The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Where are my licenses?

I saw one post where you helped one lady with a consultant issue and I'm hoping you could help me also.

I gave one lady money amounting to P1,900 as a deposit for cleaning and supplies commercial licenses in November 2021. I never received any documents till today. I tried it all to get help from the police to different ministries with no help. Right now there's a cleaning license accumulating arrears in my company name at Gaborone city council. I can't close the file because they need the original license of which I don't have.

Yes, if you search you'll find that we've had many complaints about 'consultants' over the years. Almost always it's the same story. They take your money, promise to do the work and then there's a mixture of delays and silence.

There' s nothing wrong with using consultants. A good consultant either knows things we don't, or they just have enough experience to know how to get things done quickly and efficiently, particularly if it involves government bureaucracy. Anyone who's tried to get business permits and licences knows that it can be a time-consuming and confusing experience. That's why it's sometimes worth spending money to get an expert to do it for us.

But, like in all industries there's a range of skills, talent and reliability available. There are good consultants and there are bad consultants. I think I know which type you've got.

I contacted this consultant and they said they'll "check files" and come back to me.

The lesson? Before you engage a consultant, ask around. Ask your family, friends, neighbours, workmates, anyone with experience if they've used a consultant and would they recommend them. You might even find that these days you don't need one. If you do, maybe suggest a 50/50 payment plan. 50% up front, the balance on completion. That's always a great incentive to be reliable.

Do I need the packaging?

I bought a tv, I used it for a period of two weeks and it was working just fine. After two weeks it stopped working. I called the store and alerted them about same. They requested me to furnish them with the details of the tv which I did and they came collected the tv. Then when they had already collected it they said I should take a photo of the box all sides. By that time I had already disposed the box. Now even to date they have not assisted me with the replacing or repairing the same tv. They are saying they are waiting for a technician from the supplier and also they say the box should be availed for them to assist me so I humbly seek your assistance regarding the matter. What should I do in the matter?

What do readers think? Is it reasonable for a store that sells an item like a TV to demand that you keep the packaging it came in? Personally I don't think so. However, it IS a reasonable thing to do if you have some storage space. I recently bought a small Smart TV (it's amazing what bargains you can find if you shop around) and I have kept the box in case I need to move it. But that's because I had some space available.

But unless the TV has somehow been damaged, which I doubt because you said it worked ok for the first 2 weeks, it's up to the store to identify what the problem is. The box isn't relevant.

I contacted the store to see what they suggest. I think the first thing they should do is identify what's wrong with your TV before making unreasonable demands.