The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Will they refund me?

A few months back I booked in a guest house not noticing it wasn't the one I intended to book therefore I did not use it. I followed it up for reimbursement the very same day within an hours time or so but they refused. Instead after a few days of going back and forth with the receptionist apparently she finally made an arrangement for me to communicate with the owner who came up with a resolution of me using the reservation or booking with 356 days of which I refused as it was never stipulated on the original terms.

How can I go about this matter?

This is complicated. Firstly, it's important to understand who made the mistake here and it wasn't the guest house. They accepted your booking in good faith and it's possible they turned away other guests who wanted to stay with them but couldn't because you'd booked a room.

However, I think it would be reasonable for them to check if this was the case. Did they really lose money because you wanted to cancel the booking? If they didn't, it would be reasonable and kind for them to refund you. They'd obviously be entitled to deduct any banking costs from the refund but I think a refund would be a kind thing to do.

I'm happy to contact them and suggest they take another look.

Will they refund me too?

On August 30th 2025 I wanted to buy jack hammer from a shop at Game City Mall. I was told they don't sell it but they can do special order for me if I pay 50% of the machine which was P5,600.

I deposited P1,200 but in September I saw the machine same brand from other shop with a lower price of P3,999. Then I consulted one the employees from the shop that I want to take my P1,200 because I found the machine with a more affordable price. Then he says they already ordered the machine though I didn't pay 50% like we agreed. Now I want to withdraw my P1,200 from them.

What outcomes should I expect since I was supposed to make payment so that they bring machine even though I didn't make their 50% payment.

Again, this seems to be a situation where the supplier hasn't actually done anything wrong. Other than being expensive.

Like the guesthouse in the other problem this week, they took money for this item in good faith. They thought you wanted to buy it and agreed a P5,600 deposit. Perhaps their mistake was to begin the ordering process before you'd paid them the agreed amount.

Again, this depends on how much work the store did to order the item. Did they actually do any work? Or maybe they did a lot of work and has the item already being shipped? We need to find out so we know what to expect from the store.

Then it will depend on the generosity of the store. Are they prepared to do the decent thing and refund you? Again, obviously they can deduct any costs they've incurred from the P1,200 but I think they need to do the right thing, don't you?

And next time? Like with any expensive purchase, we must all shop around before paying. It's amazing how much prices can vary and what bargains are available.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

How long must this take? 

I have an issue with a filling station for putting wrong fuel in my car. It has been going for 6th month without my car. The manager for the filling station where this happened states that the matter is handled by their insurer. I was told for any further communication I should speak to the insurer. 

The first bit of good news is that this filling station are dealing with the issue. They seem to understand that their employee’s mistake caused damage to your car and they’ve submitted a claim to their insurer to pay to fix it. 

Then there’s bad news. Why is this taking so long? How complicated can this situation be? To me it seems very simple. They damaged your car and they need to pay for it to be fixed. The next bit of bad news is that the filling station want you to do all the hard work. Why? There’s absolutely no need for you to contact their insurance company. They work for the filling station, not you and it’s the job of the filling station management to make the phone calls, send the emails and insist on a rapid solution. It’s not your job. 

The final bit of good news is that I contacted the filling station manager and they promised to take action. They said they’ll let me know when some progress can be made. 

Is it legal? 

Is it legal that when you owe an entity or a cash loan and when they get their money they get all the money without leaving you any survival money for the month. They took all the money in my account and I can’t even pay rent or any buy any usables. 

I’m not an attorney so I can’t offer you legal advice but as far as I know, there are no restrictions on what a microlender can take from you. 

I suspect that the microlender would argue that you entered into this loan agreement of your own free will as a sane, grown adult and it’s therefore your job to ensure you can afford the loan you took from them. They would argue that they don’t know for sure how much you earn, how much you spend, how much you owe other lenders and, therefore, how much you can afford to pay them. 

But I think it IS their job to know that. Before any microlender lends us money, they should do their best to discover these things. Instead of just getting us to sign a deal, send us the money and get their monthly payments, they need to do some work to understand our financial situation. Can we really afford the loan? They need to do this for our benefit but also for theirs. We don’t want to default on our loans and they shouldn’t want us to default either. 

