The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Where's my phone?

Please help. I took my Samsung A13 which I'm buying on hire purchase to this guy in Maun for him to replace the screen for me. Whenever I go there, I am the only one at that guy's office. Day after day, he tells me that my phone has been stolen. The worst part is that he has my number but never calls me. You know, my heart is aching. It's been a month already, I have to pay the store.

I reported it to the police, and they told me that they only deal with criminal cases and that I should go to the Small Claims Court or the kgotla or Consumer Affairs. I need help, at least someone who can track my phone because I still have the box.

I'm really sorry for you, this must be very upsetting and costly.

I contacted the repair guy and he was very unhelpful. He refused to comment to me and told me that if I publish anything about him that is "defamation of my character … it will have to be brought before the jurisdiction of the magistrate."

Here's a lesson for you based on many threats of legal action for defamation that we've had over the years. Anyone who immediately threatens to sue for defamation before even addressing the complaint is either feeling guilty or is a bully. Or both.

Your situation is very unfortunate because you're still paying for the phone on hire purchase and the store you bought it from is very unlikely to be helpful. All they want their monthly instalments. It's also highly unlikely that the insurance included in the hire purchase agreement will help because that usually only covers theft from your possession, not someone else's.

Of course a reputable cellphone repair place will have insurance against things like fire and theft but I suspect he's not sensible enough to have this. As the Police suggested it might be worth consulting the Competition and Consumer Authority, the Small Claims Court or even the kgotla. Maybe even all of them? Maybe pressure from us all might make him do the right thing?

It's unlikely because people like him can't be trusted.

Does it last forever?

Hi again Rich. I'm just curious because I had a misunderstanding with a certain furniture shop in 2016 and I got blacklisted. It was around P4,000 if I recall well. I lost the documents when I relocated. Does that last forever or what?

Yes, it lasts forever or until the debt is settled. Even after it's settled the record will remain there for a couple more years so other potential lenders like banks and other furniture stores can see your recent credit history. They can then use that knowledge when they decide whether to lend you money or not.

The simple truth about debt is that it never goes away. In fact, the longer a debt lasts, the bigger it gets. The store will continue to add interest, penalty charges and they'll probably even charge you for every phone call they make to chase you.

The best thing you can do is contact the store and talk to them about it. They might have already handed it over to debt collectors or even to attorneys and that's when debt like this can grow massively. You really need to talk to them as soon as possible.