Dispute over cars has businessman in the red by R700k

DURBAN - DURBAN businessman Silo Dlomo’s company Siloson Trading Enterprises is at risk of bankruptcy if more than R700 000 is not recovered from Comservice Solutions SA for the hire of seven double-cab bakkies.

In 2015, Siloson entered into a five-year agreement with Comservice – a company that specialised in constructing cellphone towers for mobile network providers – to supply 15 vehicles for their use.

Relations between the companies soured in May when Comservice allegedly stopped paying the fee of R17 000 per car and ignored Dlomo’s requests for an explanation. 

“I didn’t have all 15 cars initially, but when we agreed on a five-year contract I approached the bank and bought four cars and the rest were borrowed from people. I owe the banks more than R2 million for the cars I purchased because Comservice wanted them. Its failure to pay me has resulted in my not being able to pay the instalments and the insurance policies have lapsed. I’ve been blacklisted because of Comservice."

Dlomo approached the Durban High Court to compel Comservice to make the outstanding payments.

He said the matter had also been complicated by having three of the cars loaned from the Comservice manager, Jia Guangjie, whom Dlomo paid a R50 000 monthly rental fee. 

In Comservice’s responding court papers, Guangjie, who is listed as the second respondent because the hire of vehicles was his responsibility, denied the company was in breach of the contract. 

He said the parties signed separate agreements for each vehicle. 

According to Guangjie, the agreements were that either party had to give 15 days notice if they wanted to terminate the contract, which he said Comservice did on May 8 and June 30.

“The first respondent was perfectly entitled to terminate the agreements for any reason, given that the agreements were run on a month-to-month basis,” he said in the affidavit.  

Guangjie said Dlomo “stubbornly refuses to accept the return of the motor vehicles as he wishes to continue charging the first respondent monthly hire amounts”. 

Comservice confirmed the cars had been parked in its Durban warehouse since July and threatened to charge Dlomo R120 per car per day 
for storage. Last month, the company instructed Dlomo to pick up the cars by September 28 as there were plans to dispose of the warehouse where they were kept, but Dlomo allegedly refused to do so.

Dlomo has also taken offence at the language used in Guangjie’s responding 
affidavit and has since taken the matter to the Durban Equality Court. 

“It has racial undertones and is insulting. I’m being called stupid and a criminal who is lying about what happened. I’m no fool, I studied commercial law."

Attemptsfor comment from Guangjie were unsuccessful.

SUNDAY TRIBUNE