I have no receipt!

I bought a TV in April for P9,999 and the TV stopped working beginning of October.

I reported the issue on 10th October and sent them all the information, the serial number and bank statement proof of purchase. He told me at the time that their system that reprints invoices is not working and IT in South Africa are looking into it.

After several follow-ups, I went to see the Shop Manager on the 22nd October to escalate the issue and sent him the details. He promised to give me feedback but he did not bother. I called after a week, he told me the same story that the other guy had told me and that he is waiting for the IT team to assist.

I called him several times and never answered my calls until yesterday when he told me there nothing he can do without a receipt. He gave me an email address of someone in Namibia. I sent an email and got no response.

Richard, am frustrated, please help.

There are several issues here and more than one law that I think applies. Before I start it’s worth saying that whenever possible we should keep receipts for the goods we buy, particularly the expensive ones like your TV. The problem is that this isn’t always practical. Receipts get lost, are left in the washing or simply fade so that after a few months they’re just a blank piece of paper. That’s why we should always take a picture of any important receipts with our phone and then send it to a reliable friend or relative as a backup.

However, even without a receipt it’s still possible to prove that you bought an item from a particular store. You had a bank statement proving you spent the right amount of money on that date. That should be enough for any reasonable person. In my view, the situation is simple. The store should be able very easily to prove you are their customer and then honour the warranty on the TV you spend a lot of money buying. Frankly I don’t care that their system isn’t working properly, that’s their problem. Not yours. I wonder if they know that any system that contains personal data like your purchase history must, by law, be supported by “reasonable security safeguards”? That’s what Section 14 of the Data Protection Act says. By coincidence Section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act says that a supplier must offer “timely performance and completion” of services to a consumer.

I contacted the store and they gave me the same silly excuses. Let’s hope they come up with a better solution very soon. And let’s hope they understand the law sooner rather than later.