Absolute horrible treatment by the Store Manager of Cash Converters Moreleta Plaza

Absolutely Horrible treatment of a customer by the Moreleta Cash Converters manager.

I had been in touch with one of the salespersons,L at the Cash Converters Moreleta plaza, Eddy and asked him to alert me when garden brush cutters of good quality arrive. He has indeed been doing so since my first visit to the store in 2021. On Friday, 11 February 2022, he sent pictures of two Stijl brush cutters and I expressed interest. The next day, Saturday 12th Feb, he sent prices of both machines. I chose the bigger one costing R2999. He asked me to do an immediate electronic transfer to the store which I did and sent proof of payment. Nothing wrong with what Eddy did. Before doing the electronic transfer, I was called by a lady from the same store asking when the electronic transfer was going to be made because there are other customers who may want the machine. So, there was a lot of pressure to make the electronic payment as it sort of guaranteed that the machine would be mine.

After sending Eddy proof of payment, he came back to me to request my ID details. I said I cannot give my ID on what’s app because of identity theft issues. He indicated that the manager insists on it otherwise they wouldn’t put the machine away. He promptly put me in touch with the manager and I tried to reason with him and even mentioned the POPI ACT which speaks to confidential information of clients to safeguard their details. I informed him that I will bring my ID when I come to pick up the machine as I wasn’t in Pretoria at the time. In that way, they would see that I was the one that had made the purchase.

I hadI made an electronic payment from Capetown and was happy with my purchase. The manager indicated that he doesn’t know anything about the POPI and went on further to ask when it was enacted to which I responded. I tried 3 or so times throughout his insistence that I can’t send my ID by email or what’s app because of identity theft issues which my family had suffered. He couldn’t see my point.. let alone the fact that I had already paid. He was bent on telling me that if I don’t provide an ID, he would refund me and I would forfeit the machine. This didn’t make sense because I had paid for the machine.. what purpose would an ID serve which couldn’t wait until I was back in Pretoria? He kept saying it’s their policy. He was not persuaded to wait for me to return from Capetown on Monday to personally present my ID to the store. So, I agreed to the refund with great reluctance.

I have never felt so belittled and disrespected as a customer who had already paid for a merchandise. I was not pawning anything but had bought something, I even asked him if they had already promised anyone the machine and he said no. On Monday morning, 14 February 2022, I received a call from Eddy informing me that my machine is still in the store and that I must come and get it.

I referred him to the bad treatment I received from his manager on Saturday, who didn’t care that I had paid and insisted on refunding me. So, in my view, the store was not interested in my purchase because they couldn’t even afford me time to present myself to the store with my ID upon my return from Capetown as I had requested but i guess because they realised that the machine was not being bought, they decided to call me but without any apology or acknowledgment of the manager’s rudeness. I finally told Eddy that I am ready to receive my refund which must be refunded back into the card from which it was sent.

I also asked for the owner’s details but he seemed reluctant to give them. This would have enabled me to inform the owner of the manager’s conduct towards clients.. So, when I was denied access to the owner, I told Eddy that I would do a Hello Peter review because I can’t access the Owner. Needless to say, I sent Eddy my banking details for the store to return the money I had deposited electronically for the machine. I was told that the manager says the owner would repay me himself. I am waiting and hope he sees this.