Our cousins across the border in South Africa are protected by laws against what they call “reckless lending”, The South African National Credit Act requires a lender to thoroughly assess if a borrower can truly afford the loan being offered. If it’s later discovered that the lender failed to do sufficient checks, the debt can be declared as “reckless lending” and the loan can even be reversed.

We need something similar here in Botswana. I know some borrowers are reckless and irresponsible but many just need some protections against making foolish mistakes. And the microlenders? They can afford to be a bit more careful. They make enough profit from their customers, they can afford to spend a bit more time being more careful.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Will I get a refund?

I laybyed a couch back in March and due to unforeseen circumstances of financial problems I wasn't able to pay it off and my laybye has expired. Would they refund me or they don't do refunds? It was back in Jwaneng but I've relocated back to the village now and I haven't been able to go and enquire at the store. I called one day and they told me they will get back to me till now.

Update: They contacted me today, they said I should send you my bank statement and copy of ID so that they could refund me, since the call was logged from you.

Does this store have any idea how they should treat their customers? I don't think so.

I emailed their Head Office in South Africa when you first contacted me.

This particular chain of stores seems to have a policy that they offer support customers to in Botswana from South Africa and I have a problem with that. I think every South African company that wants to do business in Botswana needs to have an office and country manager here in Botswana. Dealing with problems across a border doesn't work, even in the age of electronic communications. We need someone here in Botswana who can take responsibility.

Eventually they said they'd help. But this latest update is crazy. Because I emailed them they now need you to send all the documents through me? Why on earth is that necessary? I don't need to see your bank statement and your ID. I can understand that they need this to verify your identity but you should make sure you blank out all of your transaction details. All they need to know is where you bank and that you can prove your identity. Nothing more.

Maybe it's their policy? Then they need a better policy. For a large fee I'll write it for them. I emailed them again and told them that their suggestion was "inappropriate and unreasonable". I've also sent you their email address so you can contact them directly.

How long will I be blacklisted?

Hello Mr Richard. Please help. How long does it take to be removed from a blacklist. It's been a year now. I paid a furniture store debt last year July and cleared. Where can I get help.

The first thing to understand is that there's no blacklist. Credit reference bureaus hold information on everyone who has borrowed money, whether from a bank, a lender or a furniture store. They don't just hold bad information but they record the good things too. That way, potential lenders can see the recent history of anyone who wants to borrow money from them. They can see who pays their debts and who has problems. They use that information to make rational decisions about who they lend money to.

In every case, when a debt is settled, they record that as well. It can take up to 30 days for them to do that but, most importantly, the record of the settled debt remains online for another 2 years. That's so potential lenders can decide if we're a good risk or a bad one.

The good news is that this information isn't secret. You can access your credit history at any time to see what information these companies hold on you. If they give you any arguments, just mention the Data Protection Act and they'll cooperate. If necessary, remind them that breaking the Data Protection Act can result in massive fines and prison time, or both.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Is this a real job?

A relative of mine was "head hunted" for a job at one of the embassies. There was no interview but the HR keep telling him that they are completing the vetting process. This has been going on since February. The person took both of his phones claiming it's part of the vetting processes. Around June they said they were done vetting, spying and running checks on his family, people of prominent positions and will be returning the phone.

Every month they call to say he will start on the first of the next month but there is no offer letter, no phones returned just empty promises of vetting and a looming start date. I keep telling him this is a scam and keep asking him to report these people to the police but he says what if it ruins his chances of being hired. In addition they keep calling him telling him that they are preparing to disburse an allowance that he will use to attend training and a stay out allowance for being away from home. As part of the benefits of the job they promised to clear all of his debts as they claimed they don't allow for employees to have debts. They claimed to have cleared his mortgage and car loan two months ago. He could not check via his bank app as he doesn't have a phone. The other day I told him to log into his internet banking with my laptop only to find that nothing has been cleared.

I told him this sounds too good to be true. I told him to go to the embassy and ask to see HR but he is not wanting to go but rather just wait. This sounds like a new scam where people claim to be head hunting you for a position, working with inside HR people and God knows swindling innocent Batswana of their cellphones claiming to be vetting them.

