Judging a book

You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, so they say.

Nonsense. Of course you should.

I think that as consumers we are perfectly entitled to judge companies by the way they look. In fact I think it’s the only sensible approach. You are perfectly entitled, legally and morally, to judge a company, a store, anyone who wants your money by the way they appear.

I don’t just mean the obvious situations like restaurants and food stores, we all know that we shouldn’t buy or eat anything prepared in a dirty environment or by people with poor hygiene standards. We are obviously perfectly entitled to judge any establishment that serves food by the way in which they do so.

But that’s not who I mean. I mean ordinary businesses.

Let’s start with anyone selling you any sort of financial service. Whether it’s a credit card, an insurance policy or any sort of “opportunity” to make you money you really MUST judge the person selling it by how they appear, where they operate from and how they seem to do business.

When the Eurextrade Ponzi scheme was still operating last year I heard from many people who had been invited to join while in spicy chicken restaurants, in the streets and by shiny-suited visitors to Kgotla meetings. Not one of them went to an office with a boardroom. That’s because there was no office. Not one of them had any of the traditional trappings of a respectable company with whom you could trust your money.

Also, the fact that the scheme was being sold by people like you and me and not specialist financial advisors says a lot. Investing in a scheme being sold by your neighbour, a work colleague or, worst of all, a relative or friend is inherently suspicious and you should never do it. Not ever. The risks aren’t just towards your money, they are to the relationships you have with the people who recruit you and who you recruit.

When it comes to financial services I think you’re entitled to assume that any investment company that doesn’t operate from a conventional office can’t be trusted.

You are also entitled to judge companies by how they describe themselves. We heard recently from a reader who was being chased by a debt collector for P3,000 she borrowed from a friend. She says that this was just a simple informal loan but it turns out that the friend had borrowed the money from a motshelo lending scheme. Despite having repaid her friend a total of P3,200 the motshelo lender instructed a debt collector to get the money from her, not the friend who actually borrowed it from them.

Let’s overlook the fact that the scheme wasn’t registered with NBFIRA as the law requires. Let’s ignore that there was no written contract between our reader and this scheme. Let’s ignore that the actual debtor was the woman’s friend. Let’s ignore all of those things and instead look at the letter the debt collector sent.

Their letterhead describes their company as:

“Specialised in debt collection and secretarial services, work and residence permits, company formation, fashion designing, programmes, t-shirt, video shooting/editing, name tags and building construction”.

Is there anything they DON’T do?

Of course there’s nothing wrong with companies offering a range of services, most companies are flexible enough to do many things but I don’t trust a company that thinks offering debt collection, t-shirts and building construction all on the same letterhead is a bit suspicious. The fact that they don’t have a landline also alarms my skeptical instincts.

However we can’t overlook the opening line in their letter.

“We act on behalf of our client [name withheld] representing a pyramid (Motshelo)…”

A pyramid? Is that who they really think they are representing? I think the regulators need to hear about this, don’t you?

Then there’s their ignorance. Despite there being no signed or even verbal agreement between our reader and the people operating the lending scheme, the amateur debt collector was P5,670 for the money she borrowed (despite having repaid P3,200 already), P175 for writing their silly letter, P175 for delivering it and a massive P1,134 as a “collection commission”.

How long will it be before they realise that they’re not going to get a single thebe from this person? How long before they realise they’re chasing the wrong person? How long before they realise that they sound a bit like a bunch of crooks?

Of course there’s nothing wrong with companies operating on a small budget, from small offices and with home-made letterheads but when it comes to serious business issues I think we can demand a little more, at least some attention to detail, some care about their credibility and with not looking like a bunch of crooks operating from behind a chicken restaurant.

I wonder if the opposite is true as well? Is it possible to mistrust an organisation that goes to the opposite extreme? Is it acceptable to judge a company that behaves ostentatiously? I wonder if it’s possible to assume that a bank charging exorbitant bank charges and which recently spent hundreds of millions on a flashy new HQ can be trusted to put our interests high up their list of priorities?

