A friend of mine linked me to an article earlier this morning about the new Consumer Protection Act, which will kick into place on the 1 of April and it’s really focused on assisting the consumer.
Here’s a break down:
RETURNS AND REFUNDS
It’s all about you in the new act, especially when it comes to returning goods or asking for refunds.
Consumers will now have up to six months to return faulty or unsafe goods.
Trudie Broekmann of the law firm Webber Wentzel explains that you will have a choice between the supplier repairing or replacing these, or refunding you in full.
If the product fails again within the next three months, the supplier is once again obliged to replace it or refund you.
But remember, this applies only to the general wear and tear of your appliances, not gross negligence on your part.
The supplier may charge you a small amount to repackage the product.
DELIVERIES
Ordering online? Goods will have to be delivered at an agreed date, time and place. If not, you will be free to accept or cancel the agreement – it’s your choice.
Companies are also obliged to deliver goods that match the sample or description of the product. You have the right to examine your purchases before accepting them, and reject them if you’re not happy.
If you didn’t get a chance to examine the product and are unhappy with it, it can be returned at the supplier’s expense.
SMS COMPETITIONS
A small victory, but a victory nonetheless.
As of March 31, companies will not be allowed to charge you an exorbitant R5 or R10 to enter an SMS or MMS competition, but will have to stick to the usual network rates.
REPAIRS
Sending your laptop in for repairs? Getting that leaky roof fixed?
As of March 31, companies have to provide you with an estimate for the work – which you must approve – and cannot charge you more than that estimate.
If more work is required above and beyond the estimate, they first have to get the go-ahead from you.
Companies also can’t charge you for preparing their quote, unless you’ve agreed to that.
PRIVACY
Gone are the dreaded telemarketer calls and junk mail flyers. At least in theory.
According to the new act, salespeople cannot bombard you with calls and leaflets at certain times of the day and certain days of the year.
You can also put your name on a blocking registry to one-up the telemarketers before they even begin to dial. How exactly this will be enforced, however, is still anybody’s guess.
COOLING-OFF PERIOD
Impulse buyers, this one’s for you.
According to this clause, you will have five business days to change your mind about that mid-life-crisis Harley or the seaside cottage you fell in love with.
Notify the company in writing, and they’ll have 15 days to pay you back in full. If goods have already been delivered to you, you’ll have to return them before you get your money back.
Note that this applies only where you bought in response to direct marketing, which is when things are advertised to you directly, in person, in the mail, or electronically.
CONTRACTS
Ever been billed for that gym or cellphone contract you thought had expired?
Thanks to the new act, automatic contract renewals will be no more. Companies will have to contact you – in writing – between 40 and 80 business days before your contract expires. They have to give you the option to continue your contract, change its terms or cancel it.
Note that the contract will continue on a month-to-month basis until you make your choice.
You will also be able to cancel contracts at any time. No more waiting for the full 24 months to end. If you’re unhappy, give the company 20 days’ notice – in writing – and you’re home free.
And while you won’t have to pay the full value of the contract, keep in mind that you still have to pay anything you owe the company up to the date of cancellation.
The company might also charge you a cancellation fee, possibly no more than 10 percent of the amounts still owed.
VOETSTOOTS
Voetstoots – especially in the car industry – means buying it as you see it. Don’t go complaining to the seller when your 1962 skedonk no longer gets you from A to B. What you see is what you get.
But not anymore.
According to Broekmann, “The CPA specifically identifies the consumer’s rights to good-quality products, in good working order, free of any substantial defects, and fit for their purpose.”
From March 31, suppliers will have to let you know of all defects – both obvious and hidden – of your purchase, and you have to agree to buying the product in that condition.
RESERVATIONS
This one is still on you. Cancel a booking or reservation, and the supplier is entitled to charge you a “reasonable” cancellation fee. The “reasonableness” depends on how early you cancel and if the supplier can fill your now-empty spot.
If, however, the booking is cancelled because of the death or hospitalisation of the person who made the booking, no cancellation fee can be charged.
Quite a number of adjustments there that will assist the consumer – I especially like the online delivery one!
