Misled, Ignored, and De*****ed — My Costly Experience with Martie Van Bavel

On or about 29 May 2025, I contacted Martie Van Bavel regarding her professional services in helping me obtain a verification letter for my degree from SAQA. She claimed that upon payment and the receipt of the necessary documents, I would receive my verification letter in 3-4 weeks, and based on this representation, my husband proceeded to make payment via EFT on my behalf and forwarded copies of the requested documents. We had no reason to doubt her as she had come recommended on Facebook, and my husband had used her services once before. After receiving the payment, Martie failed to deliver the service promised within the allocated timeline of 3-4 weeks. She took no initiative to keep me updated on the progress of my application, and didn't reply to my texts when I reached out to enquire. Long after the allocated deadline, she first gave the excuse of there being a death in the family, and promised to keep me updated. She didn't. After 8 weeks of waiting and no updates from her, I reached out to her again, asking her to provide me with proof of my application, i.e a SAQA reference number or a SAQA confirmation email of receipt of application, and with proof of her absence i.e doctor's appointments. I told her that if she could not supply me with this or a refund within 7 days then I would report her for *****. She immediately responded and said that she was at the doctor, and she would reply shortly. The 7-day deadline came and went with still no proof of application or a refund. On the seventh day, she sent me a photo of a medical script that was dated FOR THE DAY BEFORE, insisting that it was proof of her absence. The following week she sent a voicenote saying that I needed to resend my documents because the agent spilled coffee on my letter, and now they have to re-do it. It has been 12 weeks since I've paid Martie, and I still have no verification from SAQA or a refund. While I understand that dealing with government institutions in South Africa is a long and often disappointing procedure, Martie conducted herself in a manner that was less like a professional business and more like a ****. She failed to deliver the service within the allocated deadline of 3-4 weeks, demonstrated a willful lack of communication and updates, failed to produce adequate evidence for the excuse of her absence, failed to provide proof of application with SAQA, and refused to refund my money when requested on three separate occasions. I believe I have been intentionally misled and de*****ed. I have since opened up a case of ***** against her, and I am currently awaiting the outcome of this.