The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Must I pay?

Good day Mr Harriman I have a question.

In 2020 my then boyfriend bought me a car and I had an emergency and ended up pawning it with a pawn shop. When you pawn your car they change the bluebook to their company name. Things went south and I gave him back the car. He sold it to somebody who gave him half the money and said he will pay the remaining balance so that the pawn shop is paid and he gets the blue book. He failed to pay the remaining balance. I paid two instalments and waited for the money but the person who bought the car never paid. So the debt is still in my name. I acknowledge that.

So here is the issue. They are saying I should pay the whole amount. I have no problem doing or making arrangements for that debt to be cleared but after I clear I get the blue book back in my name. Now they are telling me that the blue book has been collected from their office and it has been change to another person. I don't know who that is. I never sent anyone to collect the blue book. They should have not given out the blue book because I was still owing them.

They are saying the individual who gave out the blue book is no longer their employee. How does an employee give back a bluebook of a car that's still owing? How do I go about this?

I'm really sorry to hear about this. It's a complete mess.

The pawnshop industry is a very dangerous place for consumers. It preys on people who are desperate to raise some money and who either don't understand how it works or they're too desperate to notice or care. It's also an industry with a lot of characters who are uncaring and suspicious.

I'm sure you understand that you made several mistakes here, as did several other people. Your first mistake was to hand back the car to your former boyfriend when the bluebook had been given to the pawnshop. It was also a mistake for your former boyfriend to try to sell it and to accept only partial payment for the vehicle. It was another mistake for the buyer to take the car without the bluebook. The pawnshop then made a mistake when they gave the bluebook to some other person. Who was this person they gave it to? Was it the person who bought the car from your former boyfriend or someone else?

I think the best thing you can do it to meet with the pawnshop managers and discuss what it's best to do. Without doubt you'll owe them money and you have to understand that you'll never get the car back. You should also contact NBFIRA who oversee pawnshops to see if they can offer any advice. They might be interested in investigating the pawnshop to establish how they could have been so careless.

Must I pay 10% for the delay?

On 12th July I placed an order with a local company to import a gadget for me and made a down payment of P1500. They promised to have delivered the items in a few weeks and it's currently more than 2 months. Recently I requested that if the product hasn't arrived within their stipulated ETA I should be refunded so I can order with a different company. They are now charging me a 10% cancellation fee and I find it unfair because of the lost opportunity. This gadget was for a project I lost because of their delay. Can you help me get my full refund?.

I think we need to educate this guy on Section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act. This says that when "a supplier undertakes to perform any services for or on behalf of a consumer, the consumer has a right to … timely performance and completion of those services". It also says that a consumer is entitled to "timely notice of any unavoidable delay".

I'm sure we all understand that delays happen but it's important for suppliers to take responsibility for managing any delays and for keeping us updated. I think it's simple. In this case he failed to do this and HE needs to take responsibility and not mention any silliness about 10% penalties. Let's both tell him this?

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

My t-shirt faded!

Hello please Richard kindly help me. I bought a t-shirt and 4 months later the printing is gone. I bought it for P500 plus transport to Kasane. I called them to tell them about the problem they said I should return it for an exchange. I send it to Gaborone again for a relative to return it only for them to be rude and refused to help.

By a strange coincidence I've had two very similar complaints in the last few days. Both involved an item of clothing where the colours and imagery had faded. In the other situation it's likely that the consumer hadn't followed the washing instructions attached to the item of clothing they'd bought. I know it seems boring but those instructions are very important. Firstly, they'll help you prolong the lifetime of your clothing. I'm not an expert but I know that different fabrics have very different washing instructions so it's very important that you read and follow the instructions the manufacturer gave you.

Secondly, those instructions form part of the terms and conditions and like with any other item, if you don't take care of your purchase and something goes wrong, the supplier can politely reject your complaint.

However, in your case there's good news. I contacted the store and within minutes I got a message from them which said:

"I'm one of the Directors there, as I remember they was a time we recalled all those T shirts for exchange. We are very sorry for her not getting a proper help."

He suggested the consumer contact him on his cell number and apologised profusely for the inconvenience she'd experienced.

They made me confess!

