The Voice (Botswana)

Where’s my money?

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I sold this man my car and he still owes me a balance of P13,000.

What he does is take your car and sell it at a certain price and he gives you the money you wanted. He was supposed to pay me P15,000 but he has only given me P2,000. We had a verbal agreement. I went to the magistrate and he ordered him to pay me before 31st May. I served him with court orders and still the sheriff can’t get a hold of him.

So, is there something you can advise me to do?

I think the first problem you face is the lack of written agreement. The rule really should be that any time you buy or sell something valuable, there must be an agreement in writing. It’s particular­ly important when you’re hiring someone to perform a service for you, like buying a car. Without an agreement, it can be very difficult to prove what was agreed between the two of you.

Luckily, you seem to have found a magistrate who can overlook this and has given you an order to get your money. The challenge now is to make that order more than just a piece of paper.

I contacted the man and he wasn’t very helpful. He asked me, “Wat was the agreement between me and that guy” and told me to “Get the facts before u start publishing things u don’t know Mr”. Unfortunat­ely, he hasn’t said anything further and has chosen not to tell me what he thinks “the facts” might be.

I suggest you go back to the magistrate and get their advice. It might be time to make this a criminal matter and involve the police. They might be able to persuade him to cooperate.

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