“My husband and I arrived home on a Saturday afternoon to find ourselves unable to get into our house. The front security gate lock had jammed.
“We did an internet search for a mobile locksmith, called a number listed as ‘All Locksmiths’ and were quoted a call out fee of R165.
“About 45 minutes later a young man arrived,” Penny said.
“He managed to open the door and tried to fix the lock, but was unsuccessful. He said he would go and get another lock from his suppliers. He returned at 6pm with two locks as our back security door lock was also sticking.
“He spent five minutes replacing these two locks and after consulting with his boss, said we owed him R5,100.
“We were astounded but had no option but to pay.”
Insisting on an invoice, they discovered they’d been charged R1,695 each for locks which retail for under R300 each.
Two days later, in an unrelated incident, Gugu locked her car keys in her boot at a Johannesburg shopping centre.
She also Googled a locksmith, called the first number which came up and was quoted a R295 call out fee. She did ask how much the service would cost and was told: “I don’t know yet”. (Move on if you hear those words.)
After the locksmith had retrieved Gugu’s keys and left the scene, he WhatsApped her an invoice for R2,190.
Here’s the advice: When you need a service provider in a hurry, doing the Google thing and going with the first “company” which comes up seldom ends well.
Legally, locksmiths have to be registered with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) as they render a security service.
“Consumers should request that the locksmith produce a proof of registration with PSIRA to confirm they are registered with the regulator,” PSIRA told me.
You can check on the PSIRA website to verify if the locksmith is indeed registered with PSIRA. See https://digitalservices.psira.co.za/verify-user/8.
Avoid locksmiths which do not provide an address and don’t operate from established business premises.
While in non-crisis mode, locate a locksmith in your area, check to see if they are PSIRA registered, ask them for their rates, and save their details in your phone for when you need them.
That ‘new’ SIM card most likely has a colourful past
Glenn was outraged about receiving telemarketing calls soon after inserting into his phone the new pre-paid SIM card he’d bought from a Vodacom shop.
“It was sealed in its packaging,” he said.
“How is this even possible? Is Vodacom selling my information to these companies?”
Yes, it’s possible, and it happens a lot.
When subscribers part ways with their SIM cards — either because they don’t use them at all for four consecutive months, after which the network takes back the number, or they choose to stop using them to escape telemarketers or debt collectors — those numbers are recycled and passed on to other consumers.
“We are required by the Independent Communications Authority of SA to use the number ranges as efficiently as possible so deleted numbers are reused and reallocated back into the pool,” Vodacom told me.
What to do? All the networks have a self-service control system that enables subscribers to block their SIMs for all wireless application service providers (WASP) and other content services. Vodacom subscribers can SMS “Stop All” to 31050 to cancel all WASP subscriptions.
Check what you’ve bought online when its delivered
Nadia’s mistake was revealed in the first line of her email to me: “I bought a basin online and didn't check it on arrival.”
Two weeks later, when her plumber arrived to install it, he told her the basin was cracked.
“The basin was sent with minimal packaging, just a thin cardboard box with no padding or bubble wrap.
“Does a supplier not have a responsibility to package your item well to prevent breakage? she asked.
The store refuses to replace it because it was not reported within 48 hours of delivery.
If you order goods online, it’s a bad idea to put the box aside “for later”, especially if you’ve ordered something breakable. Open a package immediately when it arrives, or as soon as you can, so you can spot any breakages or defects and report them to the supplier. The longer you wait, doubt is cast on when and how the problem happened.
Yes, there should be ample packaging, and I will challenge the bathroomware supplier about that, but you’re on very thin ice if you go back to the supplier two weeks after delivery and say it arrived broken.
Also, remember you have the right to return something you’ve bought online for a refund within a week of delivery (thanks to the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act), even if it’s not broken or defective in any way.
If you don’t open the box in that time, you’ve wasted your cooling off period.
• GET IN TOUCH: You can contact Wendy Knowler for advice with your consumer issues via e-mail: consumer@knowler.co.za or on Twitter: @wendyknowler.
Block SIM cards from telemarketers, why quotes are vital, and check your deliveries speedily
Consumer journalist Wendy Knowler’s ‘Watch-outs of the Week’
In this weekly segment of bite-sized chunks of useful information, consumer journalist Wendy Knowler summarises news you can use:
Five essential words in consumerland: ‘Please give me a quote’
Never give a service provider the go-ahead without insisting they first give you a quotation for the full cost of their work.
If you don’t ask them for a “quote" before they repair your watch or change your locks, legally they can’t charge you whatever they like. But in reality that’s exactly what happens, and often.
