The Voice - Dear Consumer's Voice

Dear Consumer’s Voice

I took several ladies trouser and skirt suits to Modiba Drycleaners in Palapye in July 2007. I needed them for a workshop in Francistown in early August. When I went to get my clothes, a jacket for one of the trouser suits was missing.

To this day I still haven’t received the jacket and the staff really don’t seem to care! At one point they asked me where I bought it and I told them that it was specially made. They asked for a quotation for the material and labour which I gave them. Then they told me that they needed three quotations which I think is unreasonable. Why should I do all the running around?

I went to Consumer Affairs in Serowe but nothing positive has been done. They tell me that when they contact the manager they are always told that the owner is in South Africa. I am now confused and don’t know what to do.

What can I do?

Many people don’t realise that the Consumer Protection Regulations cover “services” as well as products. It’s not just when you buy physical items that you have rights. Section 15 (1) (a) of the Regulations says that a supplier has failed to meet minimum standards if “the service is not rendered with reasonable care and skill and such service … (is) not fit for any particular purpose made known by the consumer”.

It’s quite simple. You took your clothes to be dry-cleaned and it’s perfectly obvious what that meant. You had a right to expect clean clothes back at the end of the process. What’s more, you had a right to have ALL of your clothes back, not just some of them.

Of course as consumers we must understand that occasionally even the best suppliers make mistakes. However, we still have our rights when this happens. We have the right to expect things to be fixed. Quickly. You’ve been waiting for 10 months and that’s totally unacceptable.

We’ll get in contact with them and see what we can sort out. We’ll let you know!