This is GREAT news! Especially the bit about cancelling the contracts. Cellular provider better beware!
I also especially like the one about being able to cancel a cellphone contract without paying the earth! That is a defininte up yours to the big Cell Cos.
Looking forward to the first of April. The bliss of no more calls from “Blocked” telemarketers’ numbers, and being able to cancel contracts! Fantastic!
It’s about time this act is put in place! Thank you to the powers that be!
“Thanks to the new act, automatic contract renewals will be no more. Companies will have to contact you – in writing – between 40 and 80 business days before your contract expires. They have to give you the option to continue your contract…, change its terms or cancel it.”
love this part … will be extremely useful for customers …
Ag, the consumer act in plain English! Thank you man!
Lot of good news for consumers in here Chris, thanks for sharing!
IT IS A ABSOLUTE JOKE, HOW CAN YOU OWN A BUISNESS, COVER COSTS WITH A 10 PERSENT CANCELLATION FEE, ON CONTRACTS,SIMPLE THE CONSUMER WILL JUST HAVE TO PAY 10 TIMES MORE. NOW, WE NEVER WANTED THIS BUT IT IS WHAT IT IS.
what state is this supposed to happen in?
what effect will the new act have on internet companies who sell certain speeds in a packaged and then throttle the user during certain hours ??
I think this is fantastic. I think businesses will finally start taking their consumers seriously. I think companies taking advantage of consumers and not giving them fair options will have to re-evaluate the way they do business.
In my case, I’ve been unhappy with my gym membership due to the poor maintenance of the club I joined. Not once have they taken any of my complaints seriously; hello peter, in house, managerial, head office and even the ceos, nothing worked. And if I got a response it would literally be to tell me that I was wrong. So eventually after nearly a year of not doing anything they offered me a 60% cancellation fee amounting to R6037. Which anyone would agree is ridiculous.
I honestly can’t wait to send my cancellation letter.
Viva the consumer, viva!!!
This is a absolute joke.
You consumers that are working your average job for a company have absolute no clue.
The section about the contracts is shocking. This will cause 99% of all companies to charge more. So in the end, you, as the consumer will just be screwed over more.
This country is going down the drain.
Hi guys
If Im not mistaken the contact part means that only contracts thats signed after the 1st of April 2011 can be cancelled immediatly but those who are still stuck with stupid Gym contracts like me need to wait for 2 years!!!!I need someone on this site that is a lawyer and can assist us!!!
I cant afford it anymore:-(
You will most likely find that cellphone companies will try and protect themselves against the mis use of the system by not giving free handsets to contract subscribers anymore.
Take out a contract, get a lekka phone worth say 10k, and cancle your contract shortly after, pay the 10% (R1000) and get a bargain?
Somewhere along the line we as the end user, will still get crap deal as result of certain parts of this new bill..
In theory it sounds great, but in practise shit will still hit the fan..
This is all fine do you know how many people will lost their job? Good luck for the unemployment people!!
Please elaborate Nicky..
In our line of business we employee people that is unemployed to give them a fair change of income we don’t worry about experience. They will do telesales pamphlet drops door knocking ext. Now our company must let go of this people. This is not fair on them. If our clients cancel their contract because they simply use the excuse they can’t pay we must deduct this money from our reps because they did get commission for the work they did. This is also not fair. How can we provide jobs if the government denied this to the people?
You will probly just find that the marketing companies will find a loop hole somewhere in the system like the Financing companies did, they Still sending out “pre-approved qualification” for credit cards / loans.. Now you just qualify to apply, and not already pre-approved..
At least now marketing companies have to comply with the act, well when decent policing comes into place, wich I highly doubt..
For those that dont want to be contacted by marketers visit http://www.dmasa.org/ and use the opt out function. Easier option is to sms DMA + ID Number to 34385
I did that and the amount of calls I received from marketers I had NO interest in redeuced dramaticly.. :)
I know telemarketors only do a job and are at least working and not out stealing somewhere, but I also have the right to my privacy. I never agree to marketing on any agreements I sign, and yet they always managed to get my details from somewhere, even details that personal like addresses and ID numbers… I’m sorry, but thats not on! Respect peoples privacy and market to those who actualy have the time to listen to ads. At least after register via sms on the DMA system 90% of the MANY calls stopped! :)
Does anyone knows I the new act for cancelling contracts is applicable for contracts before 1 April?
