HELP FOR DEBT

DEPRESSION

Taking the issues

out to communities

Page 5

A CAPTIVE

MARKET School uniform

costs for 2011

Page 9

ANNUAL

BONUS Bank it or blow it?

Page 11

TURNING ON

THE HEAT

Will bread prices

drop?

Page 4

FOOD PRICE

INFLATION SLOWS

South African consumers

have been buffered

Page 2

Consumer groups are forging ahead

with class action to claim millions of

Rands in damages from major bread

makers Pioneer Foods, Premier Foods

and Tiger Brands.

The Children’s Resources Centre,

Black Sash, COSATU’s Western Cape

branch, the National Consumer Forum

and five individual bread consum-

ers went to court with a summons in

November, and the case will continue

early in 2011.

In a separate urgent court applica-

tion, the group sought certification to

act on behalf of a class of millions of

consumers in the Western Cape.

Acting Judge Francois Van Zyl

dismissed the urgent application, al-

though he has not yet given reasons

for his judgment. However, the group

says this will not stop the class action.

The action follows the Competi-

tion Commission’s findings in De-

cember 2006 that the producers par-

ticipated in a cartel that fixed bread

prices. The bread makers were collec-

tively fined more than R1 billion by

the Competition Tribunal; but Black

Sash spokesman Sarah Nicklin said

poor consumers were the real victims

and should be compensated.

DamagesActing for the group, Human Rights

lawyer Charles Abrahams of Abraham

Kiewitz Attorneys said: “It’s only the

second class action ever undertaken in

South Africa, and the first of its kind

to seek actual damages for the victims,

and on such a large scale.”

Abrahams said: “Competition law

makes the provision to seek action and

the constitution says that if there is a

violation of a constitutional right (such

as a socio-economic right) then you can

bring class action.”

He said the class action was initial-

ly aimed at representing consumers in

the Western Cape, but the intention was

to extend it nationally. “Corporations

need to realise that actions have seri-

ous consequences,” Abrahams said.

Cosatu Western Cape regional or-

ganiser, Mike Louw said: “Food price

increases have a particularly heavy

impact on working class people. The

poorest households in South Africa

spend over half their income on food.”

Abrahams said bread makers ar-

gued during the hearing that they had

not violated any constitutional rights

and that a class action did not apply to

them. “I think this is just the beginning

and we really hope through this proc-

ess we can spur on an activist society,”

Abrahams said.

Unethical National Consumer Forum spokesman

Paul Crankshaw said the dismissal

was “a slight setback”.

“The grounds for the case are as

solid as ever and the fact that the country

is grappling with implementing class ac-

tion law is a challenge we have to face,

but we don’t believe it will prejudice us in

the eyes of the court,” Crankshaw said.

“This is a vitally significant case

for the future of consumer protec-

tion for the reason that government

departments and regulators can only

do so much when it comes to control-

ling unethical and illegal behaviour

on the part of big business, and that

consumers will gain a lot of confi-

dence through the way we deal with

this case.”

“Consumers have had enough and

are aware of many wrongs perpetrated.

They have always felt powerless and if

this case proceeds as we expect it to, we

hope to return a feeling of involvement

and power to consumers to balance the

power of big business.”

Turn to bread price survey on page 4

Consumers sue bread makers in David and Goliath battle

Tiger Brands: “We are reviewing the documentation with our legal advisers and

are unable to comment further at this stage”

Premier Foods say they can’t be sued as they haven’t been found guilty of price-

fixing, because they were granted corporate leniency as the first to own up

Pioneer Foods: “We have noticed their affidavits and will be stating our case”

As the National Consumer Forum joins

the class action against bread produc-

ers in the Western Cape, the man who

first blew the whistle on bread price

fixing has joined the NCF to become

its co-ordinator in that province.

Imraahn Mukaddam raised a

complaint with the Competition Com-

mission when he noticed that all the

bread suppliers to his Cape Town

shop were putting up their prices

at the same time, and by the same

amount. This case led to the Compe-

tition Tribunal fining Premier Foods,

Tiger Brands and Pioneer Foods.

“We are very pleased to have a

brave and committed person like Mr

Mukaddam joining our organisation,”

said NCF chairman Thami Bolani. “He

brings a huge contribution to con-

sumer rights in this country.”

What the companies say

Whistleblower joins NCF in Western Cape

‘Corporations need to realise that

actions have serious consequences’

It’s that time of year when consum-

ers prepare to fill their tables with

good food to celebrate Christmas; at

the same time, there will be many

who struggle just to afford bread – as

big bakeries pay millions in fines for

price-fixing.

But this Christmas brings a lit-

tle more hope for those who have

suffered from over-paying for their

bread: a group representing children,

workers and consumers is bringing a

legal class action against the guilty

bread producers for damages. The

class action is the first of its kind in

South Africa, and faces uncertainties

about how the process is supposed to

work. But it is building on what our

Constitution is trying to do: to put

some power back in the hands of or-

dinary people – who suffer when cor-

porate power is abused.

The National Consumer Forum is

part of the group bringing the case,

along with the Children’s Resource

Centre, Black Sash, Cosatu’s West-

ern Cape branch, and five individual

bread consumers.

“It is time that consumers claim

their right to be treated fairly and

ethically,” said NCF chairman Tha-

mi Bolani. “And there is no better

time to be launching this case, as the

new Consumer Protection Act will

be implemented in April and con-

sumers across the country will be

taking their place as key stakehold-

ers in our economy.”

See main article below.

ConsumerfairPutting consumer issues on the agenda Edition 6, 2010

A publication of the National Consumer Forum (NCF)

100 000 FREE COPIES CIRCULATED

Bread on the table this Christmas?

