Beware of Gen Spares Machinery and Crystal Log Services

For some time now, I have been searching for a crankshaft for a V9X engine that I needed for auto repairs. The technician that is repairing my vehicle, contacted me to let me know that they had located a crankshaft just like the one I needed. The seller was willing to sell it to me for an amount of R7 000.00. They sent me the seller's contact details and I contacted him. According to the technician repairing my car, the crankshaft was advertised by a person with the name of Raymond Ray. When I called the number, someone answered who introduced himself as Andrew. We agreed that I would pay him half the price of the crankshaft (R3 500.00) plus R350.00 for delivery by courier. In other words: R3 850.00 in total. I would then pay him the other half of the price of the crankshaft (R3 500.00) when the crankshaft was delivered to me.

I was requested to transfer the money to a Standard Bank cheque account with Gen Spares Machinery as the account holder. Being wary of internet fraud, I contacted the seller's bank to try to make sure that the account was legitimate. Unfortunately they informed me that they can no longer verify accounts over the phone. Therefore, I had to take the chance to pay the money over.

On 23 November 2022, I made the transfer via EFT. I was asked to email a proof of payment to sales@gensparemachinery.co.za which I did. On 24 November 2022, the seller confirmed that the funds were reflecting in his bank account and that he would have the crankshaft delivered by courier.

On 25 November 2022 I received a WhatsApp from a so-called Michael Bell from a company called "Crystal Log Services" and a request that I should transfer an amount of R3 600.00 as "insurance", of which R3 420.00 will be paid back to me at delivery. According to the WhatsApp, the "courier company's" website was stated as www.crystallogservices.co.za. Because I started to feel uncomfortable and it felt to me like a scam and a way to get me to pay more money, I asked for the whole transaction to be canceled and the R3 850.00, which I had transferred by EFT, to be refunded to me.

The original seller did promise to refund my money (on 25 November 20220, but to date (26 December 2022) that has not happened. Please stay away if you see or hear the names Gen Spares Machinery, Raymond Ray, Andrew, Michael Bell or www.crystallogservices.co.za