http://www.africahunting.com/t...-anton-bakker.17695/

The saga is above, Theo continues to book hunts and has made zero remediations on a loss for $40,000US to a scam outfitter he booked me with as my agent.

I would sincerely appreciate the word being spread so nobody else is taken, and I'll be handing out pamphlets I'm having made at my US trade shows.

Theo needs to be out of business, I'm only one of many taken in this debacle, remuneration was promised many times and has never materialized. I've given him the benefit of the doubt for a long time now, however through his negligence my young family lost a huge sum that has derailed all African hunting plans.

A client of mine who was also taken (we met through the debacle) spent $20,000 more to go back and forth to South Africa to help put the outfitter, Anton Bakker in jail (who's fake operation was aptly named "RhinoCon" for Rhino Conservation, should have been left at "Con"). Theo Blignaut remains operating however.

Angus

What about PHASA?

Whatever he needs to go to jail.

With the amount of monies that change hands during safari bookings, I am surprised this doesn't happen more often.

I have always dealt directly with the outfitter and used a "gut feel" on whether I can trust the individual or not. However I am currently booked on only my third hunting safari, so I might have just been lucky in the past.

I hope the the culprit goes to jail and the hunter gets a full refund.

BH63

I am confused. Your post on AH seems to make it sound like Theo is fine and the other guy is the problem. Apparently that has changed. Is that the case?

Indeed, I gave Theo the benefit of the doubt for a long time and listened to him speak as if he was a friend. It appears I've simply been strung along. The initial kind comments come from a year ago now, and it's degenerated to where Theo has just started avoiding my emails, though he did just respond this morning after I warned him I'm going to pursue legal action in his home country.

Booking agents really serve no purpose today and all too often act as an insulator for bad PHs. If they guaranteed the hunt and stood financially behind the client, that would be a reason to use them. However about all they can do when things go south is shrug their shoulders and apologize profusely. Unfortunately, when things do go south they only complicate your ability to bring the bad PH to justice since they were the go between.

I am afraid as times get tougher for PHs, more shady dealing will done. Caveat Emptor.

This reminds me somewhat of the Blair Worldwide/Larry Heathington thread.

I feel for you brother. I had it happen to me in New Zealand. It took a lot of effort but I totally ruined this guys life. It cost me. It was worth it to have a judgment against him and see him go to jail.

One of the best things is to expose them publicly. I would consider contacting the Hunting Report. They published an article related to my situation. Investigative reporters in the RSA might also do a hell of a lot of good exposing this guy. If you have the resources, have him checked out. In my case, it was astounding what I found. Google "Richard Nunnick." One can still view a lot of this even after all these years.

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
Booking agents really serve no purpose today and all too often act as an insulator for bad PHs. If they guaranteed the hunt and stood financially behind the client, that would be a reason to use them. However about all they can do when things go south is shrug their shoulders and apologize profusely. Unfortunately, when things do go south they only complicate your ability to bring the bad PH to justice since they were the go between.

I am afraid as times get tougher for PHs, more shady dealing will done. Caveat Emptor.

I have to totally disagree with you.

The agent serves a valuable service. I am a super busy man. My agent does all of my research for me. I have no time. More than once, he has saved me from going on a bad trip. When difficult situations arise, he has been there every step of the way. Difficult situations can and do arise in Africa. I think they are worth every single penny they earn.

Yes, there are some crooks but they are not all that way.

Angus, I'm not doubting your story and I'm trying to be helpful here. Don't make everyone wade through 18 months of convoluted posts on another website. I've read all your posts on AH and still couldn't explain exactly what's happened and exactly what steps you've taken thus far. Succinctly give the complete facts with regard to what transpired (in chronological order). Put all your other ruminations in a separate paragraph or two.

I hope you get a satisfactory outcome and others can avoid your fate.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
Booking agents really serve no purpose today and all too often act as an insulator for bad PHs. If they guaranteed the hunt and stood financially behind the client, that would be a reason to use them. However about all they can do when things go south is shrug their shoulders and apologize profusely. Unfortunately, when things do go south they only complicate your ability to bring the bad PH to justice since they were the go between.

I am afraid as times get tougher for PHs, more shady dealing will done. Caveat Emptor.

I have to totally disagree with you.

The agent serves a valuable service. I am a super busy man. My agent does all of my research for me. I have no time. More than once, he has saved me from going on a bad trip. When difficult situations arise, he has been there every step of the way. Difficult situations can and do arise in Africa. I think they are worth every single penny they earn.

Yes, there are some crooks but they are not all that way.

Larry you are absolutely right, provided you are using one of the bigger and better booking agencies. The trouble is that the world is filled with thousands of fly by night agents. It seems just about everyone who comes back from their first African hunt wants to set themselves up as an agent and book for the outfitter they went with. Anyone can whip up a website and throw their name into the booking fray with very little invested.

I do not use agents to plan my hunts, strictly because I prefer to do my own due diligence. I also do not use agents to sell our hunts. I make little enough as it is without shelling out 15 to 20% off the top to the agent.

Having said that there are some good agents and a few of them are on AR.

Thanks Larry, I'll certainly look into a write up for the hunting report. If anything this whole experience has made me ultra conscious of clients' feelings of security and well being for my own operation. This isn't just a business, it's what we do for fun on both sides of the agreement and it has to reflect that and feel that way. Stuff like this shakes confidence for the whole industry, and nonetheless it needs to be reported and widely so it doesn't spread.

quote:

Originally posted by ForrestB:
Angus, I'm not doubting your story and I'm trying to be helpful here. Don't make everyone wade through 18 months of convoluted posts on another website. I've read all your posts on AH and still couldn't explain exactly what's happened and exactly what steps you've taken thus far. Succinctly give the complete facts with regard to what transpired (in chronological order). Put all your other ruminations in a separate paragraph or two.

I hope you get a satisfactory outcome and others can avoid your fate.

And with likewise reciprocal respect, the history ranging from being very amiable with the agent who profusely expressed his distress and ongoing efforts to refund my money, to now over a year since the hunt was supposed to take place and the fading and deteriorating communications leading to today are and should be public record. Whether people want to read it all or not is up to them, and no it is not a synopsis of every move. What it is, is putting the discussion on the table and if hunters go no further than reading the titles and dealing with Theo Blignaut with caution, and if they are smart not at all, that is sufficient.

My decision Skin Afrika does not deserve any protection and in fact hunters need protection from it / him comes as it is now clear no remediation is likely. Perhaps when I have more time I'll outline every move, but that is already on record with the SAPs and Anton Bakker is jailed. Theo, who booked the hunts for Anton Bakker and actually accepted the money, continues to operate. That is more than enough of a synopsis right there. In summary this thread is a warning, not a case study.

if I recall correctly, Skin Africa posted here on AR.

I would not be at all surprised if I'm responded to here with a counter attack, and equally not surprised if there's no response.

Just be prepared if Skin Afrika comes on claiming I neglected to forward banking info for a deposit, or any manner of stalling claims.

The fact is my family gave Theo Blignaut $40,000US, and received nothing in return except a jailed outfitter. There really is no argument around that, or watering down of it. I was taken.

I truly believe Theo was a good guy who over extended himself and gambled on an unknown outfitter, selling the Rhino as an insured animal. Turns out the outfitter was a complete crook and at least four hunters were taken for huge sums, my problems started when I demanded permits from Anton Bakker before departure.

Larry,
I don't think he has posted here since we wrote up our debacle with him.

http://forums.accuratereloadin...011036902#8011036902

quote:

Originally posted by COYOTE HUNTER:
Larry,
I don't think he has posted here since we wrote up our debacle with him.

http://forums.accuratereloadin...011036902#8011036902

What a disaster.

I'm just curious, and forgive my ignorance..

But would Trip Insurance have covered a situation like this??

He is selling hunt on Facebook..... Hunting specials/trophies.

quote:

Originally posted by MopaneMike:
I'm just curious, and forgive my ignorance..

But would Trip Insurance have covered a situation like this??

Nope, they won't insure for poor animal populations.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
Booking agents really serve no purpose today and all too often act as an insulator for bad PHs. If they guaranteed the hunt and stood financially behind the client, that would be a reason to use them. However about all they can do when things go south is shrug their shoulders and apologize profusely. Unfortunately, when things do go south they only complicate your ability to bring the bad PH to justice since they were the go between.

I am afraid as times get tougher for PHs, more shady dealing will done. Caveat Emptor.

I have to totally disagree with you.

The agent serves a valuable service. I am a super busy man. My agent does all of my research for me. I have no time. More than once, he has saved me from going on a bad trip. When difficult situations arise, he has been there every step of the way. Difficult situations can and do arise in Africa. I think they are worth every single penny they earn.

Yes, there are some crooks but they are not all that way.

Larry, I understand what you are saying. Booking agents can help guide you towards your next hunt. The problem arises when things go south. You pay your money to the booking agent and they inturn pay the PH. If you have a grievance, you now have to involve both the booking agent as well as the PH. Discovery becomes more complicated and expensive and then you have to sort through the whole finger pointing thing.

Some, not all booking agents recommend operators based entirely on the commission structure and the free hunts they may get from time to time. After all, it is ONLY a business to them. And then some PH refuse to work with and pay for booking agents so you miss those guys who may be great.

Just to be clear, I was a booking agent once upon a time for three PHs during the 90's. The age of the internet and social media is a much better resource today than a guy getting a commission to tell you something.

Research, research, research. It is interesting that people will spend more time researching their next car than their next hunt which costs about as much as a new car. If someone cannot give you a dozen references and does not have a strong presence on the Interwebs and social media, run, run fast. You're probably dealing with a Dutchman with 20 hectare and 20 exotics. Or someone trying to sell you a buff when they haven't seen a buff in 15 years.

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:
What about PHASA?

The problem is that PHASA membership is voluntary and PHASA can only take disciplinary steps against its members. I am very much in favor that a outfitter or ph must belong to a professional body before he/she is allowed to operate. In RSA we must register as outfitter or ph in all 9 provinces if you want to hunt in that province.What happened in the past is that if an outfitter or ph was found guilty of misconduct and his licence in the province was revoked, he just registered as a outfitter or ph in another province and carried on as normal. New legislation will put a stop to this as they are busy with a national register for outfitters and ph's where any misconduct will be recorded and you won't be able to register in another province. This will go a long way to weed out the bad apples.

There is another loophole. The current legislation allows a outfitter to markrt hunts and receive monies from foreign hunters but a ph may not do this. This is all good in the sense that there is a thorough check on the outfitters facilities and equipment to try and ensure that client will be treated fairly. The problem is that their are no legislation on ph's or people who is acting as an agent, there are no minimum standard or checks on a person who acts as an agent in RSA.

My personal opinion is that all outfitters, ph's and agents in RSA must belong to a professional body if they want to be in the business, this will be the only way to ensure that industry standard are followed and clients have a mechanism to follow up unfair treatment. The government do not have the ability, the staff or the will to get involved in this kind of matters, unless a criminal case is opened.

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
Research, research, research. It is interesting that people will spend more time researching their next car than their next hunt which costs about as much as a new car. If someone cannot give you a dozen references and does not have a strong presence on the Interwebs and social media, run, run fast. You're probably dealing with a Dutchman with 20 hectare and 20 exotics. Or someone trying to sell you a buff when they haven't seen a buff in 15 years.

In my case Opus, I had already used Theo and booked a previous not at all cheap hunt with him (Lion), everything went well there. On my return I immediately started talking the rhino with him, as I had a dream to do the Five (black rhino would never be possible for me, white rhino being my substitute). After one successful experience admittedly my guard was down the second time.

When someone says "rhino" all that happens is the scramble to find one in hopes of a big payoff. They don't exactly grow on trees afterall. So it's easy to bamboozle everyone involved.

Again, the outfitter is only counting his money...

I think the problem with rhino hunts is as follows:

One tends to book either with an agent or an outfitter. Money is sent to these individuals by the client. So far so good.

Unless the agent or outfitter own the land AND the rhino, they send money to the owner. Seems reasonable enough.

What happens when the owner is a crook and/or broke? Then the problems start. The client is most often holding the bag. How many agents or outfitters have a spare $40K laying around to reimburse the client. My bet is none.

It seems to me that an honorable agent or outfitter would come to the client and explain what had happened and come up with a plan to reimburse the client even if it take years to do so. If the agent doesn't have the money what does one do?

Sticky problem.

Sucks what happened.

Jaco,

I agree with your point about being a member of an organization or licensed. However, I also wonder how these organizations might be run. Dollar here, wink and nod might make things ok.

Thanks for the Internet and AR to allow more transparency.

PHASA has been utterly useless in similar occasions in the past.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
PHASA has been utterly useless in similar occasions in the past.

I have to disagree with you on this. PHASA can only act against their members. If a client was conned by a PHASA member PHASA will take disciplinary action against that member and assist the client wherever possible. PHASA cannot lay charges against a person on behalf of someone else. PHASA can only expel a members that did not adhere to the code of conduct. Clients hunting with a PHASA member know that they have a body that will investigate wrong doings based on the evidence submitted by the client and the member.

The real problem lies with the government departments who do not have the staff or the will to act against inappropriate behavior and criminal behavior. Unfortunately their are a lot of corruption in our government departments and the skills levels are not always up to standard.

PHASA is a voluntary organisation that have done a lot of work negotiating with the government, provincial legislators to sort out problems with the issuing of permits regulations regarding professional hunting and to promote hunting as a conservation tool.

PHASA have a code of conduct to which the members must adhere, the members are laying down the rules of PHASA at the annual convention by voting on the different agenda points. PHASA plays a big role in negotiations with the government and to promote sustainable hunting. They are also very involved in developing skills in the hunting industry by sponsoring training of trackers and ph's in the disadvantage communities.

Anton Bakker's mother threw away the baby and raised the after birth... He is scum of the Earth and a crook. He does not (never did) hold a valid PH or Outfitter's License. He was out to con folks out of money from day one. He was born to steal...

Theo Blignaut finds "Outfitters" to represent by surfing the internet. In most (if not all) cases he has never even met those he represent. That makes him a crook as well.

Not PHASA or anyone else can do anything about scum or crooks.

And there you have it.

The reason why a little research and the interwebs makes it so much easier to vet operators.

To Theo Blignaut's credit, he made the first payment of $1000. It's a drop in the bucket at 2.5% of the loss, but he says he'll be making regular instalments. If this proves to be true and continues I'll report back.

At least it is something which beats the hell out of nothing.

quote:

Originally posted by Angus Morrison:
To Theo Blignaut's credit, he made the first payment of $1000. It's a drop in the bucket at 2.5% of the loss, but he says he'll be making regular instalments. If this proves to be true and continues I'll report back.

Out of interest, did he keep paying you?

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
Booking agents really serve no purpose today and all too often act as an insulator for bad PHs. If they guaranteed the hunt and stood financially behind the client, that would be a reason to use them. However about all they can do when things go south is shrug their shoulders and apologize profusely. Unfortunately, when things do go south they only complicate your ability to bring the bad PH to justice since they were the go between.

I am afraid as times get tougher for PHs, more shady dealing will done. Caveat Emptor.

Hi Opus,

I typically agree with most of your stuff. On this I disagree. The agent I use, Always acted in my best interest.

If your universe of "vetted outfitters" resides within the walls of AR, you may be right. There is a whole world of International Outfitters, PH's and opportunities that the only contact you might ever have is with the agent.

There is far to much to know and take into account about complex, multi-species safaris.

My best example was my 21 days in CAR. I wanted to go in 2011 (IIRC) my agent wouldn't book me then. He insisted on a full moon in January. There was only one range of dates that worked and it required going the following year. I cannot think of any other agent that wouldn't just take your money and wish you the best.

I wound up with a magnificent Bongo and a LDE with a HUGE black mane.

He's proven himself, time and time and time again.

https://www.google.co.uk/searc...rc=w-a9sPpmtQswOM%3A

All I can say about Theo is at least Dick Turpin wore a mask

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Ahrenberg:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Opus1:
Booking agents really serve no purpose today and all too often act as an insulator for bad PHs. If they guaranteed the hunt and stood financially behind the client, that would be a reason to use them. However about all they can do when things go south is shrug their shoulders and apologize profusely. Unfortunately, when things do go south they only complicate your ability to bring the bad PH to justice since they were the go between.

I am afraid as times get tougher for PHs, more shady dealing will done. Caveat Emptor.

Hi Opus,

I typically agree with most of your stuff. On this I disagree. The agent I use, Always acted in my best interest.

If your universe of "vetted outfitters" resides within the walls of AR, you may be right. There is a whole world of International Outfitters, PH's and opportunities that the only contact you might ever have is with the agent.

There is far to much to know and take into account about complex, multi-species safaris.

My best example was my 21 days in CAR. I wanted to go in 2011 (IIRC) my agent wouldn't book me then. He insisted on a full moon in January. There was only one range of dates that worked and it required going the following year. I cannot think of any other agent that wouldn't just take your money and wish you the best.

I wound up with a magnificent Bongo and a LDE with a HUGE black mane.

He's proven himself, time and time and time again.[/QUOTE

I 100% agree with you Steve. Mine has proven himself time and time again. Saved me from trouble many times.

Imagine that Larry, I think we're taking about the very same agent.

He just saved me from making a 14K mistake last week.

Yup.

Steve,

will you care sharing the name of your agent?

Phil

quote:

Originally posted by medved:
Steve,

will you care sharing the name of your agent?

Phil

Steve & I used the same agent. He is John Barth of Adventure Unlimited.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

quote:

Originally posted by medved:
Steve,

will you care sharing the name of your agent?

Phil

Steve & I used the same agent. He is John Barth of Adventure Unlimited.

So nice to hear good news.