Durban - A businessman who was conned out of more than R100 000 by a smooth-talking “car dealer” who sold him two cars - neither of which was ever delivered - has laid a criminal complaint and secured a high court order paving the way for the recovery of the money.
Allen Brink, a marine surveyor, says he met Clayton Whitaker at a dinner in Cape Town with delegates of the Society of Master Mariners in August last year.
In an affidavit which came before Durban High Court Judge Dhaya Pillay on Tuesday, Brink said Whitaker told him he was in the business of buying and selling repossessed cars, and he could get him a great price.
Brink said he gave Whitaker his contact details and about two weeks later Whitaker called saying he had a variety of vehicles available, including a Ford Ranger, a Polo GTI and an SL65 AMG Mercedes-Benz.
Brink said he decided to buy the bakkie and the Mercedes and signed what he now realised was nothing more than an “incomprehensible and gibberish” agreement e-mailed to him by Whitaker.
On the same day, September 2, he transferred just more than R107 000 by EFT to Whitaker, who told him to expect delivery on Monday, September 8.
But the vehicles didn’t arrive.
Brink submitted to the court a complete set of “excuse” text messages he exchanged with Whitaker from September 1 to October 10 - 45 pages in total.
In them, Whitaker firstly fobs off Brink’s attempts to view the vehicles by saying they are in Johannesburg. When Brink says he has a manager in that area, he says “we are not an auction house, the cars sit with the banks”.
Then Whitaker claimed his father-in-law had died and he was busy with the undertakers.
Repeatedly assuring Brink that he was “not to stress” and that he would give Brink a refund if there were any problems, Whitaker then “mistakenly” sent him an sms intended for someone else, about other vehicles, in which he referred to a delivery being made in Durban.
“S*** dam phone sorry was not for you that message you got copied in dam touch screen,” he wrote.
As the date for delivery came and went, Whitaker once claimed the truck was in Musgrave. When Brink asked for the address he responded: “How must I know?”
When Brink said he would go down and look for it, Whitaker responded: “Try not to talk to the driver as your order will be suspended as you are not to know where it is thanks”.
Brink then said: “No trucks in Musgrave.”
Whitaker said: “Musgrave is big Mr Alan.”
Other excuses were power cuts, that he was waiting for funds to clear and that Brink, by going to his lawyer, had “defamed him”.
His wife also had a baby, he was variously in Flagstaff or Botswana, where there was “heavy rain and muddy roads”, he was “on the way to the bank” and he had lost Brink’s e-mail details to send confirmation of payment.
Brink sent a lawyer’s letter demanding his money back within 48 hours. But the demand was not met.
Brink then laid a charge of fraud against Whitaker and, according to a return of service from the Sheriff, the high court papers were served on him after his arrest and when he appeared in Court 10 at the Durban Magistrate’s Court at the end of May.
Whitaker’s criminal case has not yet been set down for trial.
When the matter came before Judge Pillay on Tuesday, Whitaker was not present, nor did he file any notice of opposition, and judgment was granted against him.
He was also ordered to pay the costs of the application.
The Mercury sent an e-mail to his last known address on Tuesday but has not received a response.
The Mercury