BUILD It employees have allegedly defrauded the company of about E6 million, leaving customers who had been saving for building materials stranded.
Some of the affected franchise shops are reportedly unable to serve customers who cannot access the goods they had paid for.
The affected shops are Siteki Build It and Pigg’s Peak Build It. There is also the Buhleni shop, which is no longer recognised as a Build It franchise.
An affected customer claimed that he visited the shop in January in a bid to get building material so as to complete his housing project after saving for close to a year.
He said he had been saving E500 monthly to buy roofing, as his house was halfway to completion.
When he visited the shop in January, he presented the card issued to him when he first began saving. However, he was informed that the items he wanted were not available and that he should return the next month, as the shop was awaiting deliveries from suppliers.
He said he returned to the Siteki shop as instructed only to be told there was still no stock.
“I became concerned as the shop was running empty. I asked them to tell me the truth because I was beginning to suspect that the shop might close,” he said.
He stated that he was told to continue visiting the shop to check whether the roofing he wanted was available.
Meanwhile, another customer claimed that he was contacted and told to stop saving money with the shop because of ‘hiccups.’
He said he received the call last year and decided to follow up on the issue this year, only to find the Pigg’s Peak shop almost empty.
He said he asked whether he could get a refund or at least take some of the building material that was available, but he got an unsatisfactory answer.
He said he was advised to leave his contact and account details so that he could receive a refund. However, he said he has still not received any money from the shop.
“I had paid close to E10 000 to the shop because I wanted to start building a house at home. I do not know what will happen because the Build It franchise in Pigg’s Peak is running empty,” he said.
Another customer said she received her refund after calling the shop several times. She said she was eventually refunded after making follow-ups.