2 Consumerfair Sixth Edition 2010 Published by the National Consumer Forum

INFLATION

This is another joint national educational campaign by the Consumer Protection Fo-

rum (CPF) aimed at encouraging South Africans not to stop saving during the 2010

festive season. The Consumer Protection Forum (CPF) protects and promotes the

interests of consumers through co-ordinated strategies. At this time of the year as

CPF, we promote spending responsibly by consumers. The CPF consists of the 9 Pro-

vincial Consumer Affairs Office, the dti, and statutory regulators: Council for Medical

Schemes (CMS), National Credit Regulator (NCR), Financial Services Board (FSB),

National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), Independent Communications

Authority of South Africa (ICASA) and Competition Commission.

Majority of consumers change their spending pattern in December and indulge

themselves which leads to people spending money that they do not have. Due to the

fact that some consumers receive their bonuses/13th cheques in December, a lot of

stores will be using seductive marketing tactics to lure consumers to buy. As a result

they sign contract agreements which they have not properly read and end up spend-

ing beyond their means.

The CPF aims to remind consumers that they need to live within their means by

the following 10 Pointers to be A-OK financially this festive season:

Herewith, 10 tips to help you keep your

medical aid and reduce your medical expenses.

1. Always plan ahead, work out what you can afford before you spend – Draw up

a Budget

2. Always have a festive budget – putting down your income vs daily living expenses. This

will help you to be realistic on what you can spend on gifts, travel, accommodation, and

other entertainment over this period.

3. Always pay your creditors (store accounts, insurances and medical scheme) on time

during festive season.

4. Avoid the little purchases e.g. eating out, movies, daily take-ways, snacks, magazines,

etc. It can all add up to one big debt burden.

5. Avoid spending your 13th cheque/ bonus on your “wants” instead of your “needs” e.g

expensive clothes are “wants” and school uniforms are “needs”.

6. Always shop around for the best deals and prices before you make a purchase.

7. Always be careful of the “buy now and pay later” marketing strategy.

8. As you spend over the festive season, always remember that some bills such as elec-

tricity, water and telephones do not go on holiday over the festive season and will need

to be paid in the new year.

9. Avoid wasting money on inferior quality product because you will spend more money

for repairs. e.g cell phones

10. Always shop with January in mind.

Contact person for enquiries: Milly Viljoen (012)4310539/ m.viljoen@medicalschemes.com

Block E, Hadefield Office Park, 1267 Pretorius Street, Hatfield, Pretoria

Private Bag X34, Hatfield, 0028

Telephone 0861 123 267 / 012 431 0500

Website: www.medicalschemes.com

Don’t compromise, be money wise

Food price inflation has continued to

slow due to favourable weather con-

ditions, cheap imports and a stronger

Rand that has hampered the export

prices of fruit and vegetables.

This was according to the National

Agricultural Marketing Council’s Food

Price Monitor for the third quarter of

2010. The survey tracks the price of a bas-

ket of 65 food items in urban areas and 39

items in rural areas across the country.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI)

released by Statistics South Africa in

November 2010 showed annual food

and non-alcoholic beverages inflation

of one percent in October 2010, while

headline CPI was 3.4 percent.

Food and nonalcoholic beverages

inflation declined 0.5 percent from

1.5 percent in September 2010.

“The year-on-year percentage in-

crease in electricity and fuel prices re-

mained constant at 18.3 percent for Oc-

tober 2010. The annual increase of one

percent in the food and non-alcoholic

beverages index was largely driven by

the annual increases in sugar (4.6 per-

cent), meat (1.8 percent) and other food

(1.5 percent),” the NAMC report said.

Food category prices, which de-

creased between October 2009 and

October 2010 included vegetables (two

percent); fish (one percent) milk, eggs

and cheese (0,5 percent) and oils and

fats (two percent).

Food items in urban areas with

annual inflation higher than the Re-

serve Bank’s upper inflation target of

six percent included: Ceylon/black tea

62.5 g (8.53 percent); lamb per kg (10.26

percent); cabbage per kg (6.61 percent);

pumpkin per kg (14.36 percent), ap-

ples per kg (15.94 percent); cauliflow-

er per kg (18.37 percent) and carrots

per kg (34.77 percent).

Items in rural areas with inflation

higher than 6 percent were: samp 2.5 kg

(6.51 percent); margarine 500 g (8.83

percent); full cream long life milk 1 L

(8.14 percent); white sugar 1 kg (8.18 per-

cent); tagless tea bags 250 g (9.02 percent);

instant coffee 250 g (9.26 percent); butter

beans 420 g (10.07 percent) and tagless

tea bags 62.5 g (12.26 percent).

The cost of the food basket ex-

pressed as a share of the average

monthly income of the poorest 30 per-

cent of the population decreased slight-

ly year on year from 33.2 percent to

32.4 percent in October 2010.

The cost of the basket as a share

of the average monthly income of the

wealthiest 30 percent remained con-

stant at 2.6 percent.

Wheat product prices dropped on

average 3,39 percent in urban areas,

while maize products dropped 10.10

percent annually.

“In rural areas, wheat products

experienced average price decreases of

2.15 percent while maize product pric-

es decreased on average 10.15 percent.

Prices of sunflower products increased

on average 0.16 percent in urban areas

and decreased 3.77 percent in rural ar-

eas,” the NAMC said.

“Prices of fresh vegetables in urban

areas increased 4.77 percent, which is

much lower than the 17.63 percent in-

crease reported in the previous FPM

report. The average price of fresh fruit

showed a year-on-year decrease of 0.96

percent in urban areas.”

Average dairy product prices de-

creased 3.25 percent in urban areas,

while the average price in rural ar-

eas increased 3.25 percent. However,

the milk producer price decreased

11.11 percent to R 2.80 a litre.

The United Nations Food and Agri-

cultural Organization (FAO) publishes

the Food Price Index, consisting of com-

modity group price indices – meat, dairy,

cereals, oils and sugar, on a monthly

basis. The overall food price index in-

creased 25.74 percent for the period.

“According to the food price in-

dex October 2010 food prices were at

the same level as food prices in Au-

gust 2008. The previous FPM of Au-

gust 2010 reported that world food

prices only showed a small increase

from June 2010 to July 2010 but since

July 2010 food prices started to rise sig-

nificantly,” the NAMC said.

