Your rights, your rands: KZN’s must-know consumer wins

1. KZN Office of the Consumer Protector - there to help

Got a problem with a service provider? KwaZulu-Natal’s Office of the Consumer Protector is at your service. Just go to kznconsumeraffairs.gov.za and log your complaint online. 

Whatever your gripe, from a home improvement job that went horribly wrong to a retailer refusing you a refund for a product that failed within six months, get tapping before the problem becomes super complicated and hard to resolve.

The Office has referred several consumers’ disputes to the KZN Consumer Tribunal, where their rights have been enforced through judgments.

2. "On the road" fees: Here to stay, but with a lot more transparency

When financing a new or used vehicle, “on the road” or “dealership” fees, including everything from preparing the car for sale to paying for that Insta-ready bottle of bubbly or flowers you’re given at handover, can increase your overall cost quite a bit. 

The bad news is that a recent Supreme Court of Appeal ruling allows banks to finance those fees. The good news is that the dealerships and their bank partners now have to be a lot more transparent about how that fee was arrived at. In other words, they can’t just disclose the lump sum – they must itemise everything it covers.

Plus, you must be shown the total cost if you finance that fee versus paying for it separately upfront.

Before signing, compare the cash price of "on-the-road" or “dealership” fee with the cost of financing it, as interest will make it much more expensive in the long run.

3. How not to lose your cellphone number

Sandiso asked me on X: “Do I have a recourse with MTN? I lost my SIM card, and I've been told that the number was given away because I have not been loading airtime, which means inactivity?”

Yes. In fact, ICASA requires the networks to recycle numbers after a period of inactivity. 

So WhatsApping, texting, and calls do not count as activity. You must send an SMS or make a network call* at least once every three months, or they can “take back” your number. 

*The industry refers to such actions as RGEs - revenue-generating events.

4. A vexing voucher redemption case

Question on X from Tami: “What is the rule when a voucher specifies a treatment rather than a value, and then, when the voucher is redeemed, they want you to pay in because the price has gone up since the voucher was bought?

A: You are entitled to the treatment specified for up to three years, thanks to the Consumer Protection Act.

If the price has gone up since the voucher was bought, that’s not your problem.

Trust me, they make it up plus more, from all the vouchers people don’t claim.

5. Can you get those annoying marketing calls at any time?

NO. The Consumer Protection Act limits the times marketers may contact you in an attempt to sell you stuff.  

• From 8am to 8pm on weekdays.

• From 9am to 1pm on Saturdays.

But not at all on Sundays and public holidays. Incidentally, debt collectors may legally call alleged debtors from 6am to 9pm on weekdays and Saturdays.

Listen to more Consumer Hacks below:

Contact Wendy Knowler:

Get in touch with Wendy via her website or her Facebook page. Please note that Wendy is not able to personally respond to every email she receives. If she is able to take up your case, she will contact you directly. Here are other avenues for you to consider