Saturday, 18 November 2023

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

When will it be finished?

I need your advice. There is this interior company. I engaged him in 2021 to do my house interior in Letlhakane. He was to do everything inside the house, electrical works, plumbing, tiling, wardrobes, and kitchen. I had paid everything in full because I wanted to ease it on my side.

He started it well, but during the course of 2023, he started giving me bad service. The job was not done properly, and some not finished. I approached him and complained, and he will promise better service of which he didn't fulfil. I have been patient enough with him. To date, he is still promising to come and finish up, he comes up with stories every time. Where we are now, the ceiling is complete but left with painting and closeups, the lighting is complete, the floor tiling is 80% done but poorly, the wardrobes, TV stands, headboards, and kitchen sides are at 0%.

He said he is coming Friday after missing Wednesday but he didn't, he keeps promising like that. I told him if he doesn't honour his promises I am seeking help.


I agree 100%. You've been patient enough with him. Perhaps too patient. I'm sure we all understand that businesses sometimes have unexpected problems that cause delays but we pay contractors because they're experts and should know how to deal with these problems. At the very least we deserve what Section 14 (1) of the Consumer Protection Act says we should get: "timely performance and completion" of the services we pay for and "timely notice of any unavoidable delay".

I contacted the supplier and explained your concerns. To their credit they responded very quickly, saying that they: "have an small issue with the our sub contractor who was supposed to have left yesterday" and that they "will surely close this as soon as we can". They asked that you "give us this month to complete the works".

Hopefully now they'll get things done?

Why won't they fix my bed?

Kindly assist me here. I purchased a bed from in May this year. Two weeks later the bed started having some funny noise. I immediately notified the store assistant who seemed to be responsible for complaints. He then told me that he would send a report to the manufacturer and he promised me that I would get a call from the manufacturer who unfortunately did not call. I then did a follow up again with the store. Fortunately this time around they called and asked me to send videos of the bed and the pictures of the bed of which I did. Ever since then I haven't heard from them but in a dire situation as this bed poses a threat to my health.


I think the staff in this store need a good night's sleep on a comfortable bed because clearly they're tired. Tired of customers, tired of complaints and tired of doing the right thing.

What they seem to have forgotten is that you didn't buy the bed from the manufacturer. You bought the bed from the store, the retailer. Section 16 (1) of the Consumer Protection Act says that when we buy something, "the producer or importer, the distributor and the retailer each warrant that the goods comply" with the obligation to sell goods of good quality. So the retailer can't say it's the manufacturer's responsibility to fix the problem. It's everybody's responsibility. In particular it's the retailer's responsibility.

I'll contact the store and remind them that they sold the bed and it's their job to come and collect it and fix it, replace it or refund you.

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