Vehicle hunters should be extremely cautious of auction notices offering bank-repossessed vehicles at attractively low prices – usually also with no deposits needed.

An alarmed Limpopo resident contacted the Zoutpansberger/Mirror this week to seek help after apparently having been taken in by unscrupulous operators of a scam which first surfaced in the province during the first half of last year.

The person, whose name is being withheld for obvious reasons, reacted to a pamphlet which he found during a visit to Pretoria in July this year. In the name of an auctioneering firm, fairly new bank-repossessed vehicles are being offered for taking over of instalments at attractively low prices. He was interested in two bakkies. After telephonic negotiations, he was first requested to send money for license and registration fees and later, after a delay “to prepare the contract”, he was contacted for delivery costs. He spent R3 260 on the two vehicles of his choice. Deliveries would start at the beginning of September.

After the latest contact, he was promised he would receive his cars in seven to 14 days. This never happened. Now repeated calls to the number are answered by voicemail. Suspecting that something was amiss, he searched the Internet and landed on the website of the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror.

A similar experience was reported by yet another visitor to Zoutnet’s website. He said he had recently reacted to an advertisement by “Radebe-Kruger & Partners (Pty) Ltd”

In March last year, the Zoutpansberger/Mirror reported on an advertisement pamphlet by “Fisher-Radebe & Partners Auctions (Pty) Ltd” who gave their official address as 83 Pine Street in Musina.

A “client” from another province, who had also already paid “license and registration and delivery fees”, made the trip to Musina to have a look at his bargain-priced, to-be-delivered vehicle, only to find that no such address exists in Musina. The CIPRO (Company and Intellectual Properties Registration Office) also had no record of such a company. The advertisement on the pamphlet was in open contravention of the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) directive that “Advertisements by brokers offering to arrange instalment take-overs or delegations, without the written consent of the financial institution involved, will not be permitted. Advertisers wishing to offer such services will be required to provide proof that such consent has been given…”

Although “no deposits” are needed, pre-payment of R350 “for license and registration” and R850 for “delivery nationwide” is required. To be approved as a buyer, the pamphlet says, you are required to send an SMS with your name, surname, ID number, address, place of work, type of car that you want and further contact details. The only contact number on the pamphlet is a cell phone number.