Saturday 10 September 2022

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Is my phone new?

I bought my iPhone XR from a store, they claimed it's a new phone, but the battery health wasn't 100%, also the model number according to Apple community is a refurbished phone. A month into using the phone it kept crashing. I had to send it back to them and they claimed it needed a software update, which wasn't true because I had already updated it. It also came with a damaged box and no charger. They gave me a separate charger with the claim that the phone doesn't come with a charger rather it's sold separately.

And they informed me that a cellphone shop in Square Mart is their supplier, and the supplier is not willing to assist with the query. They claim that it has been 8 months with the phone. I showed them the complaint I sent them about the phone being refurbished in January, hardly 3 weeks after buying it, So they are the ones who didn't escalate my issue well on time with their supplier, and that isn't my problem. So I told them I still demand a new phone and not a refurbishment. They said they'll call you so you help them hold their supplier responsible.


I think this store need to learn a few very simple lessons.

Firstly, selling a refurbished phone as new is illegal, contrary to Section 13 (1) of the Consumer Protection Act which says that a supplier must:
"inform a consumer that the goods sold are used goods by … placing a label on the goods that indicates that such goods are used goods (and) placing a notice on the invoice issued to a consumer".
Secondly, do they really think consumers can't identify a refurbished iPhone when they see it? It's simple. If you check the model number of an iPhone, the first letter describes its origin. If it starts with M it's new, F means refurbished and N, like in your case, means it was a replacement phone. Someone in the world returned their new iPhone to an Apple store and it was replaced with the phone you now have. And guess what? Most replacement phones have been refurbished.

Next, like you, I really don't care about their relationship with their supplier. That's their problem, not yours.

And finally, they don't get to tell me what to do. I'm not getting involved in any arguments with their supplier. They need to honour their obligations to you and to the law. Quickly.

Update: I contacted them and they said they'll contact you and see how best they can assist you.

Where's my loan?

Can you please assist? My husband applied for a personal loan with his bank. Before this application, a friend paid him back a certain amount she owed him and the payment was done through the bank. Now the lady who was assisting him at the bank says they cannot assist him with the loan he requested because he has to submit a formal written letter with a stamp and letterhead from the person who was paying him back. Mind you they were just friends assisting each other with money. Now the question is since they are just friends where should they get the letter with stamps and letterheads because it was not even company money or anything.

How is that possible and how can we go about it?


I haven't spoken to the bank but I think I know what's happening here. I think this is about the anti-money laundering laws that banks are required to follow. These AML rules say that banks need to have some knowledge about where the money we receive and give to other people comes from and what it's being used for. Most of the time it's simple. We get our salary, we pay our bills, we go shopping and occasionally we make large purchases. Those are easy for the bank to understand because they can see when we swipe what we're doing. However, payments they can't easily understand make them unhappy if they can't explain what's happening. The authorities are entitled to wonder whether the money is secretly funding terrorism, drug smuggling or the paying protection money to the mafia.

I suggest that we both speak to the bank and ask them how they can help you fix this problem.

No comments: