****S AND *****

On February 4, I ordered a packet of oat flour online and completed the payment. By February 7, I had yet to receive my delivery. At 1:00 PM that day, I received an SMS notifying me that my package was ready but indicated that a small outstanding amount of R18.22 needed to be paid via the link provided. The link directed me to a professional-looking page for The Courier Guy, where I assumed I was paying the courier the outstanding amount. Trusting this communication, I entered my card details, believing I was covering the minor fee.

To my shock, shortly after, I received a notification from my bank, Nedbank, stating a payment of R14,499 had been deducted from my account. I immediately called Nedbank, and they placed a stop on my card. However, they explained that because the transaction was a card payment, it could not be reversed until a dispute was filed. They informed me that the beneficiary of this large transaction was Makro Online.

I promptly filled out the dispute form and sent it back, all while trying to reach out to Makro in hopes of preventing the delivery of such a significant item. Unfortunately, the receptionist I spoke with was unhelpful, repeatedly placing me on hold without escalation to a representative who could genuinely assist. Despite my efforts, it was clear they were unwilling to cooperate, consistently directing me to report the incident to the SAPS.

Frustrated, I visited my nearest SAPS branch to report the crime, only to be met with the disappointing response that I couldn’t file a report until the transaction appeared on my bank statement. While the transaction was deducted from my balance immediately, it wasn’t until February 11 that it appeared on my statement.

In the days that followed, I continually checked in with Nedbank regarding the status of the investigation, only to be told to expect a response after a lengthy wait of four to six weeks. That time has long passed, and there has been no further communication.

I also posted a review on Hello Peter regarding my experience with Makro. After three weeks, they finally contacted me and eventually traced the transaction, confirming they were indeed the beneficiary—and shockingly, they possessed all details of the purchaser and delivery address. However, I was informed that the SAPS would need to obtain a subpoena to access this information. I promptly communicated this to the investigating officer at SAPS, who indicated that acquiring a subpoena would take several days.

This entire ordeal could have been mitigated if Makro, Nedbank, and the SAPS had made even minimal efforts to respond to my requests. Regrettably, their inaction suggests a troubling complacency, if not outright complicity, in allowing such *****sters to operate unchecked. The *****sters continue to thrive due to apparent loopholes in bank security measures and the lack of diligence from Makro, Nedbank, and SAPS. To date, I have received no further updates from any of the entities involved.