Gauteng Pensioner Fights for VW Golf He Bought in Good Faith

What happens when you buy a car, pay every cent, drive it for months and then lose it to a bank that says it was never yours?

That’s the heartbreaking story unfolding for 61-year-old Alliah Bhanga Naidoo from Vereeniging, who is now caught in a bizarre and painful tug-of-war with Standard Bank over a VW Golf GTI 7 he thought he owned free and clear.

A Dream Car Turned Nightmare

Naidoo says he bought the vehicle in September 2021 from Wheelz Online, a used car dealership in Boksburg. He checked the car’s record on e-Natis. No red flags. No liens. No alerts. It all seemed perfectly legitimate.

“I paid R10,000 to secure it and then R412,500 in full,” Naidoo told IOL. The vehicle was in the name of the dealership’s then-owner, Ronald Michael Jansen van Vuuren, and everything checked out, he said.

Fast forward five months, and Naidoo sold the car to a dealership in Umhlanga. They paid him in full—but then came the shock.

‘The Car Is Stolen’

Shortly after the resale, the Umhlanga dealership contacted Naidoo in disbelief: the vehicle had been flagged as stolen. The new buyer couldn’t register it.

The car was returned, and Naidoo feeling backed into a corner handed it over to the Vereeniging Vehicle Theft Unit. Worse still, he had to refund the dealership or face legal action.

“I ended up with no car and no money,” he said. “I’m a pensioner. I used my savings for that car.”

Bank Delayed, Naidoo Paid

It turns out the car had a long and messy past. According to Naidoo’s own probe, Standard Bank originally financed the vehicle in 2020 for a buyer named Khwela. That buyer made one payment before vanishing, and the bank sat on the issue for two years before finally flagging the car as stolen.

Naidoo is furious. “Why did they wait until 2022 to act?” he asked. “Had they acted in 2020, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”

To him, Standard Bank’s delay is more than bureaucratic incompetence it’s negligence.

Bank Says: Not Our Fault

Standard Bank, for its part, disagrees. Spokesperson Ross Linstrom said this isn’t a theft case in the traditional sense. The issue, according to the bank, is fraudulent transfer of ownership. The bank says it was illegally removed as the vehicle’s titleholder, and that, in their view, they still own the car.

“We understand the emotional and financial stress,” Linstrom said, “but Mr. Naidoo’s legal recourse is with the dealer, not the bank.”

But Naidoo isn’t buying that explanation. “I checked everything before buying. Now the bank wants me to buy it again? Why would I pay for a car I already paid for?”

Paper Trail or Red Tape?

Ronald van Vuuren, the dealer who sold Naidoo the vehicle, insists his team followed every legal step. “We did police clearance, roadworthy, e-Natis checks, and registered it in Mr. Naidoo’s name. If it was stolen or under finance, that wouldn’t have been possible.”

Van Vuuren says he bought the Golf from another individual, Francois du Toit, and had no knowledge of any bank claim.

Public Frustration and Legal Dead Ends

Naidoo’s case is gaining attention on social media, especially among South Africans who’ve had similar battles with banks or dealerships. Some have expressed sympathy, others frustration at what they see as a system rigged against consumers.

Attempts to get help from the Banking Ombudsman and the Motor Industry Ombudsman have gone nowhere. Naidoo remains stuck without his car, without his money, and with little hope of resolution.

“I feel like I’ve been robbed twice. Once by the person who sold it, and again by a system that won’t protect me,” he said.

A Cautionary Tale for SA Buyers

Naidoo’s ordeal is a stark warning for South African car buyers: even the most diligent checks don’t always uncover hidden issues when institutions and dealerships fail to share accurate, real-time data.

With rising car fraud cases in the country, consumer rights groups say the incident highlights the urgent need for better coordination between banks, dealerships, and the national vehicle database.

“This should never happen to anyone again,” Naidoo said. “I just want justice and my money back.”

{Source: IOL}

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