The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Can’t they waive the charges?

Good day Mr Harriman. I hope you're good. Sorry to bother you. I would like to know what I can do in the middle of the predicament that I am in. I had current account with my first bank, and because of limited services I moved to another bank in around 2019. I did not know I had to close the account, I just assumed it will automatically close maybe after 6 months of inactivity. Unfortunately that wasn't the case because I am now told to pay more that P3,000 which apparently is the arrears.

My question is, is there any way they could somehow waive those charges because I wasn't using their services all these years? The saddest part is I recently enquired through their centralised email contact and was told if I activate it, those charges won't be viable but to my surprised the branch rep said it's not the possible and I have to pay. Please assist if there's any way to go about it.

The bad news is that bank accounts don’t go away if you ignore them. I guess that the P3,000 they claim you owe is either monthly bank charges or interest on any overdraft or debt you had with them. I would have expected them to contact you repeatedly over the last seven years and warn you about the increasing charges, but this clearly didn’t happen. What bank customers often overlook, or maybe never knew, is that it’s our responsibility to maintain our accounts and ensure they’re managed properly. If you still have your original banking agreement, you’ll probably find that in the small print where it says they can do this.

I’ve contacted the bank to see if there’s anything they can to help. I’ll let you know what they say.

Where’s my investment?

Sir kindly help me. I have been paying an investment policy from 2022 and it just lapsed in February because I failed to pay it from December because I got sick. My life is now a mess and I'm surprised to hear that I lost all that I have been saving all along. How does one lose an investment?

Please contact them for them to at least return the money or at least 60% of what I have saved and if not then reinstate my policy.

This will depend on the terms and conditions in the policy you signed.

It’s possible this is a case of what they call “front-loading” of commission. When an agent sells an investment policy, they earn a commission payment. However, the investment policy might last for 5 years, 10 years or even longer. Instead of the commission being paid over the lifetime of the policy, all of it is paid in the first year or two. There’s nothing wrong with that but it means that in the first 1-2 years, the commission can be as much as the premiums you pay into the policy. That means there’s nothing saved in that period. You only start accruing money and interest after that period is over, sometimes not until the third year. The problem is that agents don’t always explain this, even though they’re meant to.

You also need to look at what the terms and conditions say about what happens when you default on the monthly payments.

I’ll contact the company and ask them to investigate your situation and maybe find a solution.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Where’s my compensation?

I am in need of your services. Last year I was injured while shopping at a clothing store. They were negligent and ushered me into a fitting room that was not safe for use. I was hit by a heavy metal that they did not secure it to a wall and it hit me on the head after I closed the door. A scan report showed that there was distress on my head.

Having had conversations with them they seem to only want to reimburse the medical fees I incurred. Is there no law in Botswana that addresses compensation of consumers while accessing shops just as there is workmans compensation. Is there no such a law for consumer protection?

Firstly, I’m very sorry for the pain and inconvenience that you must have experienced as a result of this incident. It’s clearly unacceptable for the store to be in a state that might cause injuries like this.

Obviously, it’s their responsibility to pay for any medical bills you incurred as a result of their carelessness. The good news seems to be that they’re willing to do that. However, I’m not sure what else you want them to compensate you for? If you lost income or you paid travel costs, then clearly they need to pay for that but what else is there? I think it’s very important that we don’t go down the route they travelled in the United States and other countries who’ve developed a compensation culture where people sue for the slightest things.

I’m happy to contact the store and ensure that they’ll cover your medical bills and incidental costs but it looks like they’re already willing to do that?

Why are they taking so long?

Hi, Richard! There has been an ongoing issue regarding a filling station of which late last month their fuel tanks were contaminated. Water in the tanks had filled over 50 vehicles which then had mechanical issues. Others got fixed, the other one for my friend, she was given a go ahead to have it fixed and bring invoices for refund. I had to pop out P8,000 for the vehicle repair.

To date, she is being taken from pillar to post by the insurance brokers. Almost a month. I then asked them if BERA and Head Office are aware but I can't get answers.

What hurts most is that she is using the vehicle for Yango business that is why I had to assist so that she can put food on the table. Worst of all, when we confronted the filling station and the broker, I clearly mentioned that we just need repairs money, not loss of business money. So the question is, had I not fixed the vehicle, it could still be stuck for almost month? How can she be assisted?

