The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Why won't they refund me?

I have a problem and I need your help please. I bought an iPhone 11 with my little sister about 2 weeks ago from a store in Game City and now the phone doesn't charge and sometimes it switches off while it has battery like when its on 76%. My sister went to the store to ask for a refund and return the phone and they told her the only do refunds within 7 days of purchase. They said she should come the next day because they can't refund her also before asking the technician what the problem is.

Can you help us get a refund from the shop because we don't trust them anymore and my sister needs to buy a phone.

There's often some confusion about when and how a consumer can return an item. Some stores allow customers to return an item simply because they've changed their mind about the purchase. That's probably what store means when they say they only do refunds within seven days of purchase.

More important is what happens when something is faulty. Section 15 of the Consumer Protection Act requires a supplier to offer goods that are "of good quality, in good working order and free of defects". However, as everyone knows, this doesn't always happen. Section 16 of the Act describes what a supplier must do when a faulty item is returned to them within six months of purchase. It says that the supplier can consider one of three options. They can attempt to repair the faulty item, they can replace it, or they can refund the customer. But it's important note that it's their choice which of these three options they prefer. The store is entitled to attempt to repair the phone before they consider a replacement or a refund.

However, there's something more important here. Why isn't this phone working properly? Did the store tell you this phone was new when you bought it? An iPhone 11 is a perfectly good phone, but Apple stopped producing it more than three years ago. Maybe it's been sitting in a store for the last three years, but it's worth checking if this phone is actually second-hand. If that's the case and the store didn't tell you, they're in trouble. I'll get in touch with them and ask.

Must I pay?

Kindly help me to understand something about my furniture. In 2022 I bought a couch which I failed to pay and they ended up collecting it back to their store and they sold it. To my surprise they say I must come and pay the remaining balance.

I asked them are they returning the couch they say no we have already sold it but I have to clear what I have started. So I am unable to take loans, they blocked me in other furniture stores and my name is blacklisted due to the couch that is taken back. Please help me to understand.

The most important thing to understand about hire purchase is that it's a terrible way to buy things. If everything goes well and you make every payment, the worst thing that happens is you pay up to twice the cash price of the item you're buying.

Unfortunately, very often things go wrong. If you miss a payment, that's when you discover that you don't own the items you think you bought. They still belong to the store. That's why they can repossess them whenever they have a reason to do so. The next thing you discover is that when the goods are repossessed, you still owe the store the money. You'll even owe them penalty fees, debt collection charges, and possibly legal fees when they try and recover the money from you. You'll also find yourself registered you with a credit reference bureau, which will make it a lot harder to get credit elsewhere. The best thing you can do is talk to the store about how much you owe, how much you can afford to repay each month and then sign an agreement with them.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

I was robbed!

I feel hard done, robbed and bullied by a cellphone shop in Francistown. I bought a phone, insisting that I want it in a sealed box, brand new. They showed it to me in the box, I proceeded to pay. Upon setup at the shop it refused to recognize the SIM cards, they then swapped the new phone with a demo phone (display phone). I demanded my money back but they refused. Instead they said that I must go to the dealer in Gaborone and file a complaint if I want to. The proof that it is a demo phone shows because there is activity on the phone from before I bought it. The receipt shows date of purchase and security updates on the phone show that it's been active before that date. Please help me, I am wondering if I can report it to the police as obtaining by false pretenses. How do I tackle this?

I'm don't think we need to bother the police with this issue. Yes, I suppose it might be a crime but I think we can deal with this ourselves without distracting the police from more important issues.

The first thing we can do it to remind the store owners about Section 13 of the Consumer Protection Act. This says that a supplier "who offers used goods shall inform a consumer that the goods sold are used goods by … placing a label on the goods that indicates that such goods are used goods and
placing a notice on the invoice issued to a consumer".

I'm sure we all agree that there's nothing wrong with selling second-hand goods. In fact, it's a good thing. A second-hand phone can be just as good as a brand new one and a lot cheaper. We all love a bargain. However, we just need suppliers to be honest about it. If they're selling something that's second-hand they need to be open about it. They need to obey the law by labelling the item appropriately.

