LIST-en Up! Five ‘hidden gems’ of the Consumer Protection Act

29 April 2015 - 15:45 By Wendy Knowler
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Wendy Knowler is 'In Your Corner' as The Times consumer champion. You can ask her advice on email: consumer@knowler.co.za or via Twitter: @wendyknowler
Wendy Knowler is 'In Your Corner' as The Times consumer champion. You can ask her advice on email: consumer@knowler.co.za or via Twitter: @wendyknowler
Image: Photo: Wendy Knowler

Deliver on time, or else: This is for anyone who has ever taken time off work or made special plans to be at home for a delivery of furniture and they either didn’t pitch up at all, or got there hours late.

 

1: According to the CPA, the supplier must deliver the goods or the service, you’ve bought at the agreed time, at the agreed address.

If they fail to do so, the consumer has the right to cancel the agreement without penalty.

Another thing - the supply must give the consumer a reasonable opportunity to examine the goods to see if they’re satisfied. No drop and run.

 

2. Only one chance to fix: If you agree to have your broken item repaired, within the 6-month CPA warranty period, and it breaks again in any way within three months of it being returned to you, the store can’t force you to accept another repair. Cellphone outlets do this all the time, but by law the consumer gets to choose a refund or replacement at that point.

In other words, suppliers only get one bite at the repair cherry when it comes to the CPA  6-month warranty period.

 

3. For those with “butter fingers”: You know those signs you sometimes see in shops: “Nice to look at, lovely to hold, if you break it, consider it sold”?

Well, such a policy is illegal in terms of the CPA. A customer is entitled to examine goods, as the Act puts it, and can only be held responsible for breakages if they were grossly negligent.

Letting your small kids run wild in a shop with breakables could be considered gross negligence, if you ask me…

 

4. The law on lay-bys: Pre CPA, if someone signed a lay-by agreement - paying a certain amount every month until the item is paid for in full, and only then taking delivery of it - if they wanted to cancel along the way, the shop got to keep 10% of the retail price as a cancellation fee. Many still stick to the 10% deduction, but legally now they may only retain ONE PERCENT.

 

5. Show me the parts: When you have something repaired, be it a car or a washing machine, the supplier is obliged to give you back the parts they remove in a clean container - unless you tell them not to worry.

Never say “don’t worry”, and if you don’t get your car or appliance parts back, ask for them.

No offence to the many reputable repair agents out there, but it’s not all that unusual for parts replacement to be charged for, but not done.

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