This is unacceptable. Firstly the filling station damaged your friend’s car and more than 50 other vehicles. I understand this must be a challenge for them to fix every vehicle but that’s the price of doing business. They need to get moving.

I understand that they are dealing with many insurance claims through the insurance broker and that can complicate the situation. Any delays by the broker and the underwriting insurance company are obviously passed on to your friend and the other victims.

I’ll contact the insurance broker and ask them why this is taking so long.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

They cancelled my policy!

I have an issue between me and the insurance company about my funeral policy. They said my policy has elapsed. Ok fine I understand and remember very well that December last year they didn't deduct, but in January and February there was enough money without fail, then instead of deducting P366 for January they took bank charges for December, and February they were to deduct for February thy said thy took the money for January Bank charges, which means all the money in the account for the past 3 months which was for the policy, it went to bank charges mind I didn't even receive a single message to notify me from December that I owe a month or two because I would have gone to pay because I wasn't aware that my policy is not deducting the money.

To my surprise beginning of March thy deducted the money P366 as usual, then at the end of March they sent a message saying my policy have lapsed. I went to their office to talk to them and ask if at all my policy has lapsed why are they still deducting my money, because by doing so it shows my policy is still active. I asked them to recover my account and I pay the 3 months. The lady said she will take the issue up with the bosses.

Mind you next year February was supposed to be my cash back year that lady said I should start the policy afresh. Please help me?

This is a sad example of how badly things can go wrong when a payment is missed. Just one missed payment can lead to double deductions or even treble deductions in later months. You can also incur bank charges if you go overdrawn. That one single missed payment can cost you a lot of money.

In this case, clearly the insurance company should have contacted you earlier. In 2026 we have a right to be told immediately if a payment fails. However, it’s also our responsibility to make sure that these payments are made. It’s a hassle, but we must check our bank statements every month to make sure we’ve paid everything we owe. Your situation is also unfortunate because the policy has now been canceled and as you say, you were approaching a cashback year, which might not happen anymore. I’ve contacted the insurance company to see if there’s anything they can do to reinstate your policy.

Can they make me pay to upgrade?

I bought an iPhone 12 Pro Max at a certain shop in Maun last December. Within a month it was over heating and also realized one button was not functioning well. I contacted the shop and they offered me to get a new one which was an upgrade which forced me to pop out more cash. In early April the new phone started to refuse to charge and they changed the faulty battery but I was asked to pay a certain fee for that.

Should I not be covered for at least 6 months?

I am getting really tired with the abusive way so many cellphone stores operate. They mislead their customers, they sell second-hand goods without disclosing it, they ignore what the law says about warranties, and they invent all sorts of reasons for ignoring consumer rights.

Readers of The Voice already know that Section 16 of the Consumer Protection Act says that a consumer can return a faulty item for either a repair, replacement, or a refund. The store can choose which of these three options they prefer, but they can’t do nothing. The Act also says that a store must do this “without penalty and at the supplier’s risk and expense”.

I contacted the store and explained this to them. I also mentioned to them that their receipt says that they only offer “2 months warranty for software only” and this is obviously wrong. Let’s hope they can understand. I used very simple words so I hope they do.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

The baboons did it! 

Good day sir. I really need your help and advice. I bought a TV at from a furniture store on a hire purchase contract. Unfortunately yesterday the baboons entered my house. I tried chasing them but the other one hit the TV and broke the screen. The lady from the store is saying they can never help me. Can you help? 

One of the few good things about hire purchase is that it usually includes an insurance policy that covers you if the goods you’re buying are stolen or damaged in a fire or if you lose your job due to retrenchment. The details of each policy can be different, but they protect you if one of those things happens. It also offers protection for the store and that’s what they care about most. They want the money you promised to pay them and this will help them get it. 

However, it all depends on the small print in the insurance policy. I’ve never heard of a claim for this situation before and you might think it’s reasonable that the policy covers damage by baboons. I’ll contact their Head Office and see what they say about this. I’m not very optimistic, but let’s see. 

Why are they still deducting? 

I desperately need your advice and assistance, I had bought a bed through high purchase at a furniture store in Maun. I cleared the debt in early February and the shop assistant sent the relevant paperwork stopping the direct debit order to their Headquarters. Surprisingly they tried to get the money but unfortunately I didn't have the funds in my FNB account. Consequently this led to negatives in my account and charges for lack of honouring stop order. 