In February I upgraded my contract for the new iPhone 4 (which is a fantastic phone) but I have been having endless problems with MTN to get a data bundle loaded so haven’t been able to use the phone apart from sms’s & calls. MTN staff don’t even know what to do and eveyone tells me a different story. I’ve already been billed for 4GB of data I haven’t received. I would like to now get out of the contract but am not sure if this new act covers me since I signed the contract prior to 1 April (wish I’d know or I would have waited)…Anyone know what protection is afforded someone in my position?
best would have been to have waited for 1 apr.
http://www.girlguides.co.za/howtos/item/216-cell-phone-contracts-and-the-new-consumer-protection-act
go check that out.
I don’t normally allow link dropping, but that article is a good resource, thank you Jakes.
I would really love to cancell my cell phone contract asap,thank you very much for the act
hi Chris,
i have a very big complain about the house that I bought in October last year. The estate agent really saw me coming.
I saw this really town house for R600 000. the day i had an appointment he said He can get the house for me @ R595000. the next day we signed an offer to purchase for R600 000, to ensure that i can get this place.
we asked about the levy and it was said the the levy is not more that R250 that was ok, then it was R400 or something the day the house was registered on my name all of a sudden the levy is R700…. that i can not afford.
on top of that he said that we would not struggle to sell this place. in March we decided that we can not afford this high levy and we contacted him to sell this house for us. he then informed us that we will never get to sell the house for the price that we wanted.
after we moved in he promised that the back door will be fixed… we are still waiting for this to happen.
there is a water leakage that was reported 2 weeks after we moved in, it was fixed and 2 weeks after that it started again.
there is a big health risk as well. next to my house there was this small room that i was inform was just a place where the trash can is held. this place is so dirty that we have a plaque of cockrouches and rats. when its raining my whole living room its wet, the water is like streaming in on the TOP of my back door and all the windows
we gave him a list of things that was wrong after we moved in of wich only 2(two) was fixed
we paid the clearance sertificate that was suppose to be paid by the seller. after I informed the estate agent, he said that he will follow it up, but AGAin i am still waiting.
when you phone he is never available.
when we signed the deal i was not aware of any of this
i need to know where i can log a complain?
i possible kindly give me information via my email
Hi Evette
Sorry to hear about your situation. Firstly, I am not sure this is the right forum for you to seek advice. AFAIK, Chris is neither a lawyer or an estate agent (neither am I). Also, since this happened last year, your deal is not covered by the new Consumer Protection Act which only covers contracts entered into after it’s inception date.
Anyway, you would have signed an purchase agreement that would have shown the monthly levy rate for the complex. You should also have received a statement of the body corporates finacial situation. From what it sounds like, you definitely got taken by this estate agent but your only recourse now is to get legal advice. Lawyers are expensive I know but that really is your only alternative. It sounds like the estate agent made false representations to you and, to my limited legal experience, under South African law, that means that the contract can be nullified.
I hope you can get it sorted out.
I got phoned in Feb or March from Sanlam or Reality that Sanlam got the Reality thing for free or so it sounded to me. I didn’t have my mind on the call as I was busy with my work. They send me the card and just last week I wanted to confirm that I don’t pay for this seeing that I won’t be using of supporting any of the partner stores. they told me that its R30pm. What do I do from here? How do I report them and get a refund?
Thanx
is there any website where i can download the new consumer protection act?
Plz help
I have to say I am really happy to hear that there are changes being made to make it so that the consumer has more advantages in the market place. If something is broken you should not have to jump through hoops to get it replaced or refunded. If this bill makes it better to be a consumer then why be against it??
I have 5 cellphone accounts and suddenly the last 2 months all my cell phone account have content charges attached to them.
No one applied for it and I have to pay for it.
When I queried the one charge (by Vodacom) the supplier denied that I have an agreement with them.
