Where’s my money?

I’ve been scammed out of P36,000 by a furniture store in Francistown.

At the beginning of November, I had identified a lounge suite at their store. They had the maroon and dark brown colours on display. The staff then informed me that they do sell this sofa set in black, too. Towards the end of November, I went back to the store to confirm if they still had the black one; they insisted I pay ASAP as the sofas were running out. I then decided to purchase the black leather lounge suite from them on the 27th of November.

After having sent the money directly to the company account, they informed me that they do not sell a black version of the sofa set even though they had been telling me for weeks before that they did. I then asked for a refund and they have been sending me back and forth between their Head Office in SA. It’s now 2 weeks later and we still have not received our money. They have also been trying to convince me to accept a different sofa set of which I did not want.

I have now already gotten another sofa at a different store and I would just like my money back. What actions can I take to ensure I get my funds back?

You can complain. Loudly. Very loudly.

You don’t need to be an attorney to understand that you had a contract with the furniture store which both parties agreed to and which THEY then broke. They agreed to supply you with a black lounge suite and took a huge amount of your money in return. Then they broke that agreement.

They also ignored their obligations under the Consumer Protection Act. Section 7 (6) and 7 (7) of the Act says that when “goods or services are not availed as advertised, the consumer shall have the right to cancel the contract” and that “the supplier shall refund the consumer the amount paid”. The Act does NOT say that they are permitted to take two weeks to do this. It does NOT say that they can keep your money for as long as they like.

I’ve contacted the store’s Head Office and I’m confident they’ll see that their store has badly let you down and get you your refund very soon.