Wendy Knowler's Consumer Hacks - The cost of using a generic phone charger
Do you use a generic charger on your mobile phone? If you do, Wendy Knowler's latest consumer tip will stand you in good stead.
1. The
cost of using a generic charger
Do you use a generic charger on your mobile phone? Well, get this: the Samsung
cellphone warranty document includes this: “The use of a generic charger and/or
charging cable will void the Samsung warranty.”
I’m pretty sure Samsung is not the only cellphone manufacturer with that in
their small print.
Even the powerful six-month Consumer Protection Act warranty only applies if
you use the goods as instructed by the manufacturer: in this case that includes
using the manufacturer-branded charging goodies.
2. Point your camera at that car odo, and smile later
Would you think to take a pic of the odometer on your rental car before driving
off? Probably not, but that habit spared one woman a massive, unwarranted bill.
When she was overcharged for mileage to the tune of several thousand Rand, she
disputed it, with evidence - a pic of odo when she left the car rental
company’s depot and again when she returned to it.
She still had to fight, but she eventually got a credit. So it’s an excellent
habit - and do the same when you take your car for a service or repair.
3. You could be wasting both your tracking and car insurance payments
Does your car tracking contract require YOU to call
the company every three or six months to ask them to check that the tracking
device in your car is still working?
Best you find out because if you don’t, and your car is stolen, your insurance
company will probably reject your claim if you haven’t been doing that.
In the space of two weeks, I heard from two Durban women who had this awful
experience, so please check.
The spend fest that was Black Friday has morphed into a bombardment of supposedly special offers that lasts the whole month in November - and in Woolworths’ case, the end of October as well.
Beware: fake bargains are a thing - that’s when a retailer raises prices of goods in the weeks leading up to Black Friday, and then drops them for Black Friday, claiming to offer a huge discount.
Get wise to that tactic by tracking prices on sites such as pricecheck.co.za
5. Mirror this advice
Rosalind had some really bad luck with her brand-new mirror. By the time she got it home from the shop, it had a crack across the middle.
But when she took it to the store in its original wrapping, the manager refused to refund or swap the mirror.
She blamed the poor packaging, but, of course, if the mirror was intact when it left the shop, they weren’t liable.
So if you’re planning to buy and transport something as fragile as a mirror, take a protective blanket and stash it on its side in the car, not flat.
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