“The appreciation of the exchange

rate has softened the rise in world com-

modity prices, especially of cereals and

oil seeds. World prices are expected to

remain strong due to the fact that in

most instances stock levels are project-

ed to remain tight, while demand will

remain strong,” NAMC said.

“Domestically, the current summer

crop seems slightly lower than estimat-

ed, but the maize carry-out stock will

remain high, which will dampen prices.

Sunflower and soybean prices remain

high and it is anticipated these levels

will be carried into the next season as

world demand remains very strong.

The major swing factor for the outlook

period is rainfall, “the NAMC said.

In addition to the buffer of the

stronger Rand against international

price hikes, good news for consumers

was that local producers were unlikely

to increase the prices of chicken, pork

meat, dairy and potatoes because cheap

imports had created stiff competition.

Leading exporters such as the fruit

industry were not achieving prices ex-

pected due to the stronger Rand. How-

ever, the weather had also played a role

in price moves, such as less frost and

rain damage to the potato crop than ex-

pected, resulting in a strong and grow-

ing supply of potatoes.

However, a word of caution: “The

food market will enter the festive sea-

son during the period of outlook, where

food prices, especially meat prices tend

to be higher,” NAMC said.

International food prices rose 25,74 percent

over the past year according to UN’s Food and

Agricultural Organisation but South African

consumers have to some extend been buff-

ered against the hikes due to a stronger rand

and high domestic stocks.

STRONG RAND dampens food prices

RESPONSIBLE SHOPPING (Returns and Refunds)

It is the festive season again, most traders will be using tempting marketing

tactics to lure consumers to buy goods and some consumers might

sign contract agreements which they have not properly read and end up

spending beyond their means. Unfortunately, sometimes, the goods do not

meet expectations or they may be faulty. It is vital that you understand your

rights and responsibilities should you wish to return goods.

Always ensure that when you buy goods, they are fit for their intended

purpose, which means the goods should be able to function according

to expectation and as explained by the salesperson during the time of

purchase. For example, if the colour or size of an item is stated on the

packaging and was explained as such by the salesperson, then the goods

inside must be of that colour or size.

If you bought the goods for a specific purpose and made that purpose

known to the salesperson or the seller during purchase, then the goods

must be suitable for that purpose. For example, if a shop says a particular

paint is suitable for outdoor use, then it should be.

Also note that suppliers are not obliged by law to accept

returns and refundmonies where the consumer returns the

goods because:

they have changed their minds; ¡

have cancelled agreement/contract long after the term ¡

provided for cancellation has expired (cooling off period);

there is a public regulation prohibiting the return of such goods ¡

i.e. underwear or oral medication;

goods are damaged due to negligence by consumer; or ¡

they found goods cheaper elsewhere. ¡

Suppliers can honour these returns and refunds out of goodwill/ courtesy.

The onus lies on the consumer to understand the store’s policy about the

returns and refunds.

Set out below are some general

guidelines to assist you during this festive season:

Read the trader’s policy and take note ¡

whether the trader offers refunds, exchanges

or credit notes on unsuitable goods.

Check if goods you buy have warrantees/guarantees. ¡

Do not remove labels if you think goods might ¡

be unsuitable and may have to be returned and

ensure that you keep them safe and secure.

Keep the receipt – you may not be able to return ¡

default goods or exchange without it.

Know your rights. If you have bought faulty goods you ¡

can ask for a refund or a repair or a replacement.

Remember traders DO NOT have to give refunds on ¡

unsuitable goods if you simply change your mind about

purchase, however, they may offer an exchange or credit

note (voucher), depending on their store policy.

If the seller refuses to provide redress, you may send a letter ¡

of complaint to the store manager or company head office.

Be patient as you may need to send follow-up letters. If ¡

this fails, do not give up; contact your Provincial Consumer

office or the Office of theConsumer Protection.

Can businesses display the

No Returns and No Refunds signs?

Signs that simply state “NO RETURNS AND NO REFUNDS” are misleading

and are against the spirit of the new Consumer Protection Act, In terms of the

CPA consumers are entitled to a refund if;

the goods have a fault consumers could not ¡

have known about during purchase;

goods do not do the job you were led to believe they would; or ¡

do not match the sample you were shown. ¡

Consumers are encouraged to know their rights and to question such signs.

Strict liability

Strict liability is the legal responsibility for damages caused by goods e.g.

injuries caused by a defective or dangerous products or negligence by the

seller. According to the Act the producer, importer, distributor and/or retailer of

any goods is liable for any harm, caused wholly or partly as a consequence of:

supplying any unsafe goods; ¡

a product failure, defects or hazard in any goods; and ¡

inadequate instructions or warnings provided to the consumer ¡

pertaining to any hazards arising from or associated with the

use of any goods, irrespective of whether the harm resulted from

any negligence on part of the producer, importer, distributor, or

retailer, as the case may be.

NEWSFLASH:

WHERE TO COMPLAIN:Should you require additional information or clarification, please contact the;

Consumer Help Line, via: the dti Customer Contact Centre: 0861 843 384

the dti Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) : (012) 394 1436 / 1558 /1076

the dti Postal Address:

Education and Compliance Division, Private Bag X84, Pretoria, 0001

the dti E-mail Address: Contactus@thedti.gov.za

4 Consumerfair Sixth Edition 2010 Published by the National Consumer Forum

Consumer Fair has launched an infor-

mal bread price survey to track bread

prices after the price fixing scandal, in-

volving major bread producers, which

revealed that we have been paying too

much for bread. A major problem is

that we don’t know how much we have

been overpaying.

And with no strong consumer

movement in the country – it’s not a sur-

prise this behaviour went unchecked

for so long. But enough is enough. It’s

time consumers raised their voices and

started holding companies accountable

for their anti-competitive, cartel behav-

iour by keeping a close check on prices.

And it’s not only in bread prices

that consumers have been ripped off

– the price fixing has also extended to

milling practices with the Competi-

tion Commission fining Pioneer Foods

almost R1 billion in November for its

anti-competitive behaviour in its wheat

and maize milling, baking, eggs and

poultry markets.