I lodged the complaint with the Maun shop where I bought the bed. They called the office and their feedback was really disappointing. They indicated that nothing has been done and the same thing is going to happen on the 5th of April. I am really hurt, I feel they are being unfair to me. Despite my visits to their office to make sure they stop the debit order, I received a text that threatened me for skipping a month therefore legal action will be taken against me and I should pay the outstanding amount. 

It’s totally unacceptable that you are being treated this way. You cleared your debt two months ago and the payment should’ve stopped two months ago. I don’t think we shoud care about why they continued to deduct the payments from you, what we need to see is them stopping them immediately. We also need to see them repay you for the deductions they made improperly and all of the costs associated with this. They should refund any banking fees or penalties you have to pay and, just as importantly, they need to assure you that your credit record has not been affected by this in any way. 

They also need to call off the debt collectors or lawyers. They have instructed to recover money from you. You don’t owe them any money so they have no excuse for bothering you about this. I’ve already contacted their Head Office about the situation and I’m waiting for their response. I imagine you’ll receive an apology from them and a refund for all of these costs very shortly. 

If any furniture stores are reading this, it’s really important that they go away and look at the procedures they have. Their computer systems must be able to automatically stop the deductions when someone has fully repaid their debt. It shouldn’t require manual interventions by staff at store level. This should be automatic. It’s 2026 and consumers are entitled to expect better than this.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

They did me a favour?

Good day Richard. I bought a Bennet Read air-fryer in August last year. At the beginning of February the air-fryer stopped working. Unfortunately when I was looking for the receipt I could not find it but I did return it and they accepted it for fixing. OK fine it takes almost a month to be returned but when I got home it was not working again. I returned it again and they took it for 2 weeks with no communication until one of the workers sent me a message saying the product can't be fixed twice and the manager is on it.

Now today I was called to collect the old air-fryer and they say it can't be changed because I didn't have a receipt. I did ask them can't you retrieve the receipt because I brought it in its box which I believe has its serial number. They said they did me a favour.

I got the old one back but now my fear is if it doesn't work what's next? Please assist.

This store needs to make up its mind. Do they need a receipt or not? I don't think it's complicated. They already accepted the air-fryer and attempted to repair it once without a receipt, didn't they? I'm no lawyer but that's clearly an admission that they were responsible for fixing it. When they later changed their mind, I suspect it was because they had run out of excuses. That's not good enough.

Another good thing is that they admitted is that they accepted that they can't fix the product twice. Section 16 of the Consumer Protection Act says that once a store has tried to repair an item, if the same fault occurs again within 3 months, they can then only replace it or refund the consumer.

I think it's time we both spoke to the store's Head Office, don't you?

Why won't it go down?

Please help me understand this. My younger brother has a hire purchase contract with a furniture store then he lost his job and he didn't tell them he lost his job he just said he is no longer working. They kept on calling him and our family decided to repay all those debts in instalments until they are done. Now I have a question. Every month I make those payments without fail but the balance doesn't go down. They keep adding interest even though the account is no longer in arrears. I made a payment when the balance was P1,800 and today I made another payment only to be told the balance is P1,300. So I asked why is it not less because we paid on time and they said it added interest. When I started paying it off the balance was P3,900, that was in December when I paid 1,200 then in January I paid P600 and in February P600.

Clearly this debt will never finish and this is what is depressing my brother. Now they keep adding interest and I want to know what the law says if you told me my balance is this much I calculate and budget according to that balance so when it keeps adding up its a problem.

This is about two things. The first is interest. Any outstanding debt will incur interest charges particularly if your brother was behind with his payments and his debt has probably increased massively from the interest that the store adds to his debt each month. Paying off relatively small amounts will reduce the balance by less than you think because every month they'll add more interest to the remaining balance.

The second problem is that hire purchase is a terrible way to buy things. I've mentioned before that goods bought on hire purchase don't belong to you until you've made the final payment, the warranty is void if you're behind with your payments, and if the goods are ever prepossessed, you probably still owe the store the remaining amount, even though you don't have the items you thought you'd bought.

I suggest your brother asks them for a full statement of his account and then for a settlement amount, the amount he can pay to get rid of this debt forever.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Where's the bed?

I need your help. In 2024 I took a bed in order to pay it with installments. By then I was working but I lost my job in 2025 and I wasn't able to pay properly but I was trying to pay. In mid 2025 they called and asked me to return the bed because I wasn't able to pay well and I agreed with them to collect it. They did not come until February this year to take it. They collected it and I was given a receipt for the collection.

