp from Van der Walt at 16:00, stating he wouldn't be able to make it as he had a burst pipe in his home in Swellendam and had to wait for a plumber.
"He said he'd move us to 25 December; we agreed to this. Then on the 25th, Leon sent me a message at 17:00, saying he couldn't make it because he had toothache. I said he should refund me.
"I sent my banking details immediately, but for days my message remained unread.
"I tried to call him and sent WhatsApp messages during this time but got no response and that's when I put a post on Facebook, just to hear if someone else had had the same experience, which they apparently had."
Joubert said she eventually received a response from Van der Walt, saying he would refund her by 15 January, as he was waiting for money.
"I'm aware of Leon's good reputation and his passion for Mossel Bay and its history; I've been following him on Facebook for five years and we were very disappointed when we saw he was quitting the ghost walks for good in October this year, so the prospect of a chance to take the tour over the holidays was very exciting.
"We are so disappointed it turned out this way, especially because some of the people who booked are tourists and this really leaves a bad taste for Mossel Bay," she said.
Toothache
Isabel Twigge, who lives in Bloemfontein and had been in Mossel Bay for the holiday period, had booked a walk for 25 December for two people, paying a total of R350.
On the day of the walk, however, he told her he had an abscess due to a filling that had fallen out and would have to cancel the tour.
A Mossel Bay local who wished to remain anonymous said she booked a walk on 26 December, which was cancelled. She said Van der Walt told her he had personal issues. She paid R700.
A Free State resident, who was in Mossel Bay on holiday and wished to remain anonymous, paid R500 for a tour for 27 December. He said Van der Walt cancelled, stating it was because of personal reasons.
Engine troubles
Nickey Geldenhuys paid R525 for a booking she made for 26 December, but Van der Walt cancelled and told her this was due to unforeseen personal issues.
He had told these people, and the Advertiser, he would be making refunds by 15 January, however, when 15 January arrived, the money was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, he sent messages to several of these people, which have been seen by the Advertiser, that said he was in a difficult situation and struggling to get the funds together.
He said a major reason why the tours were cancelled was that on his way to Mossel Bay for the tour, his car engine gave in and now needed to be redone. He said the refunds would be done, but would take longer than expected.
He also sent a picture of himself, standing at the roadside with his hands on his head, looking at a smoking vehicle.
The photo sent to some people who are owed refunds. Virtual tour
One local, Natassaja Loots, said she was still owed a refund from a virtual tour that she had paid R150 for and booked for 30 October last year.
Loots said it was due to start at 19:00 but at 19:25, Van der Walt sent her a WhatsApp saying he had some technical difficulties, that he could not go ahead with the tour and that he would refund the money.
She said she sent him her banking details but had not received any of her money and had not heard from him since that day.
Books
On 7 June last year, Van der Walt posted on his Facebook page, "Mossel Bay historic ghost walk" that he would be releasing a book late in October last year, the contents of which would be about the walk and the information relayed on these tours.
The post said people could pre-order and a book costs R200.
A local, who asked not to be named, said he had paid R200 for a book but had heard nothing from Van der Walt since 9 November last year.
Wendy Buchwald said she had ordered and paid for two books and her sister had ordered and paid for one and she had still not received the book.
Van der Walt responds
Van der Walt said he had spoken to all the people to whom he owed refunds.
"I phoned most of them on Saturday (18 January) as well. I also explained to all of them that an event happened on my way to Mossel Bay for the tours, where I had to make very hard choices."
He said he had a serious breakdown next to the road, where the towing fee alone was R5 200, which was payable on the spot.
"I am a private person and I do not elaborate on my personal problems much. We were stranded in Riviersonderend and I first moved the tours instead of cancelling them because the guy working on the car said he could fix it in a day. That didn't happen so fast as it was holidays.
He said he never mentioned anything about a "burst house pipe" but did mention "pipes on the car that went".
"But it is only an example of how stories get spread. I have been in contact with everyone and have explained to everyone that refunding is going to take a while as I took some serious knocks.
"I understand people are scared that they are not going to get their refund. But this is the first time something like this has happened."
Sort it out
"I have been doing these walks for the past six years and have built up a good reputation. A knock from life unfortunately led to the situation. I am doing every single little thing I can to sort it out. For the people who feel they have to be refunded, they feel they are being scammed because they have not received their refund yet, I would suggest contacting the thousands of people who did book the tour and were given the tour."
He said this is an isolated event and feels that "fear, hype and sensation is driving it out of control where I am being called and labelled with some serious allegations which are not true".
Van der Walt said that when it came to the books, there was a problem with the invoicing.
He said the amount he paid initially to the company printing the books had been agreed upon but there were hidden costs.
He said the books had not been printed yet and he had explained to everyone.
Frustrated
He said he understood that people are frustrated but was frustrated himself with people running to the newspaper and to social media regarding the refunds while he was being honest with them and telling them what had been going on.
He said the information the newspaper had received was not necessarily true and the publication of this article would be damaging to his reputation. He said he had his reputation had already been damaged due to social media posts.
The Advertiser sent him questions, detailing each allegation and amounts owed to every person mentioned in the article. In response to the questions, Van der Walt did not elaborate on the untruths he had referred to.
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