The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Is this a scam?

Please assist me with this matter.

I have received a call from this number claiming that I have a parcel at Cape Town, the parcel is from UK, Can you help check if the umber is legit, they said I should pay R2550 to clear it at the customs office. The number is +6787477204.

Regular readers of The Voice will know already what I’m about say, they’ve seen it before. This is a scam. The person who contacted us told the same story that we’ve heard many, many times. She met a man online and gradually, but perhaps slightly too quickly for a skeptical person to believe, developed a friendship with him. That friendship then developed into something more, something romantic and she started to think of him as her “boyfriend”. And then this mysterious man, who claims to lives far away and who says he has a well-paid job that involves a lot of travel, offered to send his new lady friend a package containing a range of gifts. The package always seems to include a laptop, jewellery, money and an Apple iPhone (these scammers seem to think Apple products are more appealing). And then the lady received a message from someone claiming to be either a shipping agent or a customs official saying that the package has been held up somewhere and this lady is required to pay them money to release it.

Of course, most of you will know by now that this is what the scam is all about. That payment to release the package. But obviously the package doesn’t exist. Just like the “boyfriend” doesn’t exist. Just like the relationship doesn’t exist. The only genuine thing is the money that the scammers will demand, no doubt to be paid using Western Union.

Update: I’ve already spoken at length with the victim and she understands now that she was being scammed. Unfortunately this is a particularly nasty case because the scammer threatened that if she didn’t pay the money he will publish the nude photos she sent him while she thought they were in a relationship. I’m sure we can all imagine how scared she was by that possibility. I’ve advised her to block the scammer on Facebook and WhatsApp so there is no real reason for him to carry out his threat.

The lesson is a simple one. Don’t trust anyone you meet online until you have a very good reason to trust them. And even then be careful. Assume that anything you say, publish or send them will be used against you.

How long does it take to fix it?

I bought a Sony home theatre at a furniture store Francistown but I stay in Selibe Phikwe. So it worked fine only the first week and from then the system monitor did not power on. I called them at Francistown and they told me to take it to their store in Phikwe. They told me they will have to take it to Gaborone so their technician can look through it. Its been 3 weeks now and they can’t update me on anything about it. When I call them they always extend the days I should expect feedback. So I want to know if is it ok for them to take the things that I have paid for this long? Their guarantee was for a year and I bought it for P3.2k.

When you buy something that is covered by a warranty like this, if something goes wrong during the warranty period you are entitled to one of the three Rs, a repair, refund or a replacement. However, it’s up to the store to decide which one of those three Rs they choose to offer you. They ARE within their rights to try and repair the monitor. However, Section 15 (1) (a) of the Consumer Protection Regulations says that when a supplier like this one offers services, such as a repair, they must do so “with reasonable care and skill”.

I don’t think this sounds like “reasonable care and skill”, do you?

I think you should remind the store about this requirement and suggest to them that it means you’re entitled to know how long it will take for them to repair your property. They need to give you a commitment and I think we’ll get in touch with them as well to remind them about this.