Use law to your benefit

Five years on, I've come to the sad conclusion that for most consumers, the Consumer Protection Act may as well not exist because people don't know anything about the legislation and how to benefit from it.

Even I almost missed something when investigating the case of Sharon Chetty of Pietermaritzburg and the cruise she cancelled.

On February 16 she booked an Italian cruise with UK-based Imagine Cruising for her and her Johannesburg-based sister at a cost of R20210 each, including flights.

They were scheduled to depart in mid-July.

Chetty paid her R20210, which was accepted as a deposit for both of them.

But two days later she cancelled the booking as her sister was no longer able to join her.

She was told she wouldn't get a cent of the deposit back as Imagine Cruising's most generous cancellation penalty is a 50% refund, not of the deposit, but of the entire fare.

In response to my argument that it wasn't reasonable, given that Chetty cancelled the booking just three days after making it, Imagine Cruising director Peter Shanks offered a R10460 refund.

That would have been the end of it had a perfectly timed marketing e-mail from Imagine Cruising not landed in my inbox.

I probably would have deleted the "spam" - unsolicited marketing - had I not mistaken the e-mail for a response to my media query.

But having clicked it open and realising it was an advert for a cruise, I had an ah-ha moment.

I hadn't, until then, thought to ask Chetty how she came to make that booking - did she find the company after a self-initiated internet search, was she responding to an advert in a newspaper or did she receive an unsolicited e-mail?

Turns out she got an e-mail - one of many - from Imagine Cruising.

In fact, she got one just a few days before she made the booking.

That made the booking a direct-marketing deal and the Consumer Protection Act allows consumers to cancel direct-marketing deals within five business days, in writing, for a full refund.

So I went back to Shanks to say that Chetty was actually owed the full R20210.

I'm delighted to report that she's getting it.

"We do comply with the act's provision of a five-day 'cooling off' period for direct marketing," Shanks said.

"We have sent direct marketing communications to Chetty in the past, so while we did not have this booking tracked as a response to direct marketing - but rather a Google inquiry - we are prepared to waiver the loss of deposit on this occasion as the cancellation was only two days subsequent to the booking and it could be that previous direct marketing had influenced the decision to book."

So, if you buy anything as a result of direct marketing: SMS, e-mail, phone call - including a call to "upgrade" your cellphone contract - you get five business days in which you can cancel, in writing, for a full refund.

You don't need a reason - you simply get to change your mind.

Interestingly, Imagine Cruising has had only one other request for a Consumer Protection Act direct marketing cancellation in the past 18 months, which speaks volumes about consumer awareness of this provision.

Contact Wendy:

E-mail: consumer@knowler.co.za

Twitter: @wendyknowler

Cancellation fees

When planning a happy event, such as a holiday or a wedding, few people consider the financial implications of a cancellation.

Which probably explains why I get so many e-mails from people who've paid deposits for cruises, hotel rooms, wedding photographers and decor specialists, cancelled the event, and then been outraged to discover that the service provider was willing to refund little to nothing of their hefty deposit payments.

Thanks to the Consumer Protection Act companies can no longer have a blanket "no refunds" policy pertaining to cancelled bookings.

Companies must refund your deposit, minus a "reasonable" cancellation penalty.

Companies must have a "sliding scale" of deposit forfeiture in proportion to the notice given - the sooner you cancel after booking, the greater the refund.

Make sure the contract you sign includes this "sliding scale" of what you'll be refunded if you cancel at various times between booking and the event.

If they do get another booking, they can charge you only an admin fee.

They are obliged to show you the direct losses and costs they incurred due to your cancellation, which can include a portion of their marketing and admin costs.

And a supplier may not impose any cancellation fee if a booking is cancelled because of the death or hospitalisation of the person "for whom or for whose benefit" the booking was made.