The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Should they compensate me?

Sir I have a problem with my bank. Sometime in February I applied for a loan at Gemvas. The funds were released April 9 and reflected in my lawyers account after 3-5 working days. My attorneys then paid the seller. The bank called in May to tell me that Gemvas usually sends documents late at Ministry of Finance so they want to deduct first instalment so I avoid arrears. So since I had gotten paid by then they deducted the instalment from my account and assured me that in June the money will be deducted directly from salaries. Yesterday I went to another bank to seek a small loan of P25,000 to purchase sheep from a friend. They called to say they can't help me since am listed at CRB for bad credit. I asked the agent to send me the CRB report only to find out I was listed by the first bank. I met the manager and the lady that helped me with the home loan only to be told they didn't tell me that the first instalment was to be paid in April so that's why am listed.

I have been working for more than 11 years and I have never had bad credit record so I want to sue because this bad credit record will haunt me for the rest of my life. Honestly there should be some sort of compensation for all this. They inconvenienced me. They should give me the money I failed to get because of their carelessness. I want P25,000 compensation.

I'm not an attorney so I can't offer you legal advice but I suspect legal action is not the right choice.

Clearly the bank messed things up big time. Listing you with a credit reference bureau incorrectly can have a serious effect on your future financial life. They need to remedy this situation as soon as possible and make sure your credit history is perfectly clean again. I've already emailed them and they're on it.

However, I think that's probably as far as you can take it. As far as I can see, you don't deserve P25,000 because you haven't lost P25,000. What you lost was an opportunity to borrow P25,000 from another bank and then try your luck with the sheep business. Remember that the P25,000 wasn't your money, it belonged to the second bank and they would have charged you interest on that loan.

What you lost was just an opportunity and we'll make sure the first bank helps to get your life back to normal as quickly as possible.

What can I do?

My husband and I purchased a bedroom suite from a store in Serowe. He was told he needed a payslip which he didn't have so the salespeople advised him to ask someone to apply for him using their payslip and he would just continue paying instalments. He suggested me and they called to ask me if I was ok with it and I went to the store right away. We agreed and I used my payslip. After about 6 months my husband lost his job meaning he had no income now. I tried pitching in to pay but it was not easy and sometimes I would miss it. I communicated this with the salespeople that I was struggling to pay for the goods. I asked them if I could return them. They advise me not to do so saying I would lose money but I didn't have a choice because at the time they were harassing me and even showing up to my workplace every second day which almost cost me my job. The debt was also not dropping significantly because it had arrears I was trying to pay off but they were still adding more interest every month.

I write to you now because this store has now handed my name over to Norman Bisset who are now constantly calling me to demand payments. I have tried my best to explain to them but they just ignore my pleas but all they do is demand payments. I can't afford to pay them because I am going out of a job in a few months even so my pay is so stretched since we are living off my small income which is also unreliable.

Unfortunately, there is very little helpful advice I can give you. As you probably understand now, it was a mistake to buy this furniture and it was another mistake to buy it using hire purchase. It was a mistake to do it your name and it would be a mistake to allow the store to repossess the furniture. The only thing I can suggest is that you speak to the debt collectors and try your best to negotiate a repayment plan you can afford. It will be hard work but the bad news is that debt doesn't ever go away.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Is this phone new?

On the 6th June, I bought an iPhone 11 Pro for P6,200 from a shop on Facebook. I transferred the money to them and have proof of payment. The phone was collected by my friend on the 6th June 2024 and couriered it to me and it arrived on the 7th June 2024. I called the man I had spoken to and told him that the phone refuses to register on iCloud and the camera flash on the back is a bit burnt and the back cover was chipped. The screen was flickering, and as someone who has had a phone screen replacement, I informed them I know that's how a replaced screen acts. They didn't even deny it, they said that customers must have damaged it while testing it, which I followed up by asking how since the phone was sealed. I got no answer to that.

