Durban - The chairperson of the newly launched KwaZulu-Natal Consumer Tribunal, Professor Bonke Dumisa, says that they will soon arrange a meeting between the Durban Chamber of Commerce and businesses around the province to bring them up to speed on the processes of the tribunal.
The tribunal was formed last Wednesday by the KZN Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs and the National Consumer Commission in a bid to help consumers in the province with their grievances on products they have bought.
Also forming part of the tribunal are Nomagciswa Cawe who is the deputy chairperson and Asha Sewpersad being the alternative deputy chairperson, while other members of the Tribunal include Advocate Noreen Nursoo, Advocate Russel Hand, Phindile Ndlovu, Michelle Posemann, Preetha Dabideen, and Lisa Williams de Beer.
Speaking on the planned meeting with the Chamber of Commerce and businesses, Dumisa said: “We will inform them that we have now started this initiative so that certain businesses don’t say they are being ambushed and they did not know that such rules exist under the Tribunal and we will explain everything. Everyone will be able to ask questions and we will respond to them.
“The very first case we will be hearing will be in two weeks time, on April 4, and we want to be very serious about that one. One thing we already know is that cases involving the sale of cars between dealerships and consumers are at the forefront in KZN,” Dumisa said.
Dumisa, who boasts 22 years of experience in consumer protection, mostly based in Gauteng, added that he had dealt with numerous disputes involving car dealerships and customers as a result of contracts that had not been read properly or the dealership not being upfront on the fine print in contracts.
“How many people in South Africa know that they are signing for a balloon payment, and when they think they have finished paying for the car only to find out that there is this big portion that you either pay in full, cash or they add new payment terms.
“You find some people running to the consumer protectors to complain about the dealership not revealing this information, only to find that it was there in the contract. Salesmen are part of the problem because they are rushing to get a commission for a sale, but there are certain material disclosures that they need to make when selling a car, which they do not do, knowing that they will hide behind the contract,” Dumisa said.
He said that this problem of disputes between dealerships and consumers was prevalent across the country, but he feels that it is somehow worse in KwaZulu-Natal where, for instance, consumers buy vehicles but do read that their contracts have a residual value or a balloon payment required at the end of loan for the car.
“That’s why I stressed during the launch of the tribunal that people must not just sign contracts, they must read the dotted lines, and everything, before they sign because we cannot shield people from their own carelessness in signing things that they were not supposed to sign.
“However, at the same time, we will act harshly against organisations that abuse that whole thing of the fine print, in order to take the consumers for a ride,” Dumisa said.
Political Bureau