And now, as part of its settlement

with the commission Pioneer Foods

has been forced to bring down the price

of its bread to reduce its gross margin

by a huge R160 million (see sidebar for

more details).

In this, we decided to monitor the

first part of our survey – we recorded

prices of all the major bread brands

available in supermarkets in Durban.

In this survey we tracked the price

of bread made by Pioneer, Premier, Ti-

ger Brands, Best Bread (a small Kwa-

Zulu-Natal based bread maker) and

the in store baked 600g loaves during

November. The purpose of the exercise

was not to find out who sells the cheap-

est bread but to provide an overview of

a fragment of the market.

Nevertheless, it was interesting to

find that it was still possible to buy a

700g loaf for less than R5, namely, The

Best brown loaf at Shoprite Checkers

for R4,49. The most expensive brown

loaf was Albany at Spar for R7,99. The

price difference between white bread,

which has historically been more ex-

pensive than brown bread, has nar-

rowed in recent years.

According to a report by the Na-

tional Agricultural Marketing Coun-

cil there is no logical reason for this

because White Bread carries 14% VAT

so brown bread should be cheaper as

input costs are the same. This is a fac-

tor that also needs to be monitored.

The cheapest white bread (This

difference is also worth tracking) loaf

was The Best at Shoprite Checkers for

R5,75 while the most expensive loaf,

Albany, at Spar, was R8,99. So, there

was quite a variation in prices be-

tween brands but the price difference

for the same brands across stores was

often only marginal (see table below).

Our next two editions will feature

similar surveys in other major urban

centres, Cape Town and Johannes-

burg.

Keeping an accurate record of

prices will enable the tracking of in-

creases using primary data over the

coming months and years so that any

claims of “lower prices” made by pro-

ducers can be evidenced.

TimelineIn February 2010 the Competition

Commission fined Pioneer Foods

R196 million for its participation in

the price fixing cartel.

*In November 2010 Pioneer Foods

reached a settlement with the Com-

petition Commission totaling R660

million. In terms of the agreement

Pioneer committed to:

pay R250 million as an administra-

tive penalty to the National Revenue

Fund;

pay R250 million to create an Agro-

processing Competitiveness Fund

to be administered by the Industrial

Development Corporation (IDC).

The aim of this fund is to promote

competitiveness, employment and

growth in food value chains. The

Fund will provide finance on fa-

vourable terms to small and me-

dium enterprises. The Competition

Commission, the Department of

Economic Development and Nation-

al Treasury later agreed the R250

million be paid to the National Rev-

enue Fund and that a proposal for

the Agro-processing competitive-

ness fund will have be approved by

cabinet.

adjusting its pricing of flour and

bread (600g and 700g standard

white and brown loaves) over a de-

fined period to reduce its gross mar-

gin by R160 million when compared

to the similar period in 2009/10 by

increasing its capital expenditure by

R150 million; cooperating with the

Competition Commission in inves-

tigations of cases that are the sub-

ject of the settlement; and stopping

anti-competitive conduct and imple-

menting a competition compliance

programme.

* In 2007 the Competition Commission

fined Tiger Brands R98.8 million. Pre-

mier Foods was granted leniency for

its co-operation in the investigation of

the cartel

Bread makers fined but will bread prices drop?

It’s time to set the benchmark

BREAD SURVEY

Bread Brand Checkers Hyper Spar Pick n Pay Checkers

Premier Foods

BB Brown 700g 6,49 6,49 6,39 6,49

BB White 700g 7,49 7,59 6,69 7,49

BB Chrushed Wheat 700g n/a n/a 6,79 N/A

Tiger Brands

Albany Brown 700g 6,49 (special) 7,99 7,39 7,59

Albany White 700g 8,79 8,99 8,59 8,79

Albany Wholewheat 700g 8,99 8,49 8,59 8,99

Premier Foods

Blue Ribbon Brown 700g 6,49 N/A 6,39 6,49

Blue Ribbon White 700g 7,49 N/A 7,29 7,49

Pioneer Foods

Sasko Toastie Brown 700g 6,19 N/A 5,49 6,19

Sasko Toastie White 700g 6,59 N/A 6,49 6,29

Sasko Toastie Wholewheat Low GI 800g 7,59 N/A 6,59 6,19

The Best Bread

The Best Brown 700g 5,55 N/A N/A 4,49

The Best White 700g 5,99 N/A N/A 5,75

The Best Wholewheat 700g 5,69 N/A N/A 5,69

Freshline Spar Brown Toaster 700g N/A 6,49 N/A N/A

Freshline Spar White Toaster 700g N/A 7,49 N/A N/A

Freshline Spar Wholewheat Toaster 700g N/A 8,49 N/A N/A

Store Baked Brown 600g 3,99 5,80 3,89 3,99

Store Baked White 600g 4,99 6,45 4,99 4,99

Store Baked Wholewheat 600g 5,49 5,80 N/A 5,49

Putting consumer issues on the agenda 5

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DEBT HEALTH

Depression hits the debt stressedMore than eight million South Africans

are in serious financial trouble and be-

hind with their repayments.

And the number of calls to the

South African Depression and Anxiety

Group (SADAG), which operations a na-

tional suicide crisis line has increased

so much that the organisation has had

to take on more counsellors to help with

their telephone support service.

Counsellors used to receive 150 –

200 calls a day, now they get between

300 – 400.

“A lot of people are worried, par-

ticularly at this time of the year. They

can’t afford extravagant holidays or

big lunches like they used to and have

had to scale down. They wonder how

they are going to get through the New

Year… some think they can’t even af-

ford to stay alive,” said spokesman,

Cassey Chambers.

With the recession increasing the

financial pressure “people feel very

stressed, completely overwhelmed and

depressed and can’t find a solution,”

she said.

Some who have already made up

their minds about the course of action

to take, are driven to suicide.

