KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AS A CONSUMER
It’s been a decade since the Consumer Protection Act came into effect. We look at 10 ways it protects you
WHAT word starts with a C, is eight letters long and applies to every person living in SA? It’s consumer – and it’s a word that unites all South Africans in one common bond: we don’t want to get ripped off. April marks 10 years since the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) came into effect to protect the interests of all patrons – and with the pandemic intensifying our need for flexibility and protection, we need the power of this act more than ever.
We take a look at 10 ways this legislation protects you.
It prevents discriminatory marketing
Example You want to rent a flat in an apartment complex but, after filling in the application form, you’re denied a lease on the grounds of your race.
What you can do You can file a complaint with the equality court. No one is allowed to discriminate against any consumer based on sex, gender, race, colour, religion or language. “We used to see a lot of adverts for property rentals, for instance, specifying race,” says Jared Poole, a candidate attorney at SchoemanLaw Inc in Cape Town. “This is discriminatory marketing.”
It doesn’t allow any false and misleading representations about the nature, properties, advantages or uses of goods and services
Example You own a small bakery and want to buy a conveyor toaster. The salesperson convinces you to buy a kitchen toaster as he says it can do the job. A week later, the toaster breaks.
What you can do “You have the right to a full refund if it can be proven that the claims made were false and misleading,” says Magauta Mphahlele, ombudsman of the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO).
It’s vital to follow product instructions before using the product, she adds.
You have the right to a cooling-off period after direct marketing
Example You’re invited to a presentation about a new holiday club. You sign up but the next day you decide it’s simply not affordable. You want out but the organisers are digging in their heels.
What you can do You have the right to terminate the agreement in accordance with the CPA. “However, this only applies where there has been direct marketing by the seller as opposed to consumers seeking out products and services,” says Lauren Lewis, an associate at Trudie Broekmann Attorneys in Cape Town.
The cooling-off period – five working days – enables a consumer to return a product or ask for a refund of a service without having to give a reason.
You have the right to cancel an advance reservation or order
Example You’ve saved for months for your son’s high-school trip to Germany, but because of Covid-19 the school was forced to cancel. Now the travel agency refuses to refund you. Instead, they’re offering a travel voucher.
What you can do “The pandemic has destroyed many people’s travel plans but consumers are entitled to a full
refund as they’re not at fault for cancelling,” Mphahlele says.
If the travel agency insists on offering a voucher instead of a refund, you can lodge a complaint with the CGSO.
You have the right to examine goods
Example You want to buy a kitchen bin and see the ideal one on the shop floor. The assistant says they have one in the back and fetches it for you, all neatly wrapped in a box. You ask to see it, but the assistant says it’s against policy for boxes to be opened – and when you get home you realise it’s the wrong one.
What the act says Consumers can insist on examining stock presented to them. Don’t feel shy to ask store assistants to open a box – after all, you’re the one who’s paying. With online purchases it’s a little more difficult because you can’t physically see the item you are buying, but Poole says this is why online stores have such a good returns policy.
You have the right to return goods
Example Your fridge conks in after a few years. You decide to buy a new one, but within just a week of purchasing it, it starts making a strange sound.
What you can do Consumers may return defective goods within six months and can opt for either a refund, replacement or repair. The CPA only allows returns when goods are defective, when goods are bought from a catalogue and do not fit the description, when consumers did not have the opportunity to inspect the goods and they do not fit the consumer’s requirements, and when the goods delivered are not as ordered.
You have the right to information disclosure in layman’s terms
Example You book a guesthouse for a weekend away through a booking site. When you arrive you discover you have to pay separately for electricity, although this wasn’t plainly stipulated in the contract.
What you can do According to the CPA, your contract needs to be written in plain language so you can understand the obligations you are binding yourself to. You can file a complaint with the CGSO or approach a lawyer for help. If there’s anything that you don’t understand in a contract, you have the right to ask for it to be explained in layman’s language.
You have the right to demand quality service and/or quality goods
Example You decide to redo your kitchen. The renovators take measurements and deliver the new cupboards, but three weeks later you haven’t seen hide nor hair of your contractors.
What you can do Service providers are expected to notify consumers should they encounter any unavoidable delays, Mphahlele says. “A consumer has the right to cancel the transaction and obtain a full refund if the supplier delivers goods or services then doesn’t follow through.”
You can cancel fixed-term agreements
Example You’re a member of a gym but you can no longer afford your monthly fee. Now you’re caught between paying an exorbitant cancellation fee or just riding it out and paying the remaining six months of your contract.
What you can do Consumers can cancel a fixed-term contract prior to the expiry date by giving the supplier 20 business days’ notice in writing.
“If you neglect to cancel the contract at the end of the fixed term, the contract converts to a month-to-month contract,” Mphahlele says. This can be cancelled by giving the supplier one month’s notice with no penalties for the consumer.
Producers, importers, distributors or retailers of any goods are liable for harm caused by the supply of unsafe goods
Example You buy your son a new car for his 21st birthday. A few months later, he turns on the ignition and the car bursts into flames. He escapes with third-degree burns. A probe finds the car caught fire because of a defective ignition switch.
What you can do You can lodge a complaint with the CGSO or turn to the courts for compensation – suppliers are responsible for consumers suffering any injury after using their product.
CONSUMERS CAN INSIST ON EXAMINING STOCK PRESENTED TO THEM