Holy trip to nowhere

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Mandy couldn’t believe her luck when she heard an advert by a Chatsworth pastor on a Christian radio station offering a trip to Israel for R3500. A devout Christian who always wanted to undertake a pilgrimage to the “holy land” she went to a meeting at a church in Chatsworth where Pastor Basil Chetty promised them the following:

• Flights from Durban, taxes and transfers
• 3 and 4 star accommodation
• Licensed English speaking guide for touring
• Buffet breakfast and dinner daily
• Entrance fees to all sites
• Travel insurance up to age 69
• Egypt visas
• Bell boys, caps and bag packs

 According to the congregants Chetty claimed that all they had to do was electronically transfer R3500 into his account and leave the rest to him.

 The trip never materialised.

According to Mandy over five hundred people showed up to the meeting and signed up for the trip, which was scheduled for December 2016. When she realised that it was not to happen she approached Chetty for a refund. She says he gave her the run around and eventually stopped taking her calls. She subsequently found out that Chetty had invested their money in a ponsy scheme and lost all of it.

 According to Chetty, he couldn’t fulfil the promises he made in his flyer and advert for R3500 for the trip and therefore invested the money in the hope of increasing it to pay for the trip. But at no point did he inform the congregants that he was doing this.

Chetty says he’s paid back most of the money and even brought in the proof of repayments into ECR this morning, but paying back the money is not the point of this story. He should never have taken the public’s money and invested it without their consent. He lost all their funds. Had he made them sign a document outlining the risks of such an undertaking, these congregants would not have a leg to stand on. As it stands those who have not yet been refunded could still lay a charge of theft and or fraud against him and let the law deal with the matter.

The fact is: this is not the first time Chetty has been involved in a call for investment. I screen-grabbed a few of his Facebook posts that read:

“I am looking for an investor who wants to be partner with 50 percent share. Net profit R450 000 pm. Capital injection R300 000” and “Join OneLife. Trust me you’ll be super rich by next year... Ignorance is a killer. Get your financial breakthrough today”

For most people, the moral of this story is: if something appears to be too good to be true, you should interrogate it vigourously before forking out your money. 

Have you been the victim of a rip-off like this? I want to hear your stories.

You can email Terence Pillay at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter: @terencepillay1 and tweet him your thoughts.