MY wife and I became residents of Paarl a short while ago. Having moved from Namibia we decided to support businesses where we received good service. One of them was a car wash on Wagenmakers Square in Paarl.
We have never encountered problems, until Saturday 22 August when I took my car for a monthly wash and vacuum.
I locked the car, gave the keys and money to the manager and left. I doubt if I was away for much more than 40 minutes. Upon my return, I got into my car and drove away.
About 200 metres futher, I noticed an item falling off the dashboard onto the floor of the car. I immediately pulled off the road, and found the article to be a set of connections used to connect my laptop computer and other equipment to the car battery.
On examining the compartment where this item was normally kept – to my horror, I discovered that three battery connectors (pc, cell phone and GPS) as well as my digital camera was missing.
On further investigation, I discovered that my GPS in its bag, as well as the mounting bracket, was also missing. The bag in which the bracket was kept was thrown into the cubbyhole.
I immediately returned to the carwash and spoke to the manager, informing him of my loss. Along with the workers, I made a search of their belongings, but found nothing. My intention at this point was to report the theft to the police as the value exceeded R5000 which no-one could afford, least of all a state pensioner like myself.
As I left the premises, I found two police members outside the building, and informed them of my loss, upon which they also returned with me to the carwash.
A search of the cleaners’ belongings revealed nothing but one of the police constables found my digital camera discarded inside a rubbish bin used by the cleaners.
Just because there is sign stating that they are not responsible if goods are lost, this theft is a discredit to the business. They should not be employing thieves. So beware of the car wash thief and leave your valuables at home.
