Consumer Protection in South Africa
There’s been a great deal of excitement and anxiety regarding the recently enacted consumer protection act but on the whole, those who should be concerned are those who fail to deliver safe, quality goods. Retailers who continue to push low quality, defective products will quickly find themselves on the receiving end of large financial penalties courtesy of the the National Consumer Tribunal (NCT).
This essentially means that retailers will stop purchasing their products from distributors with a less than professional history, regardless of how cheap their stock may be. Once that happens and the distributors find themselves without clients, they’ll stop importing from low quality sources. Happily, no one will be willing to take the risk for someone else’s short comings and South Africa will find itself a wellspring of quality goods and services. Consumer protection isn’t a new ideal, at least not in the rest of the world, but under the new act South Africans will find themselves enjoying the benefits of being some of the most protected consumers around the globe.
One industry which was thought to be in for an especially rough time under the new act was the motor industry, but not everyone is overly concerned. Some of the top names seem eager for the change, insisting that the long term benefits, such as customer trust and repeat business, may well outweigh the potential dangers. Brandon Cohen, Compliance Manager of Associated Motor Holdings (AMH) gave a presentation at the RMI Business Conference of 2011, in which he underlined the risks and potential benefits.
On the whole it was understood that several important factors within the industry would face a change, including those linked to sales techniques and paperwork. This means a new direction in terms of the general direct marketing policies of most manufacturers and also a new look at how products are bundled together during the sales pitches. The contracts would most likely also require new wording in order to comply with the consumer protection act sub clause which insists on clear wording that is understandable to the average person.
Happily for SA consumers, and more worrying for the motor industry, the consumer protection act means that customers must be notified of any recalls which take place and be compensated accordingly.
Author : SASM
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