Misery for those who took cheap-car bait

THOUSANDS of motorists who bought into the “Drive-acar-for-R699” scheme will be anxiously following the case of a Cape Town motorist who is fighting Absa over the repossession of his vehicle.

Simon Lapping, a consumer activist who has been assisting affected motorists, said the case of John Lockett, a municipal worker who does not want his Tata to be repossessed, could set a precedent for others in similar predicaments, provided that Lockett and the bank do not settle out of court.

Efforts to hold banks and Satinsky to account have stalled. In August, the Eastern Cape High Court in Port Elizabeth turned down a class-action application against credit providers.

More than 25 000 motorists were affected when the scheme collapsed.

A 64-year-old Cape Town pensioner, who declined to be named because of embarrassment, said he cried when his brother had to help him financially this Christmas.

The pensioner, a cancer survivor, said the small Chery QQ3, for which he now pays R2 500 a month, was his first brand new car.

Albert Venter had “taken so many people to the cleaners”, he said. “I thought I was doing good for myself. I’ve never had a new car.”

Edward Barnes, 57, of Ravensmead in Cape Town, now shares the R2 500 monthly premium for his Tata Indica with his daughter, but said the instalment was still “heavy” on the pocket. Barnes was surprised when he qualified for finance through Satinsky’s scheme.

“Before this, Absa didn’t want to finance me for a R50 000 car, and now they wanted to finance me for a R100 000 car,” he said. “Absa previously said my wages and my [credit] record were not good [enough].”

Criminal complaints relating to Satinsky have been lodged. Lapping said he knew of more than 20.

Paul Ramaloko, spokesman for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), confirmed that the unit had been investigating.