So let’s start being a LOT more judgmental, a lot more critical and a lot more negative. Let’s start telling companies who seem either too crummy or too flashy that we don’t trust them simply because of the way they look, sound and appear. It might just encourage them to start looking respectable and trustworthy. Until then they deserve no respect and no trust.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Dear Consumer’s Voice #1

I need help, I bought a cellphone in December 2011 at a furniture store in Tlokweng and paid it within 3 months. A year or so later I went to my bank to apply for a loan and was declined reason being that I was blacklisted at ITC. When checking with ITC they confirmed that I havent been paying. I then went to the shop and demanded explanation and my P70 change which they still owe me to date. All I got was an apology and was told they made a mistake by sending a wrong data cd to ITC during their system upgrade. I was told the mistake would be rectified the next day, which was around independence day 2012. I made several follow ups by phone since I stay in Palapye but all I always get is excuses and apologies. I also asked them if they could make arrangements for me to get my change at their branch here in Palapye but everything seems so complicated to their management. When I try to get their branch here to call Tlokweng and follow up my case they take it that its not their problem and I should call them at my expense. I have copies of receipts and the contract.

This is just not good enough. You have been comprehensively let down by this store and they need to fix this problem urgently.

It’s a constant wonder to us how often stores claim not to have the power to fix problems. I don’t think it’s too much to ask for a store to fix problems that they have caused. Even if they don’t have the power to fix it themselves they DO have the power to take responsibility for doing to so, for making the phone calls, for sending the emails and for making sure that you, their customer, isn’t financially crippled because of their uselessness and incompetence.

Some months ago the MD of a major furniture store chain told me that he was just as frustrated as we were by his managers who couldn’t solve the simplest of problems without involving him or his senior colleagues. Nobody seems to understand why they can’t just fix things before they escalate.

We’ll send this problem over to the MD and see what can be done. Expect a rapid solution!

Dear Consumer’s Voice #2

I bought 2 x garage doors from a supplier in Gaborone for a total of P17,584 and paid a deposit of P14,000 on the 7th of September. The doors were supposed to be installed at Mahalapye but in vain. On the quotation, they are promising 7 - 15 working days but it's now more than 2 months and the reasons I am getting are their car has broken down and they are still carrying out backlog in Gaborone. What's really pissing me off is, they do not have the decency of calling and updating me and I am the one who is always calling. Most of the time the manager is unreachable, out of town or in a meeting. My fear is either they have chowed my money or they are simply taking me for granted.

Could you please assist in his regard?

After all these years I’m still surprised by how discourteous some companies can be. If it’s true that these guys are having logistical problems all they need to do is give you a call and I’m sure you, like the rest of us, would be flexible and tolerant. But what suppliers like this one do, when they fail to communicate, is make us suspicious, they make us wonder if our money is being stolen. They just antagonise us, all for the lack of a phone call or two.

Frankly I can’t believe that they’re really stealing your money but it’s time to take some action whatever they’re up to. I suggest that you write them a letter demanding either the installation of your garage doors or a refund. Tell them that they have them 3 days to choose which they prefer and 14 days to do get it done. Tell them that if they fail to do so you’ll go directly to the Small Claims Court for a judgment. I realise that the limit for the Small Claims Court is P15,000 but it’s close enough and it’ll be better than nothing. Meanwhile you should also tell them that if this isn’t fixed within that time then every reader of The Voice will know who they are. Do you really think they want that sort of fame?

Meanwhile we’ll get in touch with them as well and see if we can’t encourage them to be a bit more cooperative.

Yet more imported car silliness

Yet again we heard from a consumer having dreadful problems with an imported car.

She emailed us, saying:

"My fiance was robbed off by a young man commonly know as Bling. He obtained monies amounting to P120 000 in February 2012 on agreement that he will be delivering an X5 BMW car from UK in three weeks. After this period my fiance reported the matter to the police in Francistown and there was no development on this case.
He was paid by a cheque amounting to P108,000 for Standard Chartered bank and P12,000 cash."

We contacted "Bling", otherwise known as Michael "Fortune" Balapi, and asked him for his reaction. He admitted that he did indeed take the money and hadn't actually delivered anything in return. He also conceded that he had to repay them somehow. However when we pushed him to put this in writing and to at least make some payment up-front and to acknowledge the situation he became evasive, coming up with a variety of rather feeble excuses.

We spoke to him today and this was when things became a bit more challenging, maybe even a little aggressive. He seemed upset to find out that we had discovered him on Facebook (where he ostentatiously demonstrates his apparent wealth and outdoor pursuits), that we were persisting in asking questions and that we knew his full name. While he said we should go ahead and publish whatever we wanted about him and this story, he asked "are you sure about what you're doing" and that he will "see what to do" if we do, in fact, publish the story. He suggested that we "watch out".

The curious thing is that he genuinely doesn't seem to understand that he's done anything wrong. He admits he's taken someone's money but seems to have no sense of obligation or honour. All he can do is make excuses and threats.

So, "Bling", are you prepared to do the decent thing and pay your debts? Or are you happy being unreliable, untrustworthy and unpopular?

Or would you prefer to become even more unpopular with the press, the public and the Police?

Update: We've received various messages from our friend "Bling" who yesterday changed his Facebook name to "Mondo Nkubu" subsequent to this post. It went like this:

Mondo Nkubu: If I may tell u damage has already made pple r callin me even lost a customer 2day I told kate tht I shud mit her 2day then she told me she won't manage I shud cum tomorow nw I dn knw

Us: Have you thought of fixing the situation by paying a refund?

Mondo Nkubu: Ya I told her my business was goin back to track so I was goin to make arrangements wth her to payback in instalments but nw I dnt knw lyk we had an appointment tomorow nw I will c wth my lawyer to arrnge things for me wth u n the client

Us: So what do you suggest? When can she get her refund?

Mondo Nkubu: Pls i dnt hav tht kind of money at the moment n that lady who reprted the issue I dnt knw her I can only deal wth the ownr but let me talk to my lawyr will get bat to u in the morning

Us: You signed an agreement with [XXX] to deliver a BMW X3 and promised in that agreement that if the vehicle wasn't delivered "in time or to the agreed date" that you "will have to pay back" P120,000. This was witnessed by [XXX]. And you DO have that money, you were paid it for the car. Where is it now?

Hadley "University", yet another bogus establishment

Here are some selected highlights from my online conversation this morning with Hadley "University".

I'm not sure it need much explanation. Is this the way that a REAL educational establishment operates?

You are now chatting with 'Mark Smith'.
Mark Smith: hi
[Me]: Hi
[Me]: I found your web site. I need to get a PhD in Nursing to get a promotion. How quickly can this happen?
Mark Smith: well that depends

Mark Smith: Have you done your Bachelors degree?
[Me]: Yes, I have a Bachelors degree in Nursing
Mark Smith: and Masters
[Me]: Yes
Mark Smith: In nursing
Mark Smith: From which college?
[Me]: Yes, both of them
[Me]: The Bachelors from a college here in Botswana, the Masters online from Ashwood University.
Mark Smith: Thank you

[Me]: Can you tell me how long it will take to get the PhD?
Mark Smith: The Educational process of University is so simple the first step is to enroll yourself online with University and once you are enrolled you will get a access to your Student Area , Your Student Area is actually consisting of a Electronic generated which will have two major options. One is the Classroom and other one is an assessment room
Mark Smith: ClassroomAll of your Study material will be provided to you're in your Student Area that is divided into different Sections, and topics. for each course you can find E-books, PDF files, Audio video learning, pre-recorded lectures, Online classes, quizzes, Project details, Assignments, Interactive Learning, etc. all the material pertaining to your studies. Classes are available 24/7 so you can study at any time according to your own convenience
Mark Smith: Once you have gone through the Study material of the course, What all you need to do is you need to click on Assessment room, that is based on multiple choice questions from the Study material that was given to you, you need to answer those questions once you are done the results will be generated right over there and then

[Me]: I needed the qualification soon, they are doing promotions early next year.
Mark Smith: Okay
Mark Smith: Tell me how many years of working exp you have
[Me]: About 25 years

[Me]: Is it possible to get the degree before February?
Mark Smith: By enrolling now i can get your degree registered and validated and delivered to you by 1 week of FEB or before

[Me]: Are there any exams or reports I have to write?
Mark Smith: You only need to give a short exams
Mark Smith: and submit a short thesis
[Me]: How much will this cost?
Mark Smith: original cost is $15000
Mark Smith: but enroll now you only pay $3100
Mark Smith: today is the last day of the month
Mark Smith: and we are giving scholarships of 75%
[Me]: Must I apply today?
Mark Smith: yes
Mark Smith: you need to apply today so you can start today and the soon we can send you the degree

Mark Smith: Registration fee is $199
Mark Smith: You want to use a Visa or Master card

A doctorate examined by multiple choice tests? Entry without any proof of prior qualifications? "Scholarships of 75%" for no reason? No evidence of accreditation from genuine accreditation agencies?