At MTN the one content charge is R109.67 one month. Every month I have to make contact and ask them to cancel it.
This is ridiculous, that someone can put a charge item at another company on your account and you did not request it. The S A public is getting ripped off by the cell phone companies.
Where is the consumer protection bill that protects us. This goes on and on.
Where can I lay charges so that this can stop.
The most absurd thing about it is that I never applied for it or requested it, it is just put on my account.
Good Day
I have a cell phone contract with Cell-C, i’m not happy with them anymore. They over charge me with every call i make and when i call to query that,all they do is to give me a reference number after the other. I am on call per second and per second, it’s suppose to be 2.5 cent.
I had a recent incend where i was charged R5 and some change for a 1 minute and 30 second call which is too much.
I was given a reference number once again and no one came back to me with a response.
I now want to cancel and i was told that the cancellation fee is R1000 plus the outstanding amount for my contract. I need to understand how this 10% thing works. Am i not suppose to pay 10% of the whole amount included?
I took the contract in May 2010.
+- How much am i suppose to pay in terms of the new consumer protection act with regards to the 10% thing
I bought a motorcycle brand new about 4 months ago for R15100 and it has been giving me lots of trouble, bolts going loose, dead battery, clutch cable broke and a few other stuff…most of the stuff broke with in 3 months and the clutch cable the most recent. Is it possible for me to return the bike? it really is beginning to cost me money and being late for work as i have to transport it to jhb every time something breaks (im from pta) i contacted the company and they are full of story’s and ignoring me, do i have to go to a lawyer or is there somewhere i can complain? any advice would be greatly appreciated thanks
My husband bought a brand new Suzuki SX4 on the 12 july 2011 which we only got on
the 04 Aug 2011. My husband is in a wheelchair, we asked them if thy could put
handles at the back of the vechile and on the side of the door for him to put
his weelchair in the back. They said they know of someone who can do that for us.
On the 25 Aug 2011 they came to fetch our car to take it in to fit the handles,
and their were a few other things they had to adjusted on the vechile, so i showed their driver wat was wrong before he took the vechile. On the 26 Aug 2011,
they bought back our vechile, nothing wast done what i showed their driver, they put two small handles at the back, what was wrong it is not what we asked for.So
they took our vechile back. So they phone my husband and said they will fix every thing and use the holes they made into the vechile,and just make it longer. On the 30 Aug 2011 we got a email saying they wil also put our handle on side of the door wich will be reinforced on the inside of the door, and it will be a high quality stainless steel which is durable, and that the job will be neatly done. So we said that would be ok for them to do the job. On the 2nd Sept. they were suppose to bring our car back. They phoned and said our “bumper quard” is the wrong on will deliver on 5th Sept. 2011 saying the workshop manager locked our vechile in the workshop will deliver the next day. On the 6th of Sept. 2011 saying their is marks on the handles they fitted, will let us know.
On the 9th of Sept. 2011 late the afternoon their driver brought our vechile back. They used the small handles they put on the first time which they took off. They welded the to together, made new holes for the handles the handle on the side is also welded together, with screws showing on the inside of the door. They cracked our bumper,dented our door,scratched our pannels on the inside of the vechile and our interior on inside of the roof is dirty.What their email said about the handles is not what we got. We phone them that same afternoon saying they must come out to our house and look what our vechile looks like, we waited till half past seven, nobody came out. On the 13 Sept. 2011 we took our vechile back to the place whe bought it. We showed them all the damages to our vechile. They never told us that the first guy they got to do the handles said he is not going to take that change, to drill holes in the car for the hanles. Now our brand new car with only 1800 kilometers on the clock is standing at a panel beater. We only had our car for 3 weeks. What can we do? or can we stll cancel everything. Please help! Thank you
Dear Yvonne, if you follow my advice you will get what you want.
Make a BIG poster with your complaint on it.
Go and stand with your husband in his wheelchair outside their shop and tell them you will only move when they solve your problem
These businesses hates for their faults to be seen.
Call the newspapers and tell them that you will be there.
I promise you, you will get results……
Hi there
My name is *Mpho and I am a distributor of human hair extensions.
