Afternoon Mr Harriman I need your help. I got a loan last year from my bank then they took 3 to 4 months without deducting then this end of July they deducted P1000 on top of the instalment saying they are paying arrears without my consent and my salary was P300 and they are saying the same thing is going to happen this month end.
The bank is entitled to catch up on the late instalments because that's what you agreed they can do when you signed the loan agreement. I bet if you look closely in the agreement it says that if they are so useless that they neglect to take the instalments when they said they would, they can catch up whenever they feel like it. That's how banks work.
It's also up to you to make sure there's always enough money in your account to honour your debts. I'm sorry if it sounds unsympathetic but it was also up to you to make sure that the instalments were paid. It would have been sensible to put the money somewhere safe when you realised the instalments weren't being paid. It was unwise to spend it when you knew the bank was owed that money.
The lesson from this is always to make sure that your bank takes the money you owe on the date you agreed it would be taken. If they fail to do so, you should contact them, give them a piece of your mind, remind them that Section 14 (1) of the Consumer Protection Act says that when "a supplier undertakes to perform any services for or on behalf of a consumer" the consumer has a right to "timely performance and completion" of those services and "timely notice of any unavoidable delay". You also have a right to "performance of the services in a manner and quality that consumers are reasonably entitled to expect".
In 2021, I don't think it's too much to ask for a bank to take deductions when they agree to do so. But it's also up to us as consumers to make sure they do because if we don't, we're the ones that suffer.
Where's my refund?
I need your assistance. A few months ago I visited a local branding shop for their printing services. So they helped me and I then paid up front and waited for my order to be ready. When I was supposed to go and collect they always came up with excuses telling me that they are not done yet and will sort that out. I went to their office more often but still no sign of my order. Nowadays they don't take my calls or respond to my texts. They always do this to their clients and I'm not the only victim. The company has cheated many people and they gave up and lost their money. How can you assist me or refer me to relevant authorities dealing with this kind of businesses?
Here we go again. Yet another company that takes your money and fails to deliver the products or services you've paid for. I'm sure they'll come up with some excuse about Covid affecting their business, something to do with imports being difficult or being let down by ither suppliers.
But I don't care and neither should you. The impact of Covid should make us sympathetic to the difficulties businesses face but it shouldn't make us forget our rights as consumers. We have a right to get the products and services we've paid for and if there are delays we have a right to be told about them so we can decide if we want to wait or take our business elsewhere.
I contacted the shop and asked when you would receive what you paid for. They quickly responded saying that your products was being sourced from South Africa and "it got interrupted with our supplier's inconveniences". He went on to say that they are "a small company and sometimes when such company matters arise it becomes difficult to solve them on short period since his not the only one affected by such an outcome."
He ended by saying that he would get you a refund within days. Let's hope he does.
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