Also, you can ignore their suggestion that you must go to the dealer in Gaborone to file a complaint. You didn't buy the phone from the dealer, you bought it from the cell phone shop. They are the ones who must deal with this issue.

I'll contact them for you and see if they understand.

My Mother was robbed!

My Mother was robbed of her money. The scammer discussed trading for her to make profit out of P300. Then he or she kept on asking for more and more until it was more than P2.000. When she told me, the money was already gone but I see the Orange Money is still operating.

I told her to go to the Police but most of these cases take a long time as a police case.

I'm sorry to hear about this. Unfortunately, as most readers of The Voice will know by now, scammers don't offer refunds. Once your money is gone, it's gone forever. It's almost impossible to get money back to the victims of scams. Either the scammer is untraceable because they're in a different country, or the money has been quickly transferred overseas. That makes it almost impossible to recover the stolen money.

Nevertheless, it's incredibly important that your mother speaks to the police about this. It's possible they might be able to trace where the money went, and if it's still in Botswana to get it back. They might also be able to trace the scammer if they're still in the country. At the very least, it will allow the police to keep statistics and intelligence on these scams. It might also help them to educate the public about the risks posed by these scams.

However, the greatest weapon we have against these scammers as people like you who are doing your best to dedicate your family members about scams. Please don't stop. It's only as a community that we'll win the war against scams.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

When will they finish the job?

Back in 2022 my mother engaged a company to finish construction on her house in Molepolole. It was a turnkey project and she paid the company P200,000 to construct on a fix and supply basis. Please note that the house was already built when they were engaged. They were to install doors, windows, do the plumbing, floor tiles, ceiling, electric wiring and painting.

It's 2025 now and the house is still not complete, the owner of the company takes my mother from pillar to post every time she asks about progress on the house. Between 2022 and 2025, they only fixed the roof. Please assist us?

Three years? What possible justification can there be for a delay of three years? There's absolutely no excuse for that, none whatsoever. The good news is that when I contacted the company they responded very quickly. They assured me that they would take the matter seriously. Since then, they promised me that the matter would be addressed within days. However, it's important you keep a very close eye on the progress they make, and the quality of the work they do. You've waited long enough, it now needs to be done properly. 

Update: They're still making promises but there's been no actual progress yet.

When will I get it back?

I am writing to request your urgent intervention regarding a warranty issue with my PlayStation 5 Slim Disc Edition, purchased in March 2025 and currently under warranty.

On 1 November 2025, I returned the PS5, due to repeated overheating. After waiting two weeks, I was informed that it had been repaired. However, upon testing it the same day, the exact same overheating problem occurred again. On 20 November, I took the console back, and they informed me that they now need to send it to Sony South Africa for further repairs or possible replacement. They could not give me any estimate of how long this process will take, only that it may take "some time."

I am never given any update unless I call or go to the store. Can you help me have the Console replaced or get a refund?

The bad news is that because you reported the problem more than six months after purchase, the really useful parts of the Consumer Protection Act don't apply. As readers of The Voice will know by now, Section 16 of the Act says that if a faulty item is returned to the supplier within six months of purchase and the supplier chooses to repair the item, and then the same problem occurs again within three months, they no longer have the option of repairing it again. In that situation, they would need to replace it or refund you.

However, in this case, it was slightly more than six months so we need to rely on the manufacturer's warranty of a year. I contacted the store manager and he assured me that the warranty repair will be undertaken. He also assured me that you'll have the device back within a week or two. However, we both need to keep the pressure on them to make sure they keep to this promise.

He also said that part of the overheating problem was the amount of dust found in the PlayStation. I'm no expert but a little searching found reports of other people experiencing the same problem. The advice from technical experts seems to be that the cooling vents on these devices need to be cleaned occasionally. In a dusty country like ours, that's probably good advice.