The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Are young women safe?

Hi Richard, I want to raise the issue of men abusing women at bars. Last night I saw a man who had a few weeks ago been removed by bouncers for groping a girl and getting violent at the bar I was in, groping and sexually assaulting at least 3 girls yet again. As well as that there were several other men acting similarly. There were no obvious cctv cameras nor security on the dance floor so evidence is hard to get but girls don't feel safe going there anymore. Wondering if maybe management could put safety nets in place to prevent this in the future or at least give victims the evidence they need to lay charges against sexual predators.

Thank you for raising such an important issue. I think we all know that a small proportion of our young men are out of control and are mistreating our young women. While there are plenty of men of all ages who behave decently and respectfully, and there are some very good men have made a public stand against the abuse of women, we still have a long way to go.

I think we also know that bars and clubs are a great place for this dangerous minority of men to abuse women, to exploit those who've had a drink and who might not be with friends likely to stand up for them. Some might say that this isn't a consumer issue but I disagree. It doesn't matter whether it's a supermarket, a bank, a government office, a bar or a nightclub, we all deserve to be safe when we're spending our money.

I believe that the owners and managers of a bar that don't put in place strict controls on the behaviour of their male clients aren't innocent bystanders, they're part of the problem.

I'll contact the bar you mentioned and ask what they're prepared to do to improve the safety of their customers.

Update. I heard very quickly from the management of the bar that they're taking the matter very seriously and will be investigating. Well done to them.

Where's my kitchen?

Hey Sir, I bought a kitchen scheme from a store at the Station., I asked them to deliver the kitchen scheme in Francistown. They delivered the kitchen that was on display, the drawers were not opening, there were scratches all over and they left one handle not fixed. Upon seeing this I informed Gaborone where I was assisted. That was March when I bought it and April I reported all this, they said they will give me a new kitchen.

The whole of May they didn't communicate. I am the only one after them. It was on high purchase. I went to them last week to cancel the purchase and the sales person opted for me to take different a kitchen scheme which he said Francistown will deliver in a good condition. I decided to cancel the one I took and took the one he proposed. Even up to now the store in Gaborone is not willing to help me change the damaged kitchen to a new one. Please intervene.

This is crazy. Does this store have any understanding of customer service or consumer rights? Clearly not.

Firstly, they sold you a display kitchen, not a new one. Section 13 (1) of the Consumer Protection Act says very clearly that "used goods" must be clearly identified when they're sold. If they didn't make it clear that the display kitchen was the one you were buying, then they can face a fine of up to P50,000, prison for 3 years, or both.

Secondly they breached Section 14 (1) (c) of the Act which says you're entitled to

"goods that free of defects and are of a quality that consumers are reasonably entitled to expect".

Clearly that wasn't what you received.

Then they took their time fixing this mess and that's unacceptable. We all understand that mistakes happen, but when they happen we're entitled to have them corrected quickly.

I emailed them a few days ago but got no response so now I've contacted their Head Office in South Africa. Maybe they can apply some pressure on their store? Or do they want this story all over Facebook?