Read this before you sign anything
Whether it’s a gym membership, a lounge suite or a car, these Consumer Hacks reveal what really happens after you sign and how to avoid being locked into regret.
1. Gym contracts: no free early “out”
Nicholas emailed me:
“I signed up for a gym membership and only attended the orientation for an hour.
“Due to my frequent travelling for work, I was unable to use the gym and subsequently cancelled my membership. Now the gym, through its debt collectors, is demanding the full amount of the contract despite me not using the gym. I feel like they are expecting me to pay for something I have not used.”
They are indeed, because legally they can. When you sign a fixed-term contract, such as a gym, cellphone or car tracking device, you are obliged to pay every month for the full-term whether you choose to use the service or not or pay a hefty early cancellation penalty.
Think very carefully before you commit to a fixed-term contract.
2. Cheap lounge suites generally don’t last
The problem with poor-quality lounge suites is that they tend to reveal their flaws only after the Consumer Protection Act’s six-month warranty has expired.
If a product you’ve bought develops defects in those first six months, you have the right to return it for your choice of a refund, replacement or repair.
After that, the supplier may provide some kind of voluntary warranty, but it’s far weaker, and you can’t insist on a refund.
The trouble with lounge suites - fabric or leather - is that the cheap and nasties generally don’t reveal their nastiness in the first six months, when you’re entitled to return it for a refund.
It pays to pay extra for better quality versions.
3. Take unboxing videos!
Did you know that the Consumer Protection Act makes the supplier responsible if the product you bought online arrives broken or doesn’t arrive at all? You only assume liability from the moment it’s put in your hands.
That’s why the Act also says the supplier must, “at your request”, give you a “reasonable” opportunity to examine those goods at the point of delivery.
If you don’t want to be tearing open that box on the street in front of the courier, do the next best thing: set up your phone to video you opening that box.
That way, you have proof if the product inside arrived broken.
4. Food doesn’t become dangerous to eat from the day after its best-before date
Sameera bought marked-down gluten-free cereal from Food Lovers Market in Cornubia, and when it tasted stale, she noticed it was very close to its best-before date.
On those grounds, she asked for a refund, and when she was refused one, she complained to me.
In South Africa and many other countries, it is not illegal to sell foods that are beyond their best-before dates.
That’s because they remain safe to eat for a while after those very conservative dates. It’s an issue of quality: the biscuits may not be quite as crisp, and some flavours may diminish slightly over time.
The “use-by” dates on highly perishable foods such as meat are a very different story, as the term suggests. It’s illegal to sell those after the use-by date because of the health risks.
Best practice is for shelf-stable foods almost at, or slightly beyond, their best-before dates to be discounted to avoid food waste and give consumers still nutritious, safe-to-eat food at discounted prices.
Food Lovers Market confirmed it sells food near its best-before date for 30 or 50% less, and there has been no other push-back from customers.
Bottom line - not all “expiry dates” should be regarded in the same way.
5. Check the price and availability of parts before committing to a car
Before you buy a car, new or used, it’s a really good idea to research the price and availability of its replacement parts.
That’s because those parts have a significant impact on the overall cost of ownership.
Expensive parts can lead to a vehicle being declared an insurance "write-off" after just a minor accident, resulting in financial loss.
And ask panel beaters if they are experiencing any delays in getting cosmetic or engine parts for that model, bearing in mind that most insurers only have a car hire benefit of 30 days when the insured car is in for crash repairs.
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