Must I take the lounge suite?
I paid a deposit for a lounge suite in December and paid P4,000 and the balance to pay was P1,000.
The next week I went to the shop to pay the balance and I was told the sofa is at a warehouse and it will be brought into the shop for collection. They called me on Thursday for collection but I suggested today. This morning I went to collect it but the sofa had dents and scratches, so I asked for an exchange of the same product. I was told to get something in the shop in compensation for the scratches and was offered a P10 necklace. I declined and rather asked for a refund. They refused with the exchange.
Can you assist?
Yes, I think I can assist. It's not a very difficult situation.
Section 15 (1) of the Consumer Protection Act says that a consumer "has the right to receive goods which are of good quality, in good working order and free of defects". Clearly this lounge suite fails that test. I think you should continue to refuse the goods and tell them very clearly that they have failed to meet the standards required by the law and you want one of two things, either a replacement that is in perfect condition or a full refund. Please make it clear to them that you will not accept any other options.
It's time that stores like this one get themselves some education. So many stores simply ignore this very simple rule, that the goods they sell must be "of good quality, in good working order and free of defects". It's not difficult to understand and it's not too much to expect. So why do so many stores ignore the law? It's because we allow them to. However, it's now 2022 and we have a powerful law that forbids suppliers from doing certain obvious things. It's up to us as consumers to make them obey the law.
One last thing. Offering you a P10 necklace to "compensate" you for delivering defective goods is an insult. Don't they know that the maximum fine for breaching the Consumer Protection Act is a fine of P100,000 (and possibly prison time as well)? That's a lot more than P10.
Where's my computer?
Good day sir please assist me. I laybyed a computer at a certain shop now they are saying the laybye has expired and all my money gone but in their receipt there is nothing like that.
In July I paid then P700 and P350 in August. I told them for now I can't manage to pay the last P950. I can only manage at the end of April.
I have sympathy for your situation, but I also have some sympathy for the store.
You started a laybye purchase that should only have lasted a few months but after paying for two months you then went quiet for six months and what was the store meant to do? They'd put the item you wanted aside for half a year instead of making a profit by selling it to someone else. You left them in the dark about your intentions for an unreasonable time.
I contacted the store and they were impatient but reasonable. They told me that they assumed you had abandoned the purchase. They also said they weren't willing to wait for much longer for the balance and suggested that you stop paying now and take something from their store for a value equivalent to the P1,050 you've already paid. I think that's sensible.
Update: Both the customer and the store agreed that she could take anything she liked up to a value of P1,050. Both sides are now happy.
The lesson from this is not to go silent. Whether you are the consumer or the store, if there's a problem, a quick phone call, an email or a message will often be enough to explain the situation and get some sympathy. Of course, not all people are as reasonable as we'd like but you'd be surprised how many people are prepared to be tolerant and understanding.
I paid a deposit for a lounge suite in December and paid P4,000 and the balance to pay was P1,000.
The next week I went to the shop to pay the balance and I was told the sofa is at a warehouse and it will be brought into the shop for collection. They called me on Thursday for collection but I suggested today. This morning I went to collect it but the sofa had dents and scratches, so I asked for an exchange of the same product. I was told to get something in the shop in compensation for the scratches and was offered a P10 necklace. I declined and rather asked for a refund. They refused with the exchange.
Can you assist?
Yes, I think I can assist. It's not a very difficult situation.
Section 15 (1) of the Consumer Protection Act says that a consumer "has the right to receive goods which are of good quality, in good working order and free of defects". Clearly this lounge suite fails that test. I think you should continue to refuse the goods and tell them very clearly that they have failed to meet the standards required by the law and you want one of two things, either a replacement that is in perfect condition or a full refund. Please make it clear to them that you will not accept any other options.It's time that stores like this one get themselves some education. So many stores simply ignore this very simple rule, that the goods they sell must be "of good quality, in good working order and free of defects". It's not difficult to understand and it's not too much to expect. So why do so many stores ignore the law? It's because we allow them to. However, it's now 2022 and we have a powerful law that forbids suppliers from doing certain obvious things. It's up to us as consumers to make them obey the law.
One last thing. Offering you a P10 necklace to "compensate" you for delivering defective goods is an insult. Don't they know that the maximum fine for breaching the Consumer Protection Act is a fine of P100,000 (and possibly prison time as well)? That's a lot more than P10.
Where's my computer?
Good day sir please assist me. I laybyed a computer at a certain shop now they are saying the laybye has expired and all my money gone but in their receipt there is nothing like that.
In July I paid then P700 and P350 in August. I told them for now I can't manage to pay the last P950. I can only manage at the end of April.
I have sympathy for your situation, but I also have some sympathy for the store.
You started a laybye purchase that should only have lasted a few months but after paying for two months you then went quiet for six months and what was the store meant to do? They'd put the item you wanted aside for half a year instead of making a profit by selling it to someone else. You left them in the dark about your intentions for an unreasonable time.
I contacted the store and they were impatient but reasonable. They told me that they assumed you had abandoned the purchase. They also said they weren't willing to wait for much longer for the balance and suggested that you stop paying now and take something from their store for a value equivalent to the P1,050 you've already paid. I think that's sensible.
Update: Both the customer and the store agreed that she could take anything she liked up to a value of P1,050. Both sides are now happy.
The lesson from this is not to go silent. Whether you are the consumer or the store, if there's a problem, a quick phone call, an email or a message will often be enough to explain the situation and get some sympathy. Of course, not all people are as reasonable as we'd like but you'd be surprised how many people are prepared to be tolerant and understanding.
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