But most are more than willing to

take the practical and emotional help

that is offered.

“We get mothers ringing in say-

ing their sons have lost their jobs and

are suicidal and how can they help

them,” she said.

There are 18,32 million credit-

active consumers in the country and

9,73 m who are said to be in good

standing, according to the National

Credit Regulator, which regulates and

monitors registered credit bureaus.

“The number of consumers with

impaired records continued to in-

crease reaching 8,59 million… This

indicated a deterioration in the credit

records of 212 000 consumers quar-

ter-on-quarter and 739 000 year-on-

year,” said the NCR chief executive,

Gabriel Davel.

Debt counselling services have

picked up increased traffic on their

websites in the small hours of the

morning.

“People can’t sleep. They are

searching for solutions,” said Andre

Snyman, chief executive of Consumer

Assist.

It is just as important to seek emotional

and psychological support for debt

problems as it is to get practical help,

say the experts.

For people who are drowning in

debt are very distressed and suffer from

serious depression. And many feel a

failure and lose all self-esteem.

Many hide their financial problems

from their wives and families and feel

alone, according to Elsabe Engelbre-

cht, a social worker trained in financial

wellness with Procare, who is called in

to help the clients of debt counselling

company, Consumer Assist.

Andre Snyman, the chief executive

of Consumer Assist, said that the big-

gest challenge was to help people to un-

derstand their emotions.

As a result, he has ensured that

there is round-the-clock access to finan-

cial wellness experts for clients. And a

team of psychologists can be called in if

necessary (the cost of their services can

be claimed back from medical aid).

“It is so important to have help

available for people to talk to,” he said.

While Synman’s team of financial

consultants help the indebted to work

out weekly, monthly and yearly budg-

ets and also provide financial literacy

training to put discipline back into

their lives, Engelbrecht focuses on their

spending behaviour.

“We have got to find out why people

got into trouble in the first place and to

prevent it happening again,” she said.

“If we don’t intervene in the emotion-

al side, their behaviour will not change

and they will be back in debt again.”

Although some people have legiti-

mate reasons-such as medical ones-

for being in debt, others have alcohol,

marital or family issues that land

them in trouble.

“Some people have no parenting

skills and feel guilty about it, then to

make up for it, they give their children

money for clothes and cellphones and

run up all sorts of debts.”

Others turn to gambling for a

quick fix, but months later they are

back in debt again.

“They are depressed and angry

and there is a high risk of suicide.

They are angry with their wives

and children for spending so much

money, angry with their companies

for not paying them enough in the

first place.

“People can buy a dining room

suite for R100 a month, so then go and

buy a lot of other things for R100 with-

out thinking about all the interest they

have to pay. It only hits them when the

repayment process starts.”

Keeping up with the Joneses often

affects the middle income earners, but

they too can lose everything as their

spending spree spirals out of control.

And the indebtedness is getting worse.

“In the 15 years I have been working

in this field, there has been a tremen-

dous increase in our financial clients,”

said Engelbrecht.

People reason that they have to

work so hard for their money that they

deserve to buy a few luxuries.

Her advice is: do not leave it to the

last minute to get help.

“Think of those people who have

been in a bad marriage for 10 years, but

only seek help when they get the di-

vorce papers. By then it is too late.”

Those who have hidden their dire

financial situation from their families,

she advises to tell their wives, children

and friends and get a support system.

“We have to change certain think-

ing patterns. Life is not just about

money. There are other valuable

things,” she said.

Englebrecht, and other financial

wellness experts, also go into the work-

place to give talks.

“A lot of companies now run serv-

ices to make their employees aware of

the issues that can impact on wellness

in the workplace. Stress and trauma can

impact on productivity.”

Info

SADAG help line: 0800-21223 and

0800-567567 (from 8am-8pm).

National Credit Regulator, who can

provide details of registered debt

counsellors, www.ncr.org.za or via

the call centre 0860 627 627

Medical help for financial crisis

6 Consumerfair Sixth Edition 2010 Published by the National Consumer Forum

AIRLINES

Who is SA’s cheapest airline?And how to get their best fares...By Don Borroughs

Gone are the days when booking a

domestic flight was as simple as phon-

ing a travel agent, who would choose

from among a handful of South African

Airways flights. Today, we’re all travel

agents, overloaded with options. In the

last 12 months, more than one million

South Africans took a flight, according

to the All Media and Products Survey,

and most leisure travelers requiring a

simple flight between major cities now

take the DIY route, and cruise the web.

But where to start? South Af-

rica hosts seven airline websites and

many more operated by travel agents.

We logged on to all of them in the

quest to name the most affordable

airline in South Africa. Kulula was

the clear winner, with an average fare

of R1260, more than R60 cheaper than

the runner-up, 1Time. But that doesn’t

mean that you should begin and end

your search at kulula.com. For more

than half of our tests, Kulula was not

the best bargain, and once it was the

priciest of the lot.

How we testedTo test the airlines’ websites and prices,

we took 20 hypothetical itineraries in-

volving South Africa’s major cities over

a period of five months. Some simu-

lated weekend getaways or family holi-

days to the coast. Others mimicked the

schedules of business road warriors on

one-day power trips and Monday-to-

Friday commutes. For a few of these, we

checked business-class fares, as well.

Each airline won best-fare for at least

one of these itineraries. Even British Air-

ways and SAA once or twice surprised

us by stealing the title from the no-frills

upstarts. “Low cost carriers aren’t neces-

sarily the cheapest,” warns Rian Born-

man, managing director of FlightSite.

Different prices for same flight“Yield management” is the science that

explains why your neighbour in seat

26b has paid R3 544 when your ticket

for seat 26c cost a mere R899. Some of

the discount airlines charge very little

for the first seats they sell on each flight

and ratchet up their prices rapidly from

there. For this reason, both British Air

and SAA beat the “discount” competi-

tion for our test of fares to Cape Town

over the Christmas holiday.

Checking all of the websites is the

only certain way to get the deal of the

moment, but this could take an nearly

an hour of your busy day. There are,

however, strategies that smooth the

tarmac for you to find the best avail-

able fare for your trip.

