The Real South Africa—Not Keeping It Real: A Story of Betrayal

 

The Real South Africa—Not Keeping It Real: A Story of Betrayal 

What began as a dream trip transformed into a two-year ordeal marked by silence, delays, and financial discrepancies. Adding to the pain of losing my mother, I was confronted with a profound lack of accountability and transparency from a luxury travel agency that champions pro-Black and pro-diaspora values, resulting in a $4,200 debt that remains unpaid despite their implied agreement and my time of immense grief. 

In February, I booked a trip to Durban, South Africa, for my mother and me. We chose to use The Real South Africa payment plan through PayPal, making a down payment of $1,125. Additionally, we requested apartment tours as part of our trip. 

Dr. Latasha Blanton, one of the co-owners, contacted me regarding the trip after noticing that my phone number was linked to my mother's email. I confirmed that this was a mother-daughter trip. By May, we decided to change our plans because of the massive floods that occurred in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) region in April 2022. 

Since the floods brought back memories of what we went through during Hurricane Harvey—an experience we did not want to relive—my mother requested that we switch our trip to Johannesburg.  At the time, The Real South Africa was promoting a real estate tour. I told my mother that visiting South Africa as both a vacation and a "go-see" would give her two experiences in one. Since my career, for which I was pursuing a license, was closely related to real estate, I saw this as a field trip opportunity for me. We made the decision to switch our trip to Johannesburg. 

The Durban invoice was converted to The Real Estate Tour. 

After switching our trip from Durban to Johannesburg, my mother and I began paying down the payment plan from May through August. During this period, we encountered a complication with the payment process. One day, we attempted to make a payment through PayPal, but the transaction was restricted. Dr. Latasha Blanton informed me that The Real South Africa (TRSA) had abruptly parted ways with PayPal and switched to Stripe for payments. 

This sudden change in payment processors was not handled professionally. We were instructed to request refunds directly from PayPal and then transfer those same funds to Stripe. This placed an unexpected task on us with TRSA changing payment vendors midway through the pre-trip process. 

I had to contact PayPal customer service and request a refund of several thousand dollars from the payment plan. The PayPal representative questioned the unusual nature of this request, which I found concerning. I wanted to avoid being caught in the middle of a vendor dispute between TRSA and PayPal, but the situation was unavoidable. 

After following Dr. Blanton's instructions, I was finally able to process the refund and transfer the funds to Stripe. However, I was charged in the process of transferring our own money. Furthermore, while PayPal provided tracking information for invoice balances, Stripe did not, which made it difficult to automatically monitor our payments. 

By September, we had paid off the account. However, Dr. Blanton emailed me, claiming that our balance was $1,985. Confident the account was paid off, I called and asked her to provide invoices or records to clarify the discrepancy. She acted like she didn’t know what I meant. Without receiving proof from her, I reviewed all our payments, including bank transactions, refunded amounts, and transferred funds. After thorough calculations, I concluded that I owed her only $5 and sent her an email detailing my findings in a table. 

When I called Dr. Blanton to acknowledge how challenging it was for both of us to go through the documents, she rudely interrupted me, saying, 'All of it! And by the way, you don’t owe me $5; you actually owe $10 instead. But I cleared that, so we can move forward with the trip.' I couldn’t believe how she deflected and shifted the blame onto me. She provided no evidence to support her claim. Despite this, I paid the additional $10 to avoid further conflict. How did a $1,985 discrepancy caused by her mistake turn into a $10 debt on my end—one that she claimed to graciously absolve in my favor?

At that point, I told my mother we should cancel the trip entirely. I no longer wanted to be part of it, especially after feeling disrespected by Dr. Blanton’s tone and handling of the situation. My mother was feeling unwell, and I still had to show proof of our payments while Dr. Blanton failed to provide any documents from her side. Yet, my mother insisted, saying, "No, no, we should still go with them."

This experience highlighted several red flags, starting with the PayPal representative’s questions and the lack of transparency. The entire ordeal changed my perception of Dr. Blanton and our plans for the trip. 

In September, Dr. Blanton had sent out a terms and conditions document for all travelers to sign, but we did not sign it. As we moved into October, we began receiving emails from Dr. Blanton requesting flight information to arrange transportation. 

I informed Dr. Blanton that my mother was hospitalized, and her doctors were uncertain whether it was safe for her to travel. Toward the end of October, I confirmed that my mother would not attend the real estate tour. We planned to keep the schedule intact, aiming to rehabilitate my mother for the following year, as she had recovered from medical issues in the past. Dr. Blanton was encouraging and supportive. She mentioned another traveler with a similar experience planned to travel to South Africa the next year. This gave us hope, and we started researching specialists for my mother. 

However, by mid-November, we had to cancel the trip after my mother’s doctor confirmed her condition was terminal. When I canceled via email, I requested a refund and acknowledged that we would honor any applicable terms and conditions, despite not having signed the document. 

Dr. Blanton asked for my bank information, which I sent. 

Although we did not attend the real estate tour, Dr. Blanton sent an email in late November acknowledging my refund request, assuring me they had not forgotten about it. I assumed the real estate tour had been exhausting for them, as it was their first time organizing it, so I refrained from following up immediately. However, on December 16th, I sent an email requesting a status update. Dr. Blanton responded a few days later, stating there were issues with the bank processing direct deposits. 

On December 21st, my mother was hospitalized and passed away that same day. Up until then, we were hopeful that we could find a specialist to help her. I received two deposits from The Real South Africa to my account in late December. 

During this time, I also informed Dr. Blanton about my mother’s bank account, explaining that Chase only accepted incoming payments. In the midst of planning the funeral and dealing with a winter storm, estate matters, and religious arrangements, I reached out again in January to inquire about my mother’s refund. Despite a few brief emails, I was left uncertain about the status of the refund process, and the entire ordeal stretched on far longer than expected. Amid this grief, the refund process turned into a two-year nightmare. 

In January 2023, after requesting a refund, Dr. Blanton responded that they were waiting to consult their lawyers regarding my mother’s refund. She explained, “Your mom is now deceased, and we need to make sure we don’t break any laws in this process.”

I followed up with another email at the end of January but received no response. Realizing I was being ignored, I sought legal counsel. At the time, I couldn't afford a lawyer, but I eventually secured one through a volunteer network. Cameron Secord from Jackson Walker reviewed my documentation and described the situation as a stalling tactic. He added that TRSA does not intend to pay you. He suggested a four-email campaign before filing a lawsuit. Dr. Blanton responded to the final email on March 28th.

In her response, Dr. Blanton requested the executor of my mother’s estate and legal information. Despite prior communications where I had explained we were dealing with estate issues, she showed no urgency. My mother had died intestate, and my family was embroiled in disputes with our father regarding her estate, which delayed the probate process. 

For 21 months, March 2023 to January 2025, I heard nothing further from The Real South Africa beyond one automated response in June 2024. I sent emails every three to six months, informing them we were still dealing with probate and estate issues, but these emails received no human reply. 

During this time, I faced numerous personal challenges. My mother passed away in December 2022, and shortly after, my nephew, who lived with me, became ill and passed away the following year. I moved out of my apartment to start over. When I secured work downtown with Harris County and the elections, I had to deal with a criminal case after being stalked and attacked on Metro Rail in 2024. These hardships, coupled with The Real South Africa’s silence, made the situation even more overwhelming. 

For nearly two years, my occasional inquiries about the refund were met with dead silence. The only time they responded again was after I reported them to the federal and state agencies in December 2024.

I filed complaints against The Real South Africa (registered in Virginia) with the Virginia Attorney General, the Better Business Bureau (Central Virginia), the Federal Trade Commission, and the Texas Attorney General. While I received automated responses from the federal and Texas agencies, the Virginia agencies provided human responses. 

The Better Business Bureau initially closed my case prematurely, claiming I hadn't responded. After I disputed and resubmitted documents, they reopened it. The Virginia Attorney General's dispute resolution specialist acknowledged my documents and requested a response within two weeks, to which I complied, but received no further communication. I found the abrupt closures and silences from the Virginia offices concerning. 

Upon reopening the Better Business Bureau case, I received my first communication from TRSA after 21 months (since March 2023). The contact was from Mark Blanton, whom I had never communicated with before. Previously, all correspondence had been with Latasha Blanton. Mark Blanton introduced a refund policy that had never been mentioned in any prior communication. In November 2022, Latasha Blanton requested my direct deposit information to issue a refund. 

In 2023, after I inquired about my late mother's refund of $4,200, Latasha Blanton stated that she needed to consult her attorneys due to legal concerns regarding issuing a refund to a deceased payee. A few months later, she requested executor or estate information via email. Throughout these exchanges, the possibility of a refund was implied through requests for bank and estate details. The requests contradicts Mark Blanton's later claims. However, the refund policy cited by Mark Blanton had never been mentioned or enforced in prior communications. Mark Blanton's sudden involvement and the introduction of the refund policy appears to be a last ditch effort to avoid accountability. This pattern of shifting narratives echoes a previous $1,985 discrepancy in September 2022 from Latasha Blanton, who mistook payment due without providing supporting documentation. After demonstrating her error, she still claimed I owed money. 

This pattern of shifting narratives and retroactive policy enforcement prompted me to email Mark Blanton directly. I informed him that the refund policy had never been communicated and that I would have honored it if it had been. He did not respond. This pattern of ignoring communication is consistent with their behavior. 

Mark Blanton only communicated through the Better Business Bureau portal. I closed the case after concluding that The Real South Africa:

 • Avoids accountability. 

 • Shifts the burden of proof and narratives. 

 • Ignores communication. 

 • Has questionable business practices. 

 • Displays callousness towards grieving individuals. 

In addition to potential local influences of TRSA, such as the Virginia agencies prematurely closing my case or disappearing, I reached out to a prominent diaspora influencer based in Houston but received no response. As a Houstonian, I found it noteworthy that this 'pro-Black' local influencer, who is friends with The Real South Africa, began featuring TRSA advertisements on their channel during the same period. 

My late mother, who was a senior, trusted The Real South Africa, which promotes itself using pro-Black rhetoric. Their actions, resembling those of other influencers who exploit elderly Black individuals, raise serious concerns about integrity. What sets TRSA apart is their professional pedigree, social capital, and business experience in the U.S., making their behavior all the more puzzling. 

From retroactively enforcing a policy that had never been applied before, to the $1,985 discrepancy, followed by the 21-month silence, and the sudden appearance of Mr. Mark Blanton—all of these events point to evasion and a consistent pattern of disregard. TRSA presented themselves as champions of the Black diaspora, yet they treated my elderly mother and me with the same disregard as any other exploitative scheme. This betrayal is a stark reminder that even those who profess to stand for our community can inflict the deepest wounds. I share my story not only to seek justice, but to warn others and to implore those with influence to hold TRSA accountable. 

FOR CLARITY AND UPDATE:

Just to clarify, the total cost of our trip was approximately $8,000, paid in installments for both my mother and myself. The portion in question is my mother’s $4,200, which was not refunded. The refund process was initiated while she was still alive, and TRSA specifically requested her banking information to issue it. After her passing, Chase confirmed the refund was still eligible due to ongoing estate matters. Despite this, TRSA never completed the refund. I did receive a partial refund for my portion, but my mother’s share was ignored, even after repeated follow-ups over 21 months.


As of July 7, 2025, I received a formal response from the Virginia Office of the Attorney General, following up on my original January complaint. They noted that their certified letter to TRSA was returned to sender, and that they subsequently attempted contact via email—but received no response from the business. With this final acknowledgment from the fourth agency I contacted (FTC, BBB, Texas AG, and Virginia AG), I decided to come forward publicly to share my full story and protect others.