A feisty Vegter has posted both the Lewis letter as well as his response on Facebook and is continuing his crusade against the high interest, service and insurance costs that Lewis charged his gardener.
Lewis Stores end their letter to Vegter with the following words: “By choosing not to communicate with us before posting on Facebook and engaging with the media, you have elected to make these defamatory allegations without checking on the facts. Such conduct carries consequences and we are presently seeking advice in this regard.”
Vegter told the George Herald he will not be intimidated and part of his response to Lewis Stores is indeed real fighting talk: “If you elect to pursue this matter further with your threatened "consequences", I too shall take it further. For starters I am posting your response on Facebook so everyone can read about your threats against the man who stood up for his gardener, along with your ongoing defensive denials of any wrongdoing. I shall also lay a formal complaint with the NCR, something which I gave you the opportunity to avoid.
"We shall go ahead and let the courts decide if this was reckless credit or not. In closing, you seem to have taken advantage of a poor gardener's lack of education to sell him a contract he did not understand, at a total cost more than three times the price of the original (overpriced) washing machine. Such actions have consequences…
For years and years they have had no consequences and Lewis got away with such practices. But the poor are sick and tired of being exploited, and I consider it an honour to be able to stand up for one of them. I will not back down and it will be a major strategic mistake on your part to turn this already public matter into a legal fight. But if you insist on such a brand destroying path, I am more than prepared to take you on.”
Meantime, people from across South Africa have come out in support for Vegter and his gardener’s cause. A good Samaritan, who wants to remain anonymous, has even bought the gardener a 14kg washing machine for R3150 on special at another retailer - almost R3000 less than the Lewis Stores cash price for a similar machine.
Vegter says more good than bad has come from the Lewis washing machine debacle.
“The outpour of goodwill was impressive. Everybody wanted to help and none of these people wanted any credit (pun intended) for their kind offers should it be accepted. A local second hand dealer also offered our gardener a washing machine for free, and did not want his business name made public. Every offer of help was from the goodness of the individual’s heart. Dit is ‘n riem onder die hart.”
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