WILL THEY FIX MY BED?

PLEASE, I need your help.

I bought a bed at a store in Gaborone but realised that the bed was not at all comfortable to an extent that I have backache and waistache. The following day, I called the store and the salesperson tells me that it’s difficult to change the bed for me. Mind you, the bed has been with me for a week now but still I can’t understand why I don’t get help. I used my daughter’s name because I am not employed but able to pay. What do we do now?

When you say that you used your daughter’s name. I assume that means you bought the bed on hire purchase? The first problem is that you’ve placed a considerable burden on her. If you ever have problems paying, it’s your daughter that will pay the price, not you. I understand why sometimes this is done, some people have a bad credit history or other times they don’t have a bank account so they need someone else to sign the agreement but it’s important to understand what this means. It means that the person who signs on your behalf takes all the risks for you.

However, I suggest that your daughter contacts the store and she should remind them that the bed isn’t suitable and that Section 15 (1) of the Consumer Protection Act says very clearly that a “consumer has the right to receive goods which are of good quality, in good working order and free of defects”. It’s quite simple, despite the difficulty some stores have in understanding it, but a bed should function as a bed. You should be able to sleep in it in reasonable comfort for a reasonable length of time. It certainly shouldn’t give you backache.

The most important thing to know is very simple. Whatever happens, no matter how frustrated you and your daughter might become, no matter how long it takes for them to fix the bed, you mustn’t stop paying the instalments. That will just make matters much, much worse.