
I need your help. I bought a second hand phone a few months ago. The phone was never okay from the first month. I told the guys at the shop my challenge is I stay in Francistown but bought it in Gaborone. I took it to them last month, but now they were telling me stories.
I took it to them again on 23rd May and when I got there I was told the technician was off since it was a Saturday so I should bring it back on Monday. I called the owner who was in SA at the time to tell him I will leave the phone with someone, she took it back to them but refused to take it. The owner later called the person I left the phone with to say he is still out of the country he will call when he comes to return the phone but he never did.
In short look like they are not willing to give me a new phone or refund me. I can't just lose my P4500 money like that. If they don't want to give me another phone its better they just give me back my money. I'm sick and tired of the their games.
Unfortunately, when you told me the name of this store, I wasn't surprised. It's not the first time I've dealt with them and each time before the story has been the same. They have a history of selling phones that rapidly go wrong and then doing their best to avoid their responsibility to fix the problem they caused for their customer. Obviously, they're in breach of various parts of the Consumer Protection Act but just as importantly, they're showing you contempt.
I contacted the store and they're still taking their time. I think it's time to escalate this situation and complain to the Competition and Consumer Authority. Maybe they can help us persuade the store to do the right thing?
Who can take action?
I'm not sure if this would be the right platform to address this issue. We stay near a bar and night club. This club generates a lot of noise that kids cannot study well. We can't even sleep well. Their customers make noise by the security wall and talking loudly till morning. We wonder how our kids will survive on their education. Please help.
I think this is a certainly a consumer issue. Even though you're not a customer of the bar, you are suffering from the way they operate and their failure to behave like a good neighbour.
The consumer angle here is with Gaborone City Council. I assume you pay rates (obviously you should) and as a result, you're their customer. It's their job to enforce the various Bye-Laws that I'm sure say that bars, clubs and restaurants in residential areas need to behave themselves and not cause a disturbance to people like you who are trying to live a normal life nearby.
The good news is that your local council, Gaborone City Council, has recently become very active, enforcing the law, shutting down unhygienic restaurants and supermarket kitchens and cleaning up the environment. This is the time to ask for their support. I suggest that you submit a complaint to them and get your neighbours who are also bothered by this bar to do the same. The more people who complain, the more likely they are to treat this seriously and take action.