Then they called this week claiming they didn't collect the bed. After some days they called again saying I should pay over P7,000 or they will file a court case against me. Is it really fair for me to pay the balance even though I am not using it? Please help.

Firstly, it's really important that you keep that receipt safe. I suggest you take a picture of it on your phone and send it to several people as a backup, including me. If the store believes that you still have the bed, and you can't prove that it was taken back, you're going to have trouble.

More importantly, this illustrates how higher purchase works. It's important to understand when you buy something this way, it doesn't belong to you. Until you've made the final payment it's still belongs to the store. The money you were paying them each month was just to hire the item. If you check the small print of the agreement you signed, you'll see that it says that, even if the item is repossessed, you still owe the money you agreed to pay them, minus any amount they got from selling the repossessed goods.

I'll contact them and explain your side of the story, but you also need to sit down with them yourself to discuss exactly how much you owe them, and how you can best repay that debt. And don't forget to send me that receipt!

The second one was worse!

Please can you help me? I bought a tablet from one of the shops in Gaborone on the 26th of February but on the 15th of March it started to shut down on its own regardless of it having a fully charged battery. I took the tablet back to the shop and they exchanged it and gave me another tablet of the same brand. This one my son used it for less than a week and it was worse than the first one. I went back to the shop and they told me that I'm overusing the phone but my son used it for 3 hours only and they told me there is nothing they can do because the tablet is a Chinese brand. What can I do?

This store understands nothing about customer service and even less about consumer rights. Clearly this device was faulty when you bought it. However, I'm sure we all understand that this happens sometimes, but the Consumer Protection Act and common sense both make it very clear what a supplier should do in this situation. Section 16 of the Act says clearly that they must either repair the faulty item, replace it, or refund the consumer. They were within their rights to replace it with another device of the same brand but it's completely unacceptable that the second tablet was even worse than the item it replaced.

And then they start making up stories about over-using the device? That's nonsense. Also, their excuse that because it's Chinese, they can't do anything? That's just as silly.

I'll contact the store and politely tell them to stop making up stories and to stop being so silly. I'll also explain a little bit about Consumer rights and customer service. Clearly they need some education.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

They charged me again!

Am sending you this with a heavy heart. I have been paying a loan from my bank and my loan was supposed to finish February 2026. As am sending this message I am from the bank because there is a deduction made for month of March. To my surprise when I get there, am told that from the beginning there was supposed to be a certain charge, which was not added to the calculations and upon noticing the mistake the payment was extended with my knowledge. Is this the proper thing? Kindly help.

This charge is probably the "proper thing", but it wasn't done in the proper way. Clearly the bank made a mistake when they first set up your loan but you'll probably find in the small print of your loan agreement that it says that you are responsible for ensuring that the full amount you owe is repaid to the bank. I understand and agree with you that they should've made this very clear in the beginning and they failed to do so but this doesn't change the amount of money you owe them.

I'll contact the bank and ask them to get in touch with you to explain in more detail what happened. I'll also suggest they give you a complete statement of your account so you can double check that the amount you paid was the correct amount.

Can they repair it again?

I bought a defy fridge on 18 December 2025. In the beginning of January the fridge was over freezing top and bottom. I went to report the fridge and Defy technicians came by the house to fix it. A week later It was still over freezing. I called the shop a couple of times but they didn't assist until I went to the shop and then last week Tuesday the Defy workers came and took the fridge.

So yesterday they called to say they have fixed the fridge and they will deliver it. I called the shop to tell them that I'm not accepting the fridge because I want a fridge that won't give me a problem since the unit they have given me has proven to be problematic.

Am I entitled to a refund or replacement because I don't want the unit that has already given me problems?

As readers of The Voice will know, Section 16 of the Consumer Protection Act says that a consumer may return faulty goods to a supplier within six months of purchase. It says that the supplier can then choose whether to repair the faulty item, replace it, or refund the consumer. It goes on to say that if they repair the item and the same fault happens again within the next three months, they can then only replace the faulty item or refund you. They don't have the option of repairing it again. In your case it was just a week before the same problem happened again.

I contacted the store and reminded them of this and the good news is that they're going to replace your fridge with a new one.

Update. The replacement fridge was delivered.