Please advise me here, I was involved in an accident on the 16th June and reported the accident to my insurer through my broker. I was then given a claim form to complete it, and there was a part that I skipped and submitted the form because it was too complicated for me! In that portion there was a question which asked me to estimate the speed before the accident and I didn't answer it as I didn't know speed I was driving at. This claim form was later returned to be filled completely. I called my broker upon filing that portion, I was asked to write just any speed as it is an estimation, they continued to say even if you write 80kph of which I chose to write and returned the form. When the insurer responded, my claim was repudiated with reasons being overspeeding in a 60kph! Then my broker lodged an appeal on my behalf and the same claim was still rejected. I then decided to enquire with NBFIRA and they asked me to lodge a written complaint, but since I insured through the broker they insisted that they write the letter on my behalf. I now have 3 weeks still waiting for the letter and nothing is coming forth as they promised. Kindly look into this matter and advise me. Thank you.

I don't want to seem unsympathetic but you made a terrible mistake here. You confessed, in writing, to committing a speeding offence and then gave that document to your insurance company who had a rule that you weren't covered if you were speeding.

I understand that this might not be true and you explained that you did this only because your broker told you to do this but it doesn't change the fact that you confessed and there will be a copy of that confession in the insurer's files forever.

The only practical suggestion I can suggest is that you demand that the broker take responsibility for your situation. They suggested you should do this and it's their responsibility to find a solution. I hope you have evidence to prove that they made that suggestion?

I'm happy to contact the broker as well if they aren't helpful.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Must I find the packaging?

I bought a phone in Game City around February but the cellphone just locked so I took it back to the seller. It's there even on their records it shows I bought the phone from them but the problem is my helper misplaced the box and they are saying they cannot help me anyhow. I am stressed kindly advice or help me in the best way possible.

I guess many of us have heard this before. A supplier says that they can't help if we don't have the packaging that the device we bought came in. Without it they say they can't help us.

Is this reasonable?

No, of course it's not reasonable. It's ridiculous nonsense. Clearly this store needs to get a copy of the Consumer Protection Act and read Sections 23, 24 and 26 of the Act. They all talk about what can and can't be in a contract. For instance, it says that a supplier may not impose conditions that are "unfair, unreasonable or unjust" or that allows them to "waive any liability". Refusing to repair or replace a faulty item simply because a consumer no longs has the packaging is clearly unfair, unreasonable and unjust. Anyone knows that. Even if it wasn't, did they explain this to the consumer when they bought the phone? Did the consumer agree to this in writing as required by Section 24 of the Act?

I contacted the store and they sent me a series of excuses about why they couldn't help and they all related to their supplier who insisted on having the phone back in its box. I tried to explain that this is their problem, not the consumer's problem and that OUR laws are more important than their arguments with their suppliers. But maybe they just don't care? The issue was raised in the Consumer Watchdog Facebook group but it's clear that some suppliers really don't care about what matters most.

Where's my refund?

Last year in September I paid a deposit of P850 for a chest of drawers to someone who then failed to deliver on the order. He promised to refund and has since failed to date. He keeps giving empty promises every month. Please help me recover my money.

What is it with some suppliers? I know that none of us are perfect and that we all make mistakes but why are some people so unreliable and untrustworthy?

I'll begin by being charitable. We all understand that sometimes suppliers have problems. Maybe they were let down by their suppliers, maybe something beyond their control happened, maybe there was a pandemic, a delay at the border, who knows. Bad things happen and that often results in delays.

Presumably because we all understand this, it's even written into the Consumer Protection Act. Section 14 says that consumers are entitled to expect and receive "timely performance and completion" of services they pay for but that they are also entitled to get "timely notice of any unavoidable delay". In simple terms a supplier should be on time but if there are delays they need to tell us about them.

Is that very hard to understand?

Clearly it is for this particular supplier. However, I contacted him and asked what he was planning to do. To his credit he responded very quickly and said "i will pay this Month end". He explained that "I'm waiting for someone to pay me and finish the Job that's y i said month end".

Maybe these are just more empty promises but we'll see. Let's check in on him again at the end of the month and see if he keeps to his word.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Can they do this?

Last year, I purchased several items from a furniture store including a 58-inch flatscreen TV, for P7,999. On May 25 an attempted break-in at my home resulted in severe damage to this TV. Confident that my warranty was still valid, I promptly contacted the store and was instructed to obtain a police report, which I did without delay and presented to their staff.

To my utter disbelief, I was informed by the store manager that they do not repair or replace customers' damaged electronics, despite the warranty still being in effect. This response is not only shocking but also completely unacceptable. It is clear that they have no intention of honoring its commitments to customers once it has taken their money. The claim that the warranty is void because I paid off my purchase earlier than required is utterly absurd and reeks of a deliberate scam.

I find it appalling that a company would engage in such deceitful practices. The assertion that early settlement of payments voids the warranty is not only false but also a blatant attempt to avoid responsibility and shirk their obligations to your customers. This kind of behavior is unacceptable and reflects a complete lack of integrity.

