The Consumer Protection Act and the National Credit Act have made life easy for consumers who want to cancel a contract, without giving any reason, within five days of signing it.
However, service providers like Vodacom have no regard for these laws and continue to bulldoze consumers by holding them liable to contracts that can be cancelled.
One case in point is that of Mokgadi Magoro, who upgraded her Vodacom laptop contract on February 18 and cancelled it three days later.
In terms of the Consumer Protection Act she cancelled within a day, as the law does not recognise weekends and holidays, but Vodacom denied her the right of cancellation, she said.
Magoro said on her way back home with her laptop, she saw an advert in which Telkom was selling an Apple MacBook cheaper than the laptop contract she had just renewed.
She says that she decided then and there that she would cancel her Vodacom contract and go for the cheaper option.
"Fortunately I had not opened the package and took it back to Vodacom on Sunday, where I was treated like a cheat and a liar after I tried to cancel the contract," Magoro said.
She told the consultant she saw a better deal elsewhere and would like to cancel the contract as she was still within the cooling off period and that the laptop was still in its original packaging, which she still had not opened. She said the consultant took the sealed box to their technician and came back with an opened box.
The woman refused to cancel her contract on the grounds that she had tampered with the package, Magoro said.
She said the supervisor who was called to intervene sided with his subordinate and declined to cancel Magoro's contract.
"I think my right to cancel [the contract] within a cooling off period has been violated," Magoro said.
In terms of section 16 of the Consumer Protection Act, a consumer may rescind a transaction resulting from direct marketing without reason or penalty, by a written notice to the supplier, or another recorded form such as e-mail or fax.
The termination must occur within five days after the conclusion of the transaction or agreement.
Section 121 of the National Credit Act allows a consumer to terminate a credit agreement within five business days (excluding weekends and public holidays) after the date on which the agreement was signed by the consumer.
When a credit agreement is terminated in terms of this section, the credit provider may require payment from the consumer for the reasonable cost of having any goods returned to the credit provider and restored to saleable condition.
Vodacom spokeswoman Londiwe Sibisi said Magoro did not want to cancel her contract, but wanted to exchange it for a MacBook instead.
She said a swap of devices is acceptable when the original seals are intact. In this case, the consultant apparently discovered that the seal of the box was broken, giving the impression that the laptop box had been opened.
"The challenge is that a store cannot sell a device with broken seals," Sibisi said.
As a gesture of goodwill, Vodacom has reversed the upgrade and will take back the device, Sibisi said.
Contract bullies acting above the law
The Consumer Protection Act and the National Credit Act have made life easy for consumers who want to cancel a contract, without giving any reason, within five days of signing it.
However, service providers like Vodacom have no regard for these laws and continue to bulldoze consumers by holding them liable to contracts that can be cancelled.
One case in point is that of Mokgadi Magoro, who upgraded her Vodacom laptop contract on February 18 and cancelled it three days later.
In terms of the Consumer Protection Act she cancelled within a day, as the law does not recognise weekends and holidays, but Vodacom denied her the right of cancellation, she said.
Magoro said on her way back home with her laptop, she saw an advert in which Telkom was selling an Apple MacBook cheaper than the laptop contract she had just renewed.
She says that she decided then and there that she would cancel her Vodacom contract and go for the cheaper option.
"Fortunately I had not opened the package and took it back to Vodacom on Sunday, where I was treated like a cheat and a liar after I tried to cancel the contract," Magoro said.
She told the consultant she saw a better deal elsewhere and would like to cancel the contract as she was still within the cooling off period and that the laptop was still in its original packaging, which she still had not opened. She said the consultant took the sealed box to their technician and came back with an opened box.
The woman refused to cancel her contract on the grounds that she had tampered with the package, Magoro said.
She said the supervisor who was called to intervene sided with his subordinate and declined to cancel Magoro's contract.
"I think my right to cancel [the contract] within a cooling off period has been violated," Magoro said.
In terms of section 16 of the Consumer Protection Act, a consumer may rescind a transaction resulting from direct marketing without reason or penalty, by a written notice to the supplier, or another recorded form such as e-mail or fax.
The termination must occur within five days after the conclusion of the transaction or agreement.
Section 121 of the National Credit Act allows a consumer to terminate a credit agreement within five business days (excluding weekends and public holidays) after the date on which the agreement was signed by the consumer.
When a credit agreement is terminated in terms of this section, the credit provider may require payment from the consumer for the reasonable cost of having any goods returned to the credit provider and restored to saleable condition.
Vodacom spokeswoman Londiwe Sibisi said Magoro did not want to cancel her contract, but wanted to exchange it for a MacBook instead.
She said a swap of devices is acceptable when the original seals are intact. In this case, the consultant apparently discovered that the seal of the box was broken, giving the impression that the laptop box had been opened.
"The challenge is that a store cannot sell a device with broken seals," Sibisi said.
As a gesture of goodwill, Vodacom has reversed the upgrade and will take back the device, Sibisi said.
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