You are completely correct. This is a scam. Sadly, your brother is in the same position many other scam victims find themselves. He's invested so much emotional energy in this that he can't see the truth. Luckily he has relatives like you who can try to persuade him but it's going to be a long fight to get him to see the truth. You privately told me which Embassy these scammers pretend to represent and I've contacted them. Perhaps they can alert the public so others don't fall for the same scam.

I'm also happy to talk to your brother if you think that will help?

When will it end?

Good day Richard. Please help me here. Is it possible that when you know you are finishing your loan this month then you are told there are arrears from when I was topping up the loan? I am a government employee and the instalments was taken directly from salaries. I had a loan with the bank and I went there to seek for a clearance letter but now I'm told the loan will only finish in November. I don't even understand what they mean because when I check the loan balance with the app from my phone it says 0. I just want a better explanation from them.

You're certainly entitled to that explanation. It's possible that the bank are correct, that the top-up to your loan forced them to recalculate things and extend your payment period. But if that's' the case, they should have told you about it.

Whatever is true, they need to check their arithmetic and give you a full statement of the loan and explain what you owe and when the loan will end.

I'll also contact them and suggest they check their records and tell you what you need to know.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

They have my car!

I recently pawned my car. I haven't signed the contract yet but when I read the terms and conditions it said I needed to pay a fixed interest of 30%. Now what I want to understand is does this then mean I pay this interest every month or it's once off and I return the money owed in the 3 month period? This is how I understood the terms to be, but now they called and said that 30% is for every month. I borrowed 10k that means I'd have to return 19k which is almost 100% interest on the loan.

My grievance is that if they had explained it I would have never agreed to the loan but I have not signed the contract. They asked me to come back so they can try and rectify because they hadn't explained to me they said they just started so they don't want to be reported to NBFIRA.

I handed over the blue book and agreed to the installation of the tracker and when we got back they forgot to give me the contract. They called me later and they said they want to offer me 25% instead of 30% and that I should come to their office so they can rectify their mistake. I haven't touched the P10,000 yet.

This is a mess. Firstly, you've learned how expensive it can be when you pawn goods. It's not abnormal for pay almost twice the value of the item over three months. Also, if things go wrong with the repayments, the situation favours only the pawn shop. You'll be left without your property and still facing huge payments that will only increase the longer you delay paying them.

However, in your case there might be some hope. If you still have the P10,000 it might be worth sending the money back to them and saying that as there's no agreement in writing, there's no agreement they can enforce. And then, because they told you they don't want you to contact NBFIRA, that's exactly what you should do. That's almost a confession that they know they'll be in trouble. So they deserve it.

Can I have my pension?

I am currently unemployed and I was hoping to be assisted with a portion of my pension fund so I can make a living out of it but with the pension funds regulations I am not getting any assistance while I suffer with financial hardships.

They said I can only have access to my funds if I have a health condition that hinders me from never working again or I just wait until retirement age to encash 25%. Is there no where I can reach out to and launch my plea for an exception because how will I get by till I reach 40 or 45 years?

Unfortunately, I don't think I can offer you any good news. I'm not an expert but I know that pension schemes are very different from other forms of saving. The money you put in a savings account with a bank is normally easily accessible. At worst, the bank might put in some penalties for withdrawing your money but you can get hold of it. But pension schemes are different and the laws that govern them are different and very strict. The money you invest in a pension scheme is for your retirement and not before that. Even when you do retire, there are restrictions on how much you can withdraw and what you can do with the rest.

It might be worth speaking to a financial advisor who can confirm the details in your case and they can probably also offer you some debt counselling and help you to manage your finances now as well as when you retire.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Do they care about me?

I need advice. I bought a couch from a furniture store in April. I only used it for a month and half or 2 months and it started being uncomfortable. I reported it and they came and took it for fixing. In a week it was back to its uncomfortable state. I went back and reported again. I think it's been two months now and I haven't got any help from them. Mind you i bought this couch on hire purchase when I go there they tell me they have to take it for fixing again they will call even today.

On Friday 3rd I decided to go there and have a conversation with the manager who still insisted that I let them take the couch for fixing. I told him I'll never agree to those terms since it was once taken for fixing before and this is not fair at all because once this couch reaches its guarantee they will not help me. I gave him an option to exchange of which he never agreed to.