I demand an immediate resolution to this matter. They must either repair the damaged TV or replace it as per the original warranty terms. I will not accept any further excuses or evasions.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. However I don't think I have any good news for you.

I'm not an attorney so I can't offer you legal advice but as speaking as a layperson, I suspect you don't have a case here. Firstly, there's a confusion between a warranty and insurance. A warranty normally only covers manufacturing faults, usually for a year after purchase. It doesn't cover damage caused after the purchase that is no fault of the supplier.

Also, the insurance that comes with hire purchase typically only lasts for the duration of the hire purchase period and while the item remains the property of the supplier. If you settle the contract early, the property then becomes yours and all the risks associated with ownership become yours.

I'm happy to contact the store for you but I suspect you'll be out of luck.

Is this right?

I have a problem with a furniture store. I took a sound bar radio I don't remember well that I took it last year or end of 2022. Then I started my monthly instalments which was P200 last year. Last May I had family matters as I was attending to my grandmother illness and I notified them so I didn't pay for my monthly instalments up until early this year. They took the radio from me and they have blacklisted me. I cleared my balance last month and they removed me from the blacklist. Now my question is, is it fair for someone to pay full price of a good that has been taken away from you? That have been sold out with less money I paid? How can I be assisted?

Unfortunately, this is another example of how hire purchase is often misunderstood and how it can go badly wrong.

One thing that's often overlooked and misunderstood about hire purchase is the first word in the title: 'hire'. It's called hire purchase because until you've paid the final instalment, you are just hiring the item you think you're buying. You don't own it, it still belongs to the store. That means that if you fall behind with your instalments, the store is entitled to repossess their goods without notice and without going to court. This was all agreed in the hire purchase agreement you signed.

The best thing you can do is to move on and do your very best never to buy anything on hire purchase again.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

What should they do?

This insurance company opened a policy in my name without my consent. After I noticed the deduction on my payslip, I called and was told that a fraud investigation will be conducted and that I will be contacted with an update soon. A week later I got an update and I was told that my case is on a list that their fraud department is handling and I will be assisted as soon as possible. Its been 2 weeks and no one has contacted me. This is a concern because I am wondering how many fraud cases they are investigating. I'm not sure if they will make another deduction this month.. I don't know how long it will take to get my refund because my family needs the money.

Most importantly should we report such cases if they are taking this long?

This is not acceptable. This isn't just a typical consumer problem, a crime has been committed here and you have a right to expect rapid action. You also have a right to expect police involvement.

Unfortunately, I've heard a few stories like this recently. In the other cases rogue insurance agents managed to gather details of potential customers and then set up policies in their names. They then benefited from the commission paid to agents for making a sale. Except there were no sales.

Did you recently speak to such an agent? If so, at least we know their name and there's enough evidence for the insurance company to investigate and, most importantly, to call the police.

I'm worried about this suggestion that your case "is on a list" and the suggestion that you need to wait for this matter to be resolved. That is not good enough. You deserve immediate action. The time to fix this problem should be measured in hours, not days and certainly not weeks.

I've contacted the insurance company and alerted them. I hope they'll take very rapid action. If they don't, I suspect that NBFIRA will be angry as well. And the cops.

Where's my gun?

I bought a BB gun sometime last year. I have on several occasions taken the item in for repair due to gas leakage. All the safe keeping of the item was adhered to as advised and as per instruction sheet insert. On 23rd April, I took the item back yet again for the persistent issue of gas leaking to be repaired. I went back again on the 26th April for collection and upon collection, I asked them to have the item checked by their store assistant. I discovered the leakage still happened and that is when they booked in the gun for further repair. On that day, the Manager told me they had ordered the correct seals for the same make together with other parts for different guns and that their consignment was still held by SARS awaiting clearance.

To this day, I have never received any communication from the store on progress. I have been making trips and phone calls to get any answers on when I can get my gun back to no avail.

On the 17th August, the manager told me that they were not in a position to either replace or refund me for the goods purchased, saying that I have to understand that they have issues with their supplier. I further advised him of the Consumer Protection Act, that his statement offended some of the sections contained therein but maintained his earlier position.

How can I go about this issue?

You don't need my advice. You have done exactly the right thing already. You told them that you understand your rights and that they've had their one attempt to repair the item and that now it's their job either to replace the gun or refund. That's what Section 16 of the Consumer Protection Act says very clearly.

Update: I contacted the store and they agreed with you and me. You've now been offered a refund or a replacement, it's your choice, just like the Law says.