Getting the best deal onlineStart with one of the travel compari-

son sites, flightsite.co.za or travelstart.

Kulula is SA’s cheapest airline, but don’t begin your search at kulula.com

KululaAmong the the low-cost carriers, Ku-

lula offers the largest selection of

flights by far. Smaller airports served

include George, Nelspruit and Lanseria,

north of Johannesburg. In our test, Ku-

lula usually beat the competition when

booking at least 2 months in advance,

but it was a few hundred rand more ex-

pensive than other airlines for flights in

the next couple of weeks. Kulula and

British Airways’ South African fran-

chise are both owned by Comair. The

best kept secret at Kulula is that if your

flight number has four digits instead of

three after the MN code, you will be fly-

ing in a British Airways plane with Brit-

ish Airways service. Savvy travelers

can book BA for less this way, espe-

cially at peak-demand flight times. But

check the BA website; sometimes a BA

ticket is cheaper.

1TimeThe only discounter with direct flights be-

tween East London and Johannesburg or

Cape Town, 1Time strengthens its Cape

presence with flights to PE and George.

On the international front, the discounter

has spread its wings to Maputo, Living-

stone and Zanzibar. In our test, 1Time

fared best with Cape routes and worst on

the Johannesburg/Durban run. We like

the way 1Time’s website automatically

but unobtrusively shows the best airfares

for alternative dates.

MangoMango is the smallest of South Africa’s

airlines, and its limited flight schedule

restricts fliers with tight diaries. For Free

Staters, however, it is the only low-cost

carrier that flies into Bloemfontein, en

route to Cape Town or Johannesburg.

The rest of us can benefit as well, since

the three-hour, one-stop flights between

Johannesburg and Cape Town, are

sometimes the cheapest airfare between

the Mother City and iGoli. (Which? used

only non-stop flights for comparison in its

test.) We are not impressed with the way

Mango’s website automatically tries to

tick you into paying R35 for Mango Travel

Insurance and R2,50 for SMS Confirma-

tion until you untick these extra charges.

British AirwaysWith the highest average fare of the air-

lines in our test, BA is clearly not posi-

tioning itself for the bargain hunters.

“It’s an upgraded experience,” explains

Heidi Brauer, marketing director for Co-

mair, BA’s local parent. She brags about

the complimentary wines selected by

Michael Fridjhon for both business and

economy class, as well as valet parking

and lounges for frequent fliers. Still, the

airline did come in with the lowest fare

for our test of a high-season flight for

Christmas in Cape Town and consist-

ently had lower business-class fares than

SAA—especially if booked on FlightSite.

(The low-cost carriers do not have busi-

ness-class seats.)

SAAIf you need to fly from Upington to

Umtata, start and end your search at

flysaa.com. South African Airways and

its sister airlines, SA Express and Air-

link, fly about as many passengers to

more locations than the other four air-

lines combined. SAA’s prices are also all

over the map. In our test it was usually

at one extreme or another, the most ex-

pensive for six flights and the cheapest

for three. Relative to the other airlines,

SAA tends to be least affordable for ad-

vance ticketing and more reasonable at

short notice. There is no reason to visit

the websites of SA Express and Airlink,

as all of their flights automatically show

up in searches on flysaa.com.

With tolls on the N3 ever rising, and airfares

to Durban now well under R1 000—with

specials below R600, might it actually be

cheaper to fly? We ran the numbers for the

Durban/Johannesburg route to come to a

definitive answer: It all depends.

In the total cost of driving, tolls ac-

tually contribute a relatively small sum,

currently R319 for a round-trip on the N3.

Petrol burns a bigger hole in your wallet,

about R940 if your vehicle uses 10 litres

per 100 kilometres. The 1 100 km trip

also takes your car that much closer to

its next service, adding a couple hundred

rand more to your expenses. And the big-

gest cost may be the wear and tear on

your vehicle, since all that driving uses up

about a half percent of its lifespan. In to-

tal, a reasonable estimate is that driving

will cost close to 2 500 rand.

The airfare, using our test average of

R832 for the route, might also be a fraction

of your total flying costs, however. Hiring a

Toyota Corolla at your destination for four

days will set you back more than R1 500

and airport parking costs R240 or so, for a

total almost identical to the cost of driving.

The bottom line: If you’re traveling

alone and someone will collect you from

the airport, a typical airfare is definitely

cheaper than driving the N3. Even with a

short-term car hire, flying compares favo-

rably. Each additional passenger causes

the total airfare to multiply, however, while

making almost no impact on driving costs.

With two passengers, flying only makes

financial sense with a cheap airfare and a

one-day car hire at most. Transporting the

whole family? Check your oil, inflate your

tyres and grab the road atlas.

Driving vs flying

Putting consumer issues on the agenda 7

AIRLINES

ECONOMY CLASS, RETURN TICKETS TO MAIN DOMESTIC DESTINATIONS WHAT ABOUT THE PRICE COMPARISON WEBSITES?

Number of times this airline was cheapest 7 4 3 4 1 a 3 b 0

JOHANNESBURG - CAPE TOWN - JOHANNESBURG

Full week, in advance R1 278 R1 258 R1 440 R1 620 R1 610 R1 407 R149 1Time R1 356 R98 1Time

Early holiday week R1 588 R1 638 R1 610 R1 332 R1 610 R1 459 R127 Mango R1 430 R98 Mango

Peak (Christmas) period R1 938 R1 938 R1 610 R1 638 R1 610 R1 685 R75 SAA R1 708 R98 BA

CAPE TOWN - JOHANNESBURG - CAPE TOWN

Long weekend R1 278 R1 278 R1 800 R1 378 R1 610 R1 427 R149 1Time R1 376 R98 Kulula/1Time

Long weekend, short notice R1 438 R1 478 R1 030 R1 439 R1 929 R1 588 R558 Mango R1 279 R249 Mango

