A RICHARDS BAY man who released his car to a prospective buyer for a mechanical check, was horrified to discover that the vehicle was quickly registered in the ‘buyer’s’ name with a fraudulent signature and thereafter resold under a different name online.
Marius Honeyball says he was left stranded and penniless after the ‘purchaser’, know to him as a Jimmy Naidoo, took possession of his blue Chevrolet Spark LS 2008 hatchback for a mechanical check prior to formally concluding the deal.
The vehicle was subsequently registered at the Verulam Traffic Department, but the signature on the registration papers does not belong to Honeyball.
According to Honeyball, Naidoo paid him less than half the purchase price of R22 000 as a ‘deposit’.
‘I wanted to sell the vehicle ‘as is’. We agreed that Naidoo would check the car properly and when he was satisfied, he would pay me the rest.
‘Because the license disk had expired, he was not supposed to drive the vehicle around – it was only for inspection.’
‘He agreed to pay me R10 000, of which R2 000 was used to replace the tyres.
The vehicle with the new tyres was handed over for inspection, but Honeyball left the logbook in the car.
When he later phoned to collect the logbook, his calls went unanswered. Naidoo’s wife said he was not available.
It later transpired that Naidoo visited Honeyball’s landlord and asked for proof of residence, which he was supplied with.
When Honeyball reported the matter to the traffic department, he was told that the car was now registered in the name of J Naidoo with registration number NJ 76298.
Honeyball opened a case at the police station, only to be told that it was a civil matter and that the parties had to sort it out themselves.
Meanwhile, a friend phoned Honeyball and reported that his vehicle was being sold next to the road in Empangeni.
Honeyball again contacted the police, who promised to contact Naidoo and tell him that he was not to sell the vehicle pending the investigation.
However, the car was then advertised on OLX under registration number NRB 70551 by a ‘Justin’ and resold to a third party.
After intervention by the Richards Bay Control Prosecutor following perusal of the docket and the signatures, a case of fraud was finally opened.
Meanwhile, Naidoo told police that he did pay Honeyball the full purchase price, but could not deliver proof.
The Zululand Observer contacted Mr Naidoo for a comment, but he declined to discuss the matter.