The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) requires service providers to supply a quote for their work before going ahead.
“A service provider must not charge a consumer for the supply of any goods or services unless (they) have given the consumer an estimate and the consumer has authorised the work or declined the offer of an estimate, and authorised the work, or pre-authorised any charges up to a specified maximum, and the amount charged does not exceed that maximum.”
However, many consumers who don’t think to ask for an upfront quote are presented with an outrageous bill afterwards. That’s what happened to Penny recently.
“My husband and I arrived home on a Saturday afternoon to find ourselves unable to get into our house. The front security gate lock had jammed.
“We did an internet search for a mobile locksmith, called a number listed as ‘All Locksmiths’ and were quoted a call out fee of R165.
“About 45 minutes later a young man arrived,” Penny said.
“He managed to open the door and tried to fix the lock, but was unsuccessful. He said he would go and get another lock from his suppliers. He returned at 6pm with two locks as our back security door lock was also sticking.
“He spent five minutes replacing these two locks and after consulting with his boss, said we owed him R5,100.
“We were astounded but had no option but to pay.”
Insisting on an invoice, they discovered they’d been charged R1,695 each for locks which retail for under R300 each.
Two days later, in an unrelated incident, Gugu locked her car keys in her boot at a Johannesburg shopping centre.
She also Googled a locksmith, called the first number which came up and was quoted a R295 call out fee. She did ask how much the service would cost and was told: “I don’t know yet”. (Move on if you hear those words.)
After the locksmith had retrieved Gugu’s keys and left the scene, he WhatsApped her an invoice for R2,190.
Here’s the advice: When you need a service provider in a hurry, doing the Google thing and going with the first “company” which comes up seldom ends well.
Legally, locksmiths have to be registered with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) as they render a security service.
“Consumers should request that the locksmith produce a proof of registration with PSIRA to confirm they are registered with the regulator,” PSIRA told me.
You can check on the PSIRA website to verify if the locksmith is indeed registered with PSIRA. See https://digitalservices.psira.co.za/verify-user/8.
Avoid locksmiths which do not provide an address and don’t operate from established business premises.
While in non-crisis mode, locate a locksmith in your area, check to see if they are PSIRA registered, ask them for their rates, and save their details in your phone for when you need them.
That ‘new’ SIM card most likely has a colourful past
Glenn was outraged about receiving telemarketing calls soon after inserting into his phone the new pre-paid SIM card he’d bought from a Vodacom shop.
“It was sealed in its packaging,” he said.
“How is this even possible? Is Vodacom selling my information to these companies?”
Yes, it’s possible, and it happens a lot.
When subscribers part ways with their SIM cards — either because they don’t use them at all for four consecutive months, after which the network takes back the number, or they choose to stop using them to escape telemarketers or debt collectors — those numbers are recycled and passed on to other consumers.
“We are required by the Independent Communications Authority of SA to use the number ranges as efficiently as possible so deleted numbers are reused and reallocated back into the pool,” Vodacom told me.
What to do? All the networks have a self-service control system that enables subscribers to block their SIMs for all wireless application service providers (WASP) and other content services. Vodacom subscribers can SMS “Stop All” to 31050 to cancel all WASP subscriptions.
Check what you’ve bought online when its delivered
Nadia’s mistake was revealed in the first line of her email to me: “I bought a basin online and didn't check it on arrival.”
Two weeks later, when her plumber arrived to install it, he told her the basin was cracked.
“The basin was sent with minimal packaging, just a thin cardboard box with no padding or bubble wrap.
“Does a supplier not have a responsibility to package your item well to prevent breakage? she asked.
The store refuses to replace it because it was not reported within 48 hours of delivery.
If you order goods online, it’s a bad idea to put the box aside “for later”, especially if you’ve ordered something breakable. Open a package immediately when it arrives, or as soon as you can, so you can spot any breakages or defects and report them to the supplier. The longer you wait, doubt is cast on when and how the problem happened.
Yes, there should be ample packaging, and I will challenge the bathroomware supplier about that, but you’re on very thin ice if you go back to the supplier two weeks after delivery and say it arrived broken.
Also, remember you have the right to return something you’ve bought online for a refund within a week of delivery (thanks to the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act), even if it’s not broken or defective in any way.
If you don’t open the box in that time, you’ve wasted your cooling off period.
• GET IN TOUCH: You can contact Wendy Knowler for advice with your consumer issues via e-mail: consumer@knowler.co.za or on Twitter: @wendyknowler.
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