My question is;
How does the Consumer Protection Act apply on things such as human hair weaves/extensions can customers return them for refunds after wearing them? OR even after a few days of receiving the hair?
Are these goods regulated by this statement (extract from the CPA); the right to return goods does not apply to goods which cannot be returned
due to public health regulation or which are partially or entirely disassembled
or altered or permanently installed or embedded with other goods or property;
Your assistance in this matter will be highly appreciated
* not my real name, I would kindly like to be anonymous
Kind regards
Mpho
Hi, My fiance and I made a reservation at a game lodge for our wedding which is in December next year. We now need to cancel the reservation. The terms and conditions of the venue state that cancellations should be done at least 6 months in advance and only 50% of the deposit will be refunded. If it is not done 6 months before, then they will not refund the deposit.
We are cancelling more than a year in advance and I would just like to know what a “reasonable” cancellation fee would be.
Any assistance or comments would be greatly appreciated.
Hi, I recently made an offer to purchase for a new vehicle. The vehicle will only be delivered in January/ February some time. I have paid a “holding deposit” and would like to know whether i can cancel the offer to purchase and get a full refund on my deposit.
any assistance would be appreciated.
What is a reasonable cancellation period
I have cancelled an event 2 and half months prior, and the venue wont return my deposit
There was no contract , nor cancellation policy ever stated
nor did she ever mention that this was a non – refundable deposit.
please can someone assist me with some factualy info on my rights in this situation
Hi,
We have a small courier company which we are going to close at the end of January 2012. (not in liquidation) We have signed contracts with a tracking company to be able to tract these vehicles live. The units installed remains their property. They advised us that even if we sell the vehicles, they will remove the tracking devises (this they do at a cost of +- R700), but we have to carry on paying until the 3 years are up. Small business with an anual turnover of less than R3m is also protected by the CPA. One of our vehicles were written off in an accident, and even after that we have to carry on paying. Could someone please advise what we could do here, because we will not be able to afford this out of our own pockets. Thank you.
Dear Yvonne, you do not have to accept all clauses in a contract. You can scrap the ones you don’t agree with.
Ypu signed something without thinking about the repercussions. Go and see a good lawyer (which is very scarce).
Everyone will take your case because it is money. Get advice (normally that is free) at one of the Universities’ legalwise centres. Then decide what to do.
Good judgement comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement.
Yvonne read above….I quote
“You will also be able to cancel contracts at any time. No more waiting for the full 24 months to end. If you’re unhappy, give the company 20 days’ notice – in writing – and you’re home free.
And while you won’t have to pay the full value of the contract, keep in mind that you still have to pay anything you owe the company up to the date of cancellation.”
I asked my alarm monitoring service to cancel my monthly contract with immediate effect. There was no fixed term. They insist that I give 1 calendar month notice even though I am being billed in advance for the service. Surely I should be able to cancel at any time prior to the end of month?
Can anyone help? Does a company have to advise you of costs before they invoice you? I am a contractor. I asked the company accountant to do a letter confirming my salary which she did (in 2 minutes) and emailed it to me. The next day, I got an invoice for R 175!!! Surely they should have told me about this charge before doing the letter for me? Where do I stand in terms of the CPA? Thanks
@Terri – I’d agree, a company needs to disclose costs before doing anything, otherwise they could have invoiced you for R50,000 for all you know!
Worried………. :-)
This law is all good and well, but shops seem to try and wrangle their way around it with their own in house rules. I have recently bought a cellphone from Edgars and it has gone faulty. They replaced it on the 7th day. Now 13 days later I am sitting with similar problems with the new handset and I have been to Nokia personally without a solution. I called the Edgars store and the sales lady informed me that I need to deal with the network provider directly and that cell phone purchases are not covered by the act. According to her after 7 days I do not have an option to get a refund. So this means that for the next two years I will have to continuously run up and down to Vodacom and Nokia to have the phone ‘seen to’. Whilst the phone is in to be ‘seen to’ I will be without a handset. If the second handset is giving similar problems than the first within the first few days of ownership then I would like to prevent having to spend my time and petrol running after the manufacturer and network provider.