When buying fruit and veg, convenience costs
Woolworths sells loose heads of garlic alongside small net bags containing two or three heads, and here’s what you need to know - the bag version is about 2.5 times more expensive per kg than the loose ones.
Saskia Gil paid R9,18 for a single head of garlic at a branch of “Woolies” last month, while the two heads of garlic in a net bag cost R49 - or R24,50 each. The retailer told me the specifications of those two garlic products are “not identical”, the netted garlic being superior, but my experience was the opposite. Whatever, Woolies concedes that the price difference is too extreme, and says they are “looking into correcting it”.
2. The hardest warranty to cash in on?
Car tracking company Cartrack makes much of its R150 000 Recovery Warranty. “Enjoy complete peace of mind knowing that in the unlikely event we’re unable to recover your stolen vehicle, we will pay you up to R150 000” - that’s the promise. There are many exclusions which deny theft victims that “up to R150,000” pay-out: it only applies for three years from installation, the theft must have been reported to Cartrack within six hours of the loss, and you must never have been in arrears with your payments, ever.
Here’s the biggie: you must have contacted Cartrack every calendar quarter - ie every three months - to test the unit, “notwithstanding any system generated or courtesy testing undertaken by Cartrack”.
Spheni said can’t prove that he got his tracking device tested, so that’s another potential trip-up.
3. Meagre airline baggage compensation policies could leave you high and dry
If your check-in luggage arrives at your destination airport damaged beyond repair, or missing items, the airline should take full responsibility for your loss in terms of our Consumer Protection Act, which trumps other regulations. Most locally based airlines choose to apply international airline conventions, meaning they pay a very small percentage of your actual loss. The Consumer Goods and Services Ombud advises consumers to challenge international conventions’ compensation limits “with proof of disproportionate actual costs”.
Or just make sure that your own insurance policy will cover your baggage losses.
4. Use your cellphone camera to capture valuable proof
Before handing over your car, your boots, your suitcase and all the rest for repair or service take photos of them so that you have proof of what they looked like when they last left your possession. That way any damage that the company causes can’t be said to have been pre-existing.
Trust me on this!
5. What you ordered online is the retailer’s responsibility until it gets to you
I was reading Facebook comments on a well-known local skincare range when I spotted a comment from a customer who said: “When I opened the stick I bought online, it had become liquid and everything leaked out.” The company responded by saying as the product was made with all-natural ingredients, it could soften during transit in the summer months. “Pop it in the fridge,” was the company’s advice. What - the oily mess on the packaging?
If a product can’t survive delivery without refrigeration, that cannot be the consumer’s loss. Demand a refund!
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