Two mothers’ hopes of creating a special memory for their children’s matric balls were dashed after the kwaai cars that they had rented from the same company, for the same day, failed to arrive.
The mothers say they’ve been struggling to get refunds.
Lucrechia Nell from Arniston says she paid R3500 to a man named Maynoe Jaffer, who advertises luxury cars for hire on Facebook Marketplace under the name Maserati World.
However on the day of the big event, Friday 19 September, Jaffer did not show up with the black Maserati they had arranged.
The mom explains: “I video called him and I saw his face and he assured me that he will leave Cape Town at 11 am.
"About 12.30pm the message didn't go through. His phone was then off. At 2.10pm, he sent a message that his battery died, and he sent a live location, and he was in Caledon, after that the phone was dead.
“At 3.30p, he came with an excuse that he had a pap wiel because he drove too fast, he claimed to be in Napier.”
She and her husband drove to Napier, but says Jaffer was nowhere to be found.
The frustrated mom says her son’s matric ball was ruined as Jaffer never arrived and ignored her calls and messages.
She says: “Nie net het ek ‘n klomp geld verloor nie, maar my kind was diep teleurgesteld want die kar was die main ding waarna hy uitgesien het.”
Lucrechia also could not open a criminal case against Jaffer as she does not have his physical address.
Jaffer claims the Maserati had a tyre burst at Bredasdorp, and he has prove that the tyre shop didn’t have the size of the tyre required.
Jaffer says: “The car went out that day, it just came later, it wasn’t not there at all.
But Lucrechia says Jaffer “spinned” her the same story and has been avoiding her ever since.
Meanwhile, a Belhar mom says she too was a victim of a no-show.
The 42-year-old single mother, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her daughter, says in June Jaffer came to her workplace with a black Maserati, and introduced himself as the owner of Maserati World.
She paid R1600 up front, but Jaffer never pitched up for the ball.
The mom had to fork out R5000 for another vehicle, but says her daughter ended up missing the whole jol as she was too late.
Jaffer tells the Daily Voice he’s not at fault, as he is just an employee at Maserati World.
He admitted that he gave the Belhar mom the “wrong” bank account number, even though his name appears on it.
The Daily Voice has asked for contact details of his “boss”, but has yet to receive a reply.
Last week Jaffer said he hasn’t refused to pay the Belhar mother back and “wasn’t a scammer”.
He said at the time: “I'm not the only guy that works there or the only guy that drives on that particular day. There could be nine matric balls that they drove for the boss.”
The mother, who has laid a charge against Jaffer, says R600 was refunded on Friday.
Police spokesperson Anelisiwe Manyana confirmed that they're investigating a case of theft under false pretences.
byron.lukas@inl.co.za