Deli Malinga, best known for her part in Umkhokha: The Curse, recently turned to social media to share a frightening story about alleged fraud by Hyundai Springfield in Durban. She said they charged her more than R32,000 for a service that was not performed properly.
According to Sunday World, Malinga’s Hyundai Tucson, with over 300,000 kilometers on the clock, was scheduled for a full service at the dealership. However, she quickly discovered that little to no work had been completed.
“Please be careful when you’re taking your car for a service to Hyundai Springfield in Durban,” Malinga wrote on Facebook. “What they did to me was unacceptable; they pretended to work on my car, only to realise after spending so much [money] that nothing was done or changed.”
Malinga explained that after her experience at Hyundai, she took her car to a trusted mechanic who immediately spotted issues. “In front of me, he took out nuts or something that my service history book showed they changed, and boom, it was old and rusty,” she shared.
Sunday World reports that Hyundai’s service documents claim they disassembled Malinga’s car, examined the wiring and connector plugs, and even replaced the exhaust. But Malinga says she only received an oil change and that her attempts to contact the dealership’s management have gone unanswered.
Her post quickly went viral, with others sharing similar stories. Nontuthuko Malinga commented, “Hyundai is known for its bad service, not only in that branch.” Another user, Nobantu MaRadebe Mkhize, added, “They did the same thing to my car… it was the same branch.”
Thabang Ndumo advised Malinga to take her complaint to the automobile ombudsman and the consumer affairs office.
When contacted by Sunday World, Hyundai’s corporate communications manager Deon Sonnekus declined to confirm or deny the incident.