This is apparently is Amelie Metters who they say is part of their faculty and who teaches Clinical/Counseling Psychology and Organizational Psychology.

Curious that this appears to be a stock photo used by a number of other sites.

Yet another fake.

Who not to trust

It might seem old-fashioned but a key part of any successful business is the trust its customers have in it. Think of all the really successful brands, the ones that make staggering amounts of money, often more money than some countries have, and you’ll find companies that somehow inspire trust among their customers. Companies like Apple and Virgin have built brands that inspire a sense of trustworthiness and reliability, attributes that keep their customers coming back over and over again.

It’s the dream of anyone who really wants to be successful in business, to create a brand with that level of trustworthiness and hence loyalty. However some companies adopt a slightly different approach, they just sell the cheapest, nastiest rubbish at hugely inflated prices to people with little choice.

Another group go out of their way to abuse their customers, thinking that they can get away with ripping everyone off just once, there being a steady flow of victims in the pipeline.

Trans Africa Vehicle Exports is
registered to this address in the UK

In June this year I wrote about a car importer who seemed to have adopted this approach. Westridge Holdings, who represent and advertise locally using the name “Trans Africa Vehicle Exports” fall definitely into this category. Their business is importing cars from the UK to sell to people here in Botswana.

First things first. Importing cars from overseas is a silly idea but many people seem to think that it’s a very good way of getting a cheap car. The truth is very different. The simple fact is that buying a car online from a far-flung foreign country is NOT a cheaper way to buy a car than buying one here. It’s simply not cheaper. Once you include the costs of actually getting the car from the UK or Singapore all the way to Botswana, all the taxes, duties and fees, all the storage costs they often include you get to almost the same price as an identical car here or in South Africa, if not more. Then you add in the additional costs for parts when you later service the car, always assuming that you can get it serviced. I know dealers here who now refuse to service imported cars of the brands they sell because either the cars have been “clocked” by having their mileage adjusted or because the inconvenience of finding parts for cars built for other parts of the world is so high.

More importantly, who in their right mind would buy a car they’ve never test-driven? That’s The Number One Rule Of Buying A Second Hand Car. Test drive the car before you sign anything. Then go home and think about it. Then get your friend the mechanic to test-drive it as well. This is obviously impossible if the car you want is on the far side of the planet.

Then there’s the sort of people who often run these import businesses. Business like Trans Africa Vehicle Exports lie, take people’s money without delivering cars and, if you’re lucky, just deliver the wrong type of car and make you wait forever for a refund.

This is the same company who, according to another newspaper a few months ago, had its owner arrested on suspicion of fraud. The same company whose customers we’ve heard from on several occasions, sometimes delivering the wrong car and refusing to offer their customer a discount. On other occasions they just didn’t deliver a car at all. Nothing.

One of their customers contacted us after she had paid them a large amount of money only to have entirely the wrong delivered. The manager at Trans Africa then refused a refund until he could find a new buyer for the wrong car. Despite failing to abide by his contract with her, despite failing miserably to abide by the Consumer Protection regulations and, above all, despite eventually promising her a refund there were endless delays in actually making the payment. When the client, the importer and I eventually met he assured us both that the refund would be made the same day.

It’s no surprise of course that he lied. No payment was made that day, nor the next day, nor the one after that, nor in the months since. He didn’t even repay her after she went to court and obtained an order she can use against him to seize and sell his assets. He’s now effectively on the run, claiming that he has no vehicles that can be seized to raise some money to pay his debts.

So has he gone to ground and stopped running this crooked business? No, he’s still there and I’ve heard from other people all with pretty much the same story. Either the wrong car or no car at all. Only last week they placed advertisements in the papers advertising their car import services, despite having built up this long trail of victims. As a test last week I sent him a text message asking if he can get me a vehicle and yes, he’s perfectly willing to get me one so long as I cough up the necessary money in advance

So let me state this simply and directly, in terms that Westridge Holdings, the Botswana wing of Trans Africa Vehicle Exports and their “manager” Earnest and everyone thinking of buying a car from them can understand.

Don’t. Don’t give them any money under any circumstances. If you’re lucky you might get a car from them but there’s a sizeable chance that you won’t and your money will disappear, never to be seen again.

