Consumer Act - Trial by Performance
The Consumer Protection Act is in full swing and more than a few retailers are already feeling the bite that it can bring when they either don’t understand it, or simply try their luck in getting away with faulty products or services. The Act alone is not entirely responsible for this though as the media have been paying perhaps closer attention to the adherence of the law by local businesses than even the tribunal appointed to do so.
Although this means greater protection for the individual, and perhaps even increased sales in some cases where brand loyalty is heavily bolstered, it does mean some potentially serious concerns for retailers and service providers. It won’t only be companies that are aggressively misrepresenting their products and services that are endangered by consumer protection; South Africa has many company owners and employees who simply aren’t aware of all of the finer points the Act entails.
Whether the issues being made public of late are attempts to illegally cheat customers or simple misunderstandings will be judged on a case by case basis but the heat is on and even honest mistakes are likely to cost companies a lot of money and good standing. A recent article featured in The Star entitled ‘A defective response for a defective product’ makes it clear that the media is watching, and that consumers are well informed of their rights.
For responsible retailers, however, this should be viewed as an opportunity to prove their worth and value against that of their competitors. In the case of large franchises it means even greater pressure as the public will largely lump the performance of individual branches together, which could be great news or very bad news depending on those performances.
Regardless of what the future holds, it would be difficult for anyone to effectively argue that South Africans were not in dire need of consumer protection as the level of service in the country has long been acknowledged as substandard. Only time will tell who lives up to the challenge and who shows their true colours after years of managerial cover ups and client cheating. In the end, the Consumer Protection Act will sieve those who should be serving South Africans from those who should not.
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Author : SASM
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