ERROL ARENDZ DU SUD DESIGNER LABEL PANTS DISAPPEAR IN CAFE LAUNDRY

<p>On Saturday, 22/04/2017, I handed in a pair of trousers for repairs, at Cafe Laundry (situated at 353 24th Avenue, on the corner of Pierneef Street and 24th Avenue, Villieria, Pretoria). I spoke to the manager of Cafe Laundry, i.e. Bernadette, regarding the required repairs, being a new zip and hook. The trousers were Errol Arendz Du Sud trousers, which were part of a suit. I paid approximately R1,500.00 for the trousers alone. Bernadette could not give me an indication as to how long the repairs would take - she advised that the repairs were not done on site, but were instead sent away to a seamstress. Bernadette promised that she would phone me when my trousers were ready for collection, and wrote down my cell phone number on her copy of my receipt, i.e. receipt number 00473. I paid in full for the repairs, i.e. R95.00 cash on 22/04/2017, and Bernadette recorded the payment on both the original and carbon copies receipt. I have not heard from Bernadette since 22/04/2017. I have tried to phone the only telephone number which is available for Cafe Laundry, i.e. t. ********** 602, on several occasions, but to no avail, because nobody ever picks up. Out of desperation and as a last resort, I finally went to Cafe Laundry on 14/07/2017 - because my logic was that even if the required haberdashery materials (i.e. a short black zip and metal hook) were not readily available and had to be ordered especially for my designer label Du Sud pants, 3 months would still be an excessively long period to wait for the alterations. When I arrived at Cafe Laundry, Bernadette looked for my pants in the shop, advised that she couldn't find them, and then sent an SMS to the owner, a Mr Dion Grobler (c. ********** ). I also tried to phone Mr Grobler on his cell phone multiple times while I was waiting in the shop - but he refused to pick up and blocked the calls from my number. Mr Grobler then phoned Bernadette back on a different cell phone, which was hidden underneath the counter. After Mr Grobler had spoken to Bernadette, and when I finally managed to speak to Mr Grobler on this secret phone, he proceeded to yell the following at me:<br />1) He didn't know where my pants were, because he has 4 other laundromats, all the repairs are sent to the same seamstress, and my pants might be at any one of these other shops - he stated that he will make no attempt to try and locate the pants;<br />2) He stated that the reason he is refusing to find out the whereabouts of my pants, was because my tone of voice was not friendly enough, and he only assisted clients that he feels are friendly;<br />3) He stated that he has a lot more money than I did, and that I must not take chances with him, because he can pay for an attorney to sort me out;<br />4) He stated that he has his attorney on standby at all times, and that if I dared to post anything about the fact that my designer pants have just gone missing, on hellopeter.com, or any other social media, he would instruct his attorney to sue me for speaking out.<br />Mr Grobler then abruptly disconnected the call, stating that he refuses to talk to me any further, and that he would also not be taking any other calls from me. Bernadette then refunded my R95.00 in cash.<br />Effectively, Mr Grobler now has goods (e.g. my Errol Arendz designer label pants), which does not belong to him, and which he refuses to surrender. He hides behind the fine print on the receipt which states that you leave your garment at Cafe Laundry at your own risk. Not only is this disclaimer a contravention of the Consumer Protection Act, but Mr Grobler is not behaving ethically or line with a standard of business conduct that you should be able to expect from a service provider when you entrust your valuables to them in order for them to render a service.</p>