They can’t be trusted so please don’t risk your money with them.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Dear Consumer’s Voice #1

Hello Consumer Watchdog. Earlier this month I mistakenly recharged a cellphone number which has almost the same number as mine except that it ends with "5" while mine ends with "3".

After realising that I made that error I called the person for that number and was told its a company cellphone though he suggested that I might get my units back. The units were worth P50.

However the last company worker I talked to told me it will be difficult to be reimbursed, stating that the owners of the company are impossible. Please be of help by advising as I need those units, I bought them for a purpose and its really bad for someone to remain uncooperative. May be the answer I will get will lay off the ghost and help adjust my troubled soul. Thanking you in advance.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of this sort of thing. It’s happened with airtime but also with bank payments and the mobile money services offered by the cellphone companies. Getting just one digit wrong can lose you your money, simple as that. I can understand it happening with airtime but I simply can’t with banks. Don’t they compare the account number you give with the name of the account holder and make sure they match? Clearly they don’t but they certainly should.

Let’s get a few things straight first. I think you understand this was entirely your fault, not the fault of the company. It was your responsibility to be careful when entering the number. But we also have to remember that people make mistakes, we’re all fallible and I think it’s reasonable to expect the cellphone companies to give us a chance to double check the number before it’s too late.

However, surely the company can be reasonable? It was an honest mistake and it will only take them a few moments to remedy the situation. It’s only what a good neighbour would do, isn’t it?

You’ve been unlucky enough to accidentally give your airtime to a company who doesn’t like to be a good neighbour. Send us their details and the number you mistakenly sent the airtime to and we’ll get in touch and see if they can’t be a bit more friendly?

Dear Consumer’s Voice #2

My friend applied for a loan in July and he was told that his name was blacklisted because his name was with ITC. He went to ITC to check why his name was blacklisted and he was told that sometime in 2012 he ordered a bedding from Home Choice in South Africa and he never paid, mind you the things he ordered were never delivered that’s the reason he didn’t pay. Of lately he’s been calling Home Choice everyday for them to remove his name but they are not willing to help him and now he is stuck because he wanted the loan urgently but now he cant get it because of the home choice issue. I need you help here.

We got in touch with Home Choice in South Africa and they acted fairly quickly to fix this.

They sent us an email saying:

"We have investigated this matter and have noted that there was a delay in processing the credit note to the account. We have subsequently credited the account and have requested the Credit Bureaux to remove the default listing as well as the payment profile. As soon as we receive confirmation that the default has been removed, we will advise Mr [name removed] as well as yourself. We have already received confirmation from TransUnion ITC that this has been actioned and await feedback from the other Bureaux. We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused [name removed].”

We heard back from the reader who told us that his friend did indeed have his credit history corrected and he now has the loan he was waiting for. Thanks to Home Choice for fixing their mistake.

Our new friend Laura

In came an email from "Laura Kettless":

Date: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 16:30:10 +0000 (GMT)
From: laura kettless <laura_kettless@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: co op
To: Consumer Watchdog <watchdog@bes.bw>

i have waited 12 - 18 months for my shares as i missed the last drop due to moving house and my statemtn would have been around 16000 points
they sent letters stating no profit made - i asked at the bank and was told the same yet on goole there is a document stating their profs fell by 9.5 % to £288 million

Quite often we get emails from people in all parts of the world, thinking that Consumer Watchdog is in their country. We usually go back to them, asking if they realised we're in Botswana and politely suggesting that there might be agencies closer to home who can assist. So I emailed her back saying:

From: Consumer Watchdog <watchdog@bes.bw>
To: laura kettless <laura_kettless@yahoo.co.uk>
Sent: Monday, 18 November 2013, 16:46
Subject: Re: co op

Hi Laura

Are you in Botswana?

Regards

Richard

Here is her reply:

Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 16:00:42 +0000 (GMT)
From: laura kettless <laura_kettless@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: co op
To: Consumer Watchdog <watchdog@bes.bw>

twat - no if u r foriegn f off - i am in uk emailing london - i will report u f off

Charming.

In case you think this might be an invasion of Laura's privacy then you should see the message at the end of EVERY outgoing email from Consumer Watchdog. It includes the following:

"Please note that any communications to or from Consumer Watchdog may be published or broadcast at our discretion. Disclaimers relating to email confidentiality will be ignored."