I then received a call from South Africa. The man said he heard about my complaint and I should confirm my availability so can they can come get the couch for fixing. I tried to explain that the couch was once fixed before and all he cared about is when will I be available for them to take the couch for fixing. These people are forcing me to comply with them and they don't care about me as a customer.

What are my rights as a customer? I don't want this couch any more because I got no assurance that I will use it for a while in a good state.

I completely agree. This company doesn't care about you and they don't care about your rights. Section 15 of the Consumer Protection Act says that consumers have:

"the right to receive goods which are of good quality, in good working order and free of defects". 

But obviously sometimes things go wrong, we all understand that. Section 16 says that when we buy a faulty product, we can return it to the store and they can choose whether to:

"repair or replace the defective goods; or (…) refund the consumer". 

What stores often forget is the next section of the Act. Section 16 says that if:

"within three months the same problem recurs"

they can then only replace the goods or offer a refund. They don't get to repair it again. Once is enough.

But this store and their South African Head Office don't seem to care about our rights. I've emailed them several times explaining our law to them in very simple terms but I don't think they want to listen. They need to see that consumers in Botswana need to be shown the same level of respect they show their customers down South. I'll keep telling them until they understand.

Dealing with South African suppliers

There's nothing wrong with buying things from South African stores. Some of the South African retailers we have in Botswana are extremely good. They sell excellent products and offer world-class service.

However, there are also some, like with the complaint this week, where the geography makes it VERY difficult to deal with them when something goes wrong. Unlike the good companies, these companies often don't have someone here in Botswana who take local responsibility for local problems. It' very frustrating dealing with some of these companies across the border when they don't seem to understand that we have our laws that are much more important to us than the laws governing them in SA.

My suggestion is always to ask a store, before you pay for something, how they deal with problems. Will there be someone in Botswana who can take charge or is it all done from down South? Then we can take an informed decision about whether we can rely on them or not.

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

They're tormenting me!

I am kindly requesting for your help. I am being tormented by my bank. On 5th of September, I went to the bank and requested for confirmation of banking because I was expecting payment from my insurance company. I asked the receptionist how much is my refund and said she didn't know.

On the 19th September my account was credited with P19,300 and I used the money. A week later, I received a call from the bank saying that money was accidentally credited to me. I went to the bank, and was surprised that it wasn't the money I was expecting. I made an a payment plan that I will pay P500 every month. However, the bank is deducting P1,440 which is my net salary. Eventually the insurance company paid P2,000.

I need your help.

I can see two issues here. Firstly, there's the money. Unfortunately you made a serious mistake by spending that money. I know the insurance company didn't tell you how much to expect but the sensible thing to do would have been to call the insurance company and check that the money you received was from them. The amount they eventually paid you was a lot less and you should have known the P19,000 was probably not yours. The good news is that you agreed the P500 repayment plan but I'm surprised they agreed to that. It will take you three years to repay it.

That leads to the second issue. The bank needs to stick to your agreement, if it's correct that the monthly repayment was so small. If they need to change that agreement then they need to sit down and talk to you about it.

I'll contact them for you but the best you can hope for is an open and honest conversation with them about what you can afford to pay.

Will I get my money back?

I have a complaint regarding an event organizer of whom I bought 7 tickets worth P250 each for his show then it got cancelled to a date that it doesn't suits me. I bought them on the 25th and there were no any conditions on the cancellation or postponement of the event. I asked for a refund but he is not answering my calls nor responding to my messages.

Please help if you can.

I suspect this will all depend on what's in the small print of your agreement with this event organiser. However, from what you later told me, there was no agreement, so there's no small print. So he's a fool.

I contacted the guy and he made a lot of excuses about his agreement with Webtickets. But that's not your concern, You didn't may Webtickets, you paid him, so he needs to take responsibility for his agreement with you.

We see this so often. In the small print of a booking, the agreement says that the event can be cancelled, the artists can be changed or the event can be postponed and people who've paid already have no right to get their money back. They are often told that they can accept the later date or their money is gone. It's not acceptable.

Luckily in your case, there was no agreement. So it's refund time, if he chooses the honorable approach. Let's both keep the pressure on him to give you your money back.