The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Where's my refund?

I paid for material on Monday 16 November. The material was available and I arranged for collection on a later date which was supposed to be 18 November after making transport arrangements. When I went to collect it the lady at the till told me that they had sold my material and when I asked them if they would deliver they said we would have to call the shop owner on that. We called the shop owner and he cut the call short and also switched off his phone. When I asked the supervisor to give me back my money as well as my transport cost he refused and told me they don't have money in the store to give back to me. I'm running a project in Jwaneng and the material is needed here urgently.

This is unacceptable. Not just a little bit unacceptable but completely unacceptable. It's also incompetent, disrespectful and useless.

You paid for something and had a right to expect what you paid for. That's not difficult to understand. The fact that they later sold the items you had paid for to someone else is a sign of their incompetence and lack of respect. The choices they face are simple. Either they give you exactly the products you paid for or they give you a refund. No excuses, no stories, no fooling around. And the manager refusing to take your calls? It's simple. Never buy from them again and make sure all your friends, relatives, neighbours, workmates, people you meet at parties, passers-by in the street and complete strangers know about your experience. They should only buy from them again when YOU have decided to forgive them.

Meanwhile, let's both attack them from both sides. You keep trying with the manager and the other staff and I'll do the same. Let's get you what you deserve.

Update: It didn't take long. I messaged them explaining how they had let you down and they responded, saying "Tnk u we will refund".

They blacklisted me!

I need your help. I just found out that I have been blacklisted by a furniture store for P15,000. I'm surprised because I have never had an account with them. I decided to check with their branch in Molepolole where I was told the account belonged to another person. The retail store that blacklisted my name is at Palapye and the record even shows an id number that is not mine. This id number belongs to the said person.

I need your intervention because my credit record is ruined by a retail outlet that I have NEVER set my foot in.

Again, this is unacceptable. It's also remarkably simple. Or it should be.

We all understand that mistakes happen, we all make them sometimes and the same is true for the companies we buy things from. They make mistakes too because they employ imperfect human beings like you and me.

However, it's 2020 and I expect there to be ways for companies to prevent mistakes and to fix them when they occur. Surely there are ways of checking who a company registers with a credit reference bureau? Surely they double-check people's identities before they register them? Surely they take a little care before ruining someone's financial reputation?

I contacted the furniture store and alerted them. Obviously they need to check the truth of this and double check their records but I expect them to fix this quickly. Not when they feel like it. Quickly. Hours, not days, not weeks.

They also need to make sure that your credit history isn't just updated, it needs to be cleaned so no record of this mistake can ever be seen again. Your reputation needs to be restored.