The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Must I pay?

In February last year i went to my bank in Maun and paid the due balance on my credit card and asked them to close it. They said all is well and its closed. In June last year I get a call from collections from a lady telling me I haven't been paying for my credit card. I told her that according to my understanding the account is closed. I did not have the copy of the letter I wrote at the bank nor the receipt when I made the deposit for the outstanding balance but she suggested that I write a letter and I will get help. I did that the very same day. I kept on checking progress from her but she reassured me that i will get help.

In December I got a call from a law firm saying that I owe them. I explained to them what had happened and they advised me to go to the bank. I did just that on the 16th December. They made calls and promised me he will get to the bottom of it and give me feedback. As promised sometime in January he called me back telling me that it was their fault and he even said the name of the lady who was assigned to close it therefore they will reverse all the charges and get it closed.

Up to now they are still charging me P300 monthly and the law firm is still calling. I work in a remote area and I cannot manage to do follow up in person at the bank all the time. Please assist me.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience and stress this must have caused you. Even though you knew you'd done the right thing it was surely very frustrating to be hassled by the bank and then a law firm alleging you'd done something wrong.

Perhaps you didn't know that they also registered you as a bad payer with a credit reference bureau? However, that's now sorted out. I contacted someone at their Head Office and they told me that:

"the balance will be absorbed by the Bank and the client's file recalled from the law firm. We will also delete the credit listing for the customer. We will send the customer confirmation of account closure once the process is completed."

It's a shame they took so long to sort this out. It's also a shame that we had to involve their Head Office to fix something that should have been fixed almost a year ago.

Can they only refund 30%?

Hello sir. I need help. I bought a hair clipping machine but when I got home and try to cut my boy's hair the machine didn't work. When I wanted to return the machine they said they will refund only 30% of the amount not the full amount. Is it ok to do that because I wanted to buy elsewhere?

No, it's certainly not OK to do that. As readers of The Voice will know, Section 16 of the Consumer Protection Act says that if goods are faulty within six months of purchase, a consumer can return the goods to the supplier. The supplier must then either repair the faulty item, replace it, or refund the customer. It certainly does not permit a store to charge a fee for this. Obviously, if a consumer just changes their mind, then a store can decide whether to accept the returned item or not but when it's faulty, the situation is very clear.

I suggest you speak to the store again and explain to them in very simple terms so that even they can understand it. They need to know that you understand the law better than they do. I'm also happy to speak to them to make sure they understand what they need to do.