Quick weekend, short notice R1 688 R2 278 R1 610 R1 344 R2 422 R1 677 R333 SAA R1 706 R362 SAA

Long trip, booked in advance R1 408 R1 458 R1 780 R1 721 R1 602 R1 557 R149 Kulula R1 506 R98 Kulula

JOHANNESBURG - DURBAN - JOHANNESBURG

Full week, booked in advance R838 R874 R860 R1 273 R994 R987 R149 Kulula R936 R98 Kulula

Quick weekend, short notice R1 238 R1 180 R840 n/a R1 567 R993 R153 SAA R942 R102 SAA

Midweek, booked in advance R838 R936 R840 R973 R986 R987 R149 Kulula R936 R98 Kulula

Peak (Christmas) period R938 R1 038 R1 480 R923 R986 R1 072 R149 Mango R1 021 R98 Mango

DURBAN - JOHANNESBURG - DURBAN

Midweek, booked in advance R838 R1 061 R1 300 R1 211 R986 R987 R149 Kulula R936 R98 Kulula

Long weekend R733 R925 R840 R1 060 R986 R882 R149 Kulula R831 R98 Kulula

CAPE TOWN - DURBAN - CAPE TOWN

Full week, booked in advance R1 178 R1 438 R2 080 R1 501 R1 404 R1 327 R149 Kulula R1 276 R98 Kulula

1/2 week, in advance n/a R850 R2 083 R1 378 R1 404 R999 R149 1time R948 R98 1Time

DURBAN - CAPE TOWN - DURBAN

Quick weekend R1 668 R1 586 R2 080 R1 367 R2 111 R1 516 R149 Mango R1 493 R126 Mango

JOHANNESBURG - PORT ELIZABETH - JOHANNESBURG

Full week R1 278 R1 268 R1 300 n/a R1 404 R1 427 R159 Kulula R1 366 R98 1Time

BUSINESS CLASS

Johannesburg - Cape Town - Johannesburg n/a n/a 6460 n/a R6 112 R5 600 -R512 BA n/a c n/a c n/a c

Johannesburg - Durban - Johannesburg n/a n/a 4320 n/a R4 092 R3 638 -R454 SAA n/a c n/a c n/a c

Cape Town - Durban - Cape Town n/a n/a N/A n/a R6 112 R5 600 -R512 BA n/a c n/a c n/a c

Found best deal: 17/20 times (85%) Found best deal: 15/17 times (88%)

British Airw

ays

Mango

SAA

1Tim

e

Kulula

Travelstart

Flightside

Price premiem

(- is cheaper)

Price premiem

(- is cheaper)

Compared

to who?

Compared

to who?

TABLE NOTES Lowest prices for each route picked out in red a Also cheapest for three business class flights b Flightsite was only cheaper overall when booking a business class flight c No business class option available

co.za. These websites regularly found

the best airfares in our test, with just

two or three exceptions. To save time,

you can complete your reservation

on either of those sites, but at a cost.

FlightSite adds a R149 “traveller sup-

port fee” for each domestic booking

after you choose your flight. Travel-

start wraps a R98 fee directly into the

airfares, without ever revealing any

details of this charge.

The frugal two-step is to first

track down the airfare you want on

FlightSite or TravelStart and then

book on the home website of the ap-

propriate airline. If you only have

the time to deal with one website

for domestic reservations, however,

TravelStart offered the lowest aver-

age economy-class fare of any of the

websites we tested.

Each of the comparison sites has

its plusses and minuses. If you can

only fly at certain times of the day,

TravelStart allows you to limit the

range of times with almost infinite

flexibility. The downside is that once

you start restricting departure times,

you lose the opportunity to see more

than one round-trip option per air-

line. Shifting your preferred time

range around can help you find other

flights. One serious flaw in the web-

site is that it describes flights as non-

stops even when they do have stops.

If you see a flight between Cape Town

and Johannesburg or between Dur-

ban and Cape Town that takes three

hours, it has a stop—in Bloemfontein

or PE—regardless of what Travel-

Start’s website tells you.

Flying business?For business-class travelers, flightsite.

co.za might be the only address you

need to visit. The website consistently

beat the business-class airfares we

found from SAA and British Airways,

by hundreds of rands. Bornman ex-

plains that his company has negotiated

deals with “the bigger airlines.” Nei-

ther website is suitable for last-minute

reservations, however. Flights must

take place at least 48 hours from the

time of bookings.

Get your ear to the groundThe very best economy fares never

appear on the comparison sites; they

come and go quickly during sales held

a few times a year, exclusively on the

websites of the low-cost carriers. Ku-

lula’s recent one-day sales have sold

Johannesburg-Cape Town round trips

for less than R798 including taxes, sig-

nificantly less than the ordinary air-

fares found by Which? in our test.

To receive advance notice of these

events, you must register on each air-

line’s website to be put on their email-

ing list. Such sales are only for those

with time to spare and a good inter-

net connection, however. Overloaded

computer servers mean that it may

take several tries to actually purchase

a ticket. Your best hope is to set your

alarm clock to wake you up early and

get online ahead of the crowds.

Putting consumer issues on the agenda 9

Shop around for school

uniform valueSchool fees and uniforms are a cost-

ly expense for South African par-

ents and with 12 million children in

schools they provide a captive market

for clothing retailers.

A snap survey of school uniform

prices and quality recently revealed

that shopping around can generate

some savings and this can be done

in one morning trawling through a

major shopping centre. But you still

need to carefully compare not only

prices but also labels to ensure you’re

getting value for money.

And if buying local products is

important to you then you will want

to check labels to ensure your hard

earned cash is supporting local jobs.

Market sizeA quick calculation using the figures

gleaned from the price of basic school

uniform items available in stores –

Jet, Pep, Woolworths, Ackermans

and Edgars – in November revealed

that collectively it could cost parents

somewhere between R2,2 billion and

R7,3 billion to provide the most basic

school uniform for their children.

This was calculated using the cheap-

est set of basic uniform items avail-

able at Pep for R189 and the most ex-

pensive at Woolworths at R611.

