CONSUMERS who bought goods before April 1 this year cannot rely on the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, but that does not exonerate service providers from liability.
Goods bought before the promulgation of the act (CPA) must be fit for the purpose they are intended for and be free of defect. If not, consumers can use their warrantees to compel a service provider to remedy the defect.
Consumers can also cancel a contract if a service provider fails to remedy the defect after having been given a fair chance to rectify the fault.
Themba Mhlanga of Brits, North West, is one such consumer. He will be able to cancel his contract with Tata if the vehicle breaks down again, as it has for the past 10 months.
Mhlanga says he has not enjoyed his Tata Xenon double cab since he bought it in January. He says two weeks after taking delivery, the vehicle would not start and it had to be towed to a Tata garage for repairs.
"Since then the battery has been dying like a flat cellphone," Mhlanga says.
He accuses Tata of selling him a defective car and says a vehicle costing R230000 should not have such defects.
"Windows should not rattle and doors should open with ease," he says.
Schalk Lubbe, a customer care supervisor at Tata, says when Mhlanga bought the car the CPA was not in place and Mhlanga signed a warranty allowing them to repair any defect as set out by the manufacturer.
Lubbe acknowledges that there are problems with the vehicle, but says they had repaired them and the vehicle was ready for collection.
He attributes the battery failure to the poor fitment of the tracking device.
Lubbe says though they have rectified the tracker problem, which caused the battery loss, the problem resurfaced and they later replaced the damaged battery. He concedes that the problem then affected the alternator, which they also replaced.
Lubbe says they have attended to every one of Mhlanga's problems and both the motor industry ombudsman and national consumer commissioner have not found them wanting.
He says after leaving the vehicle for repairs, Mhlanga wrote to the motor industry ombudsman, who evaluated the matter and ruled in Tata's favour.
Lubbe says after meeting the commissioner, Tata offered to sell the car for Mhlanga, but he refused.
He says since July 19 they have not heard from the commissioner.
"Our response was made on July 19 and we have had no further responses,' Lubbe says.
"The vehicle is fully repaired in terms of our agreement with the customer through the warranty terms and conditions as set out by the manufacturer and the customer can collect the vehicle."
Car owner unhappy with Tata service
CONSUMERS who bought goods before April 1 this year cannot rely on the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, but that does not exonerate service providers from liability.
Goods bought before the promulgation of the act (CPA) must be fit for the purpose they are intended for and be free of defect. If not, consumers can use their warrantees to compel a service provider to remedy the defect.
Consumers can also cancel a contract if a service provider fails to remedy the defect after having been given a fair chance to rectify the fault.
Themba Mhlanga of Brits, North West, is one such consumer. He will be able to cancel his contract with Tata if the vehicle breaks down again, as it has for the past 10 months.
Mhlanga says he has not enjoyed his Tata Xenon double cab since he bought it in January. He says two weeks after taking delivery, the vehicle would not start and it had to be towed to a Tata garage for repairs.
"Since then the battery has been dying like a flat cellphone," Mhlanga says.
He accuses Tata of selling him a defective car and says a vehicle costing R230000 should not have such defects.
"Windows should not rattle and doors should open with ease," he says.
Schalk Lubbe, a customer care supervisor at Tata, says when Mhlanga bought the car the CPA was not in place and Mhlanga signed a warranty allowing them to repair any defect as set out by the manufacturer.
Lubbe acknowledges that there are problems with the vehicle, but says they had repaired them and the vehicle was ready for collection.
He attributes the battery failure to the poor fitment of the tracking device.
Lubbe says though they have rectified the tracker problem, which caused the battery loss, the problem resurfaced and they later replaced the damaged battery. He concedes that the problem then affected the alternator, which they also replaced.
Lubbe says they have attended to every one of Mhlanga's problems and both the motor industry ombudsman and national consumer commissioner have not found them wanting.
He says after leaving the vehicle for repairs, Mhlanga wrote to the motor industry ombudsman, who evaluated the matter and ruled in Tata's favour.
Lubbe says after meeting the commissioner, Tata offered to sell the car for Mhlanga, but he refused.
He says since July 19 they have not heard from the commissioner.
"Our response was made on July 19 and we have had no further responses,' Lubbe says.
"The vehicle is fully repaired in terms of our agreement with the customer through the warranty terms and conditions as set out by the manufacturer and the customer can collect the vehicle."
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos