Checkers Update: Hawker gets her money back

Limpopo hawker Langanani Julian Mamburu lost R4,000 when she tried to send money to her daughter using Checkers’ money transfer services. After her story sparked outrage, Checkers contacted her to pay her money back.

• A Limpopo hawker who lost R4,000 via Checkers money transfer services has been reimbursed by Checkers.
• Langanani Julian Mamburu tried to send the money from the Louis Trichardt Checkers to her daughter in Thohoyandou in October.
• But the money was withdrawn by someone else.
• She decided to take Checkers to the Small Claims Court and a court date was set.
• But after her story sparked widespread outrage, Checkers contacted her and repaid her the money.

Mamburu’s troubles started on 4 October when she went to the Checkers branch in Louis Trichardt to send money to her daughter in Thohoyandou. Her daughter is studying there and needed the money to pay for rent.

When her daughter went to the Shoprite branch in Thohoyandou that same day to collect the money, she was told that it had already been withdrawn in Brits in North West. When Mamburu visited the Louis Trichardt branch the next day, she was told the same thing. She opened a case of fraud at the local police station. Meanwhile she took out a loan to be able to help her daughter.

Mamburu, who sells food supplements and beauty products in Madombidzha, near Louis Trichardt, kept on following up with the branch but had no joy. When she eventually got hold of the regional manager on 16 October, she was told that her money had been withdrawn on 10 October, but in Tzaneen. With help from Legal Aid SA, she filed a case at the Small Claims Court. She served a letter of demand on Checkers, who did not respond. She then applied for a summons and a court date was set for 30 November.

The GroundUp article drew the attention of a large number of readers and by the weekend it was the most-read story for the week on the GroundUp website.

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Last Thursday Mamburu’s daughter was contacted by a Cape Town representative of Checkers/Shoprite who said they had unsuccessfully tried to get hold of her mother. Mamburu confirmed that both the Louis Trichardt store and the Polokwane store had got hold of her and had apologised for what had happened. She was told to visit the Louis Trichardt store on Saturday and collect the money she had lost.

“I could finally collect my money from the store, but I am disappointed with the way my case was handled at the Louis Trichardt store. They really wasted my time,” said Mamburu.

On Monday she visited the magistrate’s court to withdraw her case against Checkers.

Published originally on Limpopo Mirror & Groundup | Anton van Zyl and Bernard Chiguvare