I think the time has come for the authorities to investigate the cellphone sales industry. I know that there are legitimate, respectable and honest dealers who sell good quality phones but there's also a community of dealers who are crooks.

We've heard so many times about people with stories the same as you and readers of The Voice will know about this too. The story is very often the same. Someone buys a slightly older phone and very quickly suspects that it wasn't really new. For example, the latest iPhone is version 15 and the iPhone 11 series was first released in September 2019. So if you buy an iPhone 11 today you have to ask where it's been for the last few years? Was it sitting in a warehouse waiting to be bought or was it already being used?

In your case, like so many others, there are clues that this phone was previously used. Firstly there's some damage to the camera and the case is also chipped. Then there's the issue with iCloud. All Apple devices try to connect to the Apple iCloud service as soon as you unbox them and it's a remarkably simple process. Any Apple device that can't do this has something wrong with it.

I contacted the store and they promised to examine the phone when they get it back from you. I also asked them if they sold second-hand or reconditioned phones? Eventually they said the phones they sold were"

"Brand new sir. Sometimes we have pre owned. But not always." 

So they do sell used phones, they admit it.

It's really important to note that there's nothing wrong with selling and buying used phones. In fact it's a good idea. Most of us would be perfectly happy to buy a slightly older and cheaper phone. But stores need to be honest about this. Section 5 of the Consumer Protection Act says that they must be honest about whether "goods are new or reconditioned". Section 13 says that a supplier must place "a label on the goods that indicates that such goods are used goods" and "a notice on the invoice" they give a customer. It goes on to say the penalty for not doing this is a fine of up to P50,000, three years in prison or both.

The bad news is that many cellphone stores either don't know about this or perhaps they just don't care.

When was the last time you heard about a cellphone store owner being fined P50,000 and being led away in handcuffs to prison? It hasn't happened. But it needs to. We need to see this happen and then the word might spread. Then we might see these stores behaving better and not ripping us off in the way they've been doing for so long.

So here's a plea. To the Competition and Consumer Authority, please accept this article as a request to launch a comprehensive investigation into the cellphone industry. The Authority will remember that Section 29 of the Consumer Protection Act says that a "consumer, class of consumers or consumer organisation may lodge with the Authority a complaint against violations of the provisions of this Act."

Over to you. You have the support of Consumer Watchdog and readers of The Voice. And the shady cellphone stores need to know we've had enough.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Can this be true?

Richard please check if this company, Profit Recovery Enterprise is legit? They claim to recover money lost through scams. Maybe we could recover from Ecoplexus?

I'm very glad you asked because you have just avoided being scammed again. They make this claim: 

"If you've fallen victim to a scam, we're here to help. With our expertise, we can assist in recovering your lost funds. We understand the frustration and pain that come with being scammed, and our team is committed to help recover lost funds. Here's what we can do for you. We'll thoroughly search for your account using the international trading server and when found get you access to it and guide you withdraw immediately."

While this seems like an appealing idea, that scam victims can get their money back, this is just another scam. Sooner or later they'll ask for money for this service that they claim to offer and if you pay them they'll just demand more and more money until you realise that you've been scammed again. 

For research purposes, I contacted them and using a fake name I pretended to be a victim of the Ecoplexus scam. Despite using a fake identity they immediately said they had found my money and were ready to send it to me. All I needed to do was sign up to a cryptocurrency exchange. No doubt that's where they would want me to send them money. 

The painful lesson is that once you've given a scammer your money you're not getting it back. There is still a slight hope that some of the money paid into the local bank accounts used by the Ecoplexus scammers might be returned eventually but it will only be a small proportion of what was paid. The scammers failed to transfer all of the money before the accounts were frozen but it will take a long time before the authorities can decide who deserves to get some back. 

Where's my work? 

I wish to know if you could possibly assist me. I engaged with a certain consultancy company that does academic research. So far I paid an amount of P3,695. I've since been getting the worst service. They're missing deadlines because the promised work was never done. Calls were unanswered and texts not responded to. 

I've complained several times to no avail. Worse today was my deadline but I found out my work was never done yet I paid a required deposit for it. This was the 2nd deadline I missed. I just requested that I need my refund and so the director told me to check terms and conditions on their website. Really I would appreciate some assistance in this matter. The company is registered with CIPA.

Whether I can help you really depends on one thing. What was it you wanted them to do for you? 

If you were using them to do coursework that you were planning to submit as your own work then there's nothing I can do to help. We've exposed a few companies in the past that will write coursework for students for a fee and we'll continue to do so. What they do is immoral and wrong. However, I also blame the people who pay these companies to do their work for them and then lie when they submit it, falsely claiming it was their own work. If it's discovered that they did this they can rightly be expelled from their place of study and they can lose any job they get using the qualification they fraudulently obtained. Their reputation can be ruined. 

However, if you hired this company genuinely to do some research for you without any plan to deceive anyone, then I can do my best to help. Regardless of what their terms and conditions say, if they've been paid to do some work for you then they must either do that work or give you a refund

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Can I get my money back?

Good day sir. Can you please tell Ali Express to return my money I didn't buy anything from them. They are saying I did an online purchase but I didn't. They scammed me through a Facebook page saying they give loans. I applied and I gave them my details not knowing that is fake account. They asked for my ID no, bank card number and cell number and that's how I lost my money. It was a total of P4,100. I even went to the bank and they confirmed that my money to Ali Express.

So is there no how you can contact Ali Express and check these transactions? Maybe they will tell you the name of these scammers.

Unfortunately, I have bad news for you. You've been scammed. The worse news is that scammers don't offer refunds.

The next thing to understand is that Ali Express didn't steal your money. Scammers pretending to be Ali Express did that. Ali Express is a supplier of goods, not a microlender. The advertisement you saw was clearly posted by scammers who were just pretending to be them.

Something else you need to understand is there is nothing you can to get this money back. Your bank can't be held responsible because you voluntarily gave them your bank details. When we spoke you confirmed that you also gave them the CVV code, the 3-digit number printed on the back of your card that allows the scammers to use your cards as if they held it in their hands. The bank did nothing wrong. Also, Ali Express didn't do anything wrong. The scammers used your card and your bank account to buy things from Ali Express using a valid bank card.

Perhaps the only thing you can do is alert Ali Express and see if they can block the account that the scammers were using. However, they're very unlikely to give you any details about the scammers. The irony is that until they have a court order or a warrant from the local Police, the scammers deserve confidentiality.

The lesson here is very simple. If you give your bank card details to a stranger they will steal money from you. So please don't do it.

The second lesson is to block your card immediately.

Can't they exchange it?

I took a washing machine from a store at Gaborone Station on the 8th March and when I tried to use the machine it wasn't working. I tried to call the shop for assistance but they didn't do a follow up until I sent them an email that I no longer want the machine. I wanted them to cancel the contract but they didn't respond up until I got the number for the Area Manager and he straightly told me that it won't be possible to do an exchange. Right now it's been 2 weeks since they said they will assist. Yesterday I was contacted by the Head Office saying they are soon handing over my account because they feel I want to defraud them whilst their employees are the ones who are not competent enough to assist with cancelation of the goods I bought from them since they took the machine back and failed to return it.

I have talked to the call center personnel who told me it's possible to do an exchange but the shop doesn't take my calls nor respond to my emails.

This seems quite a simple situation but it's actually more complicated than we might think. When you buy things on hire purchase you don't have many choices. Firstly, the items you think you're buying, you're not really buying. You're hiring them. That's why it's called "hire" purchase. Secondly, you don't have a right to demand an exchange. The supplier can choose to do that, or they can choose to repair it instead. But I'll contact them and see if they can be a bit more helpful. I'll let you know what they say.