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R699 car drivers moving forward

Cape Town - Clients of Satinsky, who believe that they have been fed a string of lies which could amount to fraud, are working to find a way forward as the saga unfolds.
 
According to consumer activist Simon Lapping, who has taken it upon himself to help the hard done clients, people applied for loans through Satinsky as a prerequisite. “The application for loans were drawn by Satinsky and submitted to banks for approval. The banks merely rubber stamped the process,” he said.

Lapping alleged that about 95% of the loan applications were altered “to various degrees of severity”.  The changes that were made gave banks different impressions of clients’ credibility.  

The banks, Absa, Standard Bank and Motor Finance Corporation (MFC) of Nedbank approved these applications. Lapping said the banks will have to answer for this “reckless lending”. The “banks may face scrutiny from the National Credit regulator”.

Things started to fall apart when Satinsky owner Albert Venter allegedly had a disagreement with one of the executives at Absa. Absa withdrew finance and the other banks followed suit, a source close to Satinsky told Fin24.  

This means more cars had to be sold to make up for the shortfall and to continue the cycle, as in a Ponzi scheme.

Read: Drive a R699 car typical Ponzi scheme - WesBank

An Absa spokesperson told Fin24 initially “Satinsky was evaluated and approved as a dealer”.  The business relationship was reviewed in late 2013 and Absa issued notice to Satinsky to “terminate the relationship”.
 
Absa also declared that advertising agreements between Satinsky clients and Blue Lakes were “separate agreements to which Absa is not a party and does not promote in any manner”.  

Clients were financed according to Absa’s processes and credit criteria.  

Affected clients were encouraged to contact the bank to “discuss their financial circumstances and arrange a suitable remediation plan”.  

MFC told Fin24 it was not involved in the agreements between the clients and Satinksy. According to Trevor Browse, Managing Director, assessments were made according to the “lending framework of the National Credit Act,” when granting loans.  

However, affected clients will have to resolve the issue themselves; customers should “contact Just Group Africa to seek a resolution”.  

Standard Bank told Fin24 that an affordability assessment was conducted on applicants. Loans were only granted to customers “if all the credit and affordability criteria have been met”.  

Standard Bank also said it was not involved in client agreements with Satinsky or Blue Lakes. These agreements were made separately, “without Standard Bank’s knowledge”.

However Standard Bank is willing to assist customers in rescheduling loans and to decide on a “mutually beneficial solution”.

Lapping believes the banks have to answer for what has happened. “The banks have the means and the deep pockets to get to the bottom of this fiasco.” The loan agreement is with the banks and not Satinsky, he said.

Close to 1 700 clients have joined forces in the Facebook group “I have been done in by drive a new car from R699 per month” to find solutions.

Read: Wheels come off on 'Drive a new car for R699'

Companies like Carfin have come forward to offer clients refinance options.

Sean Hearn of Carfin, a national company based in Pretoria, declared that they have nothing to do with “Blue Lakes or the ‘Drive a NEW car’ deal”. So far they have helped 20 Satinsky clients.    

On the Facebook group, Lapping posted ways clients could go about verifying the accuracy of the applications Satinsky submitted to the banks. This would reveal if any fraud was involved in the purchasing of their motor vehicles.
 
He told Fin24: “All I am merely doing is trying to tell people about their rights within the ambit of the law.” Hundreds of people have approached him for help and he has answered questions wherever he could.

As a way forward, Lapping discouraged law suits as any course of action to be taken should “not cost the consumer any more money as it stands”.  

He advised people not to fall for the same trap again, “If it’s too good to be true then it cannot be true.” He also advised people to keep records of all finance arrangements and not to believe organisations on face value.  

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