WeeklySA_AdminTRUST: The trust I had with her is broken
By Thuli Zungu
Facebook could be a new breeding ground for fraudsters. All Thato Bokaba, of East Rand wanted was a new kitchen unit for her baking business and not to go to court before her kitchen unit installed.
Last Friday she obtained a default judgement after Dani Ncedani of Home defied a court order to appear in the Magistrate’s Court to explain why the units had not been installed after she had been paid. Bokaba’s business stopped in August and has not been able to earn an income after the kitchen manufacturer Dani Andy Ncedani of Home reneged on her undertaking to install the units at the end of July this year.
“She was very quick to demand her deposit of R45 000, but when delivery time came, she had lots of excuses,” Bokaba said. Bokaba said she started following Kitchen Home Staging a few years ago when she was invited to join BrownSense Facebook group.
This group was formed in 2016 to empower members of the group and remove every layer that still kept us in shackles, she said. The aim of the group is to support black owned businesses, and to break the stereotype that black service providers deliver shoddy workmanship.
Bokaba says she has also been following Ncedani on her FB and Instagram account and to authenticate her business she visited her factory at Silverton Dale twice to inspect her work before enlisting her service.
The group has over 200 000 members who support each other in their business. She decided to support this black empowerment initiative and received excellent service when she first approached Ncedani.
“I was also impressed by her journey leaving her career as a medical doctor to manufacture furniture.” She contacted her again in May this year and was given a R66 000 quotation which she accepted. Bokaba was required to pay a deposit of R45 000 which needed to be cleared within 14 days before the installation. “I warned her to install the units before the end of July as the business is a bit quiet during this period and that I had a line-up of wedding cakes in the first week of August until the end of the year,” Bokaba said.
She said Ncedani undertook to complete her kitchen units before 1 August and on the 24th of July Bokaba advised her that she will remove her old kitchen unit for the tilling, plumbing and electrical work to be done.
“I also asked her to advise if anything has changed on her side and she confirmed that she will install the units.” On the day of installation Ncedani failed to arrive.
‘’Two days later she sent a message stating that she could not fit my units. I asked for a refund of my money but she has not responded. “I still don’t have a kitchen, and this woman is now ignoring me,” Bokaba said.
She added that the trust she had with this woman was now broken and she wanted nothing to do with Ncedani, but her money back. Asked for comment, Ncedani said “We will not be able to comment at this point as the client has taken the matter to the high court.’’ She also did not show up at the local magistrate’s court last Friday after she was served with a notice to appear. She told Consumer Eye that she had challenges and undertook to deliver the units on the 15 September 2021. Ncedani also accused Bokaba of sending people to threaten her. “She (Bokaba)) sent some Nigerians who came threatening and swearing at us two weeks ago – the same day that we were served with court papers. These guys ransacked our house,” Ncedani said.
Bokaba refuted this adding that she could have laid charges of against her. “This is a serious allegation and she should have reported this to the police,”Bokaba said.
BrownSense group is investigating the conduct of their member, according to a person we spoke to at the company’s complaints department.
The individual said BrownSence was committed to excellence.