However, according to formal

market share data submitted to the

Retail Liaison Committee the school

wear market is valued more con-

servatively at between R1 billion to

R1,5 billion, Edcon discount division

marketing executive Garth Napier

said.

Price scalesWe found that prices varied accord-

ing to quality and size with the better

quality items, such as leather school

shoes (Toughees and others with no

identifiable brand name but with a

leather label) costing more and big-

ger sizes being on the higher price

end. And remember, if a shoe brand

does have a “genuine leather” mark it

is definitely not leather.

The stores that stocked the most

school uniform items that were la-

beled as either “made in South Af-

rica” or “made in South Africa from

imported fabric” were Pep and the

Edcon owned stores, Jet and Edgars.

Woolworths had several items

that were labeled as made in Bang-

ladesh, India and Lesotho, while

its boy’s and girl’s leather teardrop

shoes were labeled “Born free in SA”,

a mark that does not exactly convince

discerning buyers of the country of

origin. Unfortunately, Woolworths

had not responded to questions at the

time of going to print.

If you want to dress your children in a 100 percent cotton school uniform, or even

just the socks and short sleeve white collar shirt for the scorching summer months,

you will struggle to find items to meet this specification.

Cotton is a cool natural fabric that allows for air circulation, keeping you cool in

hot weather. Most of the white socks did not indicate the fabric, while boys’ socks

were nylon rich and most cotton shirts were made of a blend of polyester and cot-

ton as follows:

Pep Stores: white shirts 67 % polyester, 33% cotton, socks, 100% nylon

Ackermans: white shirts 67% polyesters, 33% cotton

Jet: white shirts 65% Polyester, 35 % cotton

Edgars: 65% Polyester, 35% cotton

Woolworths: 65% Polyester, 33% cotton, white socks 60% cotton, 40% nylon

The purpose of the survey was not to

find the cheapest uniform but rather to

provide an overall indication of price

ranges, quality and country of origin of

these products.

We looked for a basic black or grey

skirt, grey shorts and trousers, boxer

shorts, a short sleeved shirt, white socks

for girls, black socks for boys and school

shoes. We did not price a plain white PE

T-shirt because most schools print their

own. We asked stores to provide us with

their expected price increases for new

stock in January 2011.

What we looked for

School uniform prices won’t rise in January 2011 – retailersPEP’s merchandise director, Sean Car-

dinaal said the company’s primary

concern was to its six million consum-

ers, most of who live below the bread

line, which was why some clothing

items were sourced abroad to keep

prices down.

“While these out number those em-

ployed in the clothing and textile indus-

try in South Africa, PEP does actually

employ 1700 people in its Parow-based

Pep Clothing (PEPclo) factory.”

PEPclo predominantly produces

schoolwear items.

“So, while we will source what we

can from South Africa, we still need to

source some merchandise from over-

seas markets,” Cardinaal said.

He said if the company sourced

only locally, prices could be “sub-

stantially” higher than if items were

imported. He said the company was

already passing on the benefit of the

stronger rand to its customers.

The good news was that where pos-

sible Pep would hold it’s basic uniform

prices into January, however, he de-

clined to elaborate.

“Price information is sensitive and

therefore it is not possible for us to dis-

close all our pricing prior to the Back to

School Season because our competitors

could then adjust their pricing accord-

ingly,” he said.

PEPs profit margins on schoolwear

were “at least 20% lower” than for other

products, Cardinaal said.

Garth Napier, marketing execu-

tive for the Discount Division at Edcon,

which owns Edgars and Jet Stores said

there would be no increase in prices on

leather boy’s school shoes, white short

sleeve school shirts, teardrop leather

shoes, white ankle socks and black box-

er shorts. The price of grey boy’s trou-

sers is set to drop two to three percent.

Asked what the company’s policy

was on imported clothing Napier said:

“We ensure that the labels are correct

and a large proportion of our school-

wear is sourced in South Africa. Ed-

con makes an effort to source our gar-

ments at the best possible price for our

consumers.”

“The bulk of our schoolwear is

manufactured in South Africa. How-

ever, prices on garments imported

were confirmed and finalised before

the Rand strengthened so Jet did not

benefit from rand strength in the latter

part of 2010,” Napier said.

“This is because we place orders

for schoolwear up to 9 months in ad-

vance of the Back to School season,”

he said.

Data on profit margins was una-

vailable, Napier said, because these

were reported on a quarterly basis per

division rather than by seasonal trade

or clothing range.

BACK TO SCHOOL

www.ncr.org.za 0860 627 627

Has debt got you stressed?

1) When you get your salary do you:

a) Prioritise your home loan and pay your debts?

b) Not have enough money left after you have paid your debt?

c) Draw a budget to determine your monthly !nancial commitments?

d) Save 10-15% of your monthly salary?

Answer: If you chose A, C & D, you’re on the right track. When money available after payment of essential expenses is not enough to pay all other debts, you might be over-indebted. It is wise that you draw up a budget and stick to it.

2) Have you checked your credit report recently?

a) No, I got a loan so everything must be ok.

b) No, I don’t know my credit status.

c) Yes, I just received mine free of charge.

d) I don’t see how this could a#ect me.

Answer: If you answered C, you’re heading in the right direction. You are entitled to one free credit report per year. It is recommended that you regularly check your credit report. By doing this ‘credit health’ check each year on your credit status you remain fully informed as to what is being re$ected on your credit report. (en there are no surprises, embarrassments or disappointments when you apply for credit. Should you need more than the one free copy that is permitted each year, additional requests are available at a fee that cannot exceed R20 excluding VAT. Note: If you want to access your credit report, you can contact the various credit bureaux in South Africa and receive one free credit report each year. (ese include TransUnion (0861 482 482), Experian S.A. (0861 105 665), XDS (011 645 9100) and Compuscan (0861 514 1312).

ARE YOU

USING CREDIT

WISELY?

How do you measure up when it comes to making the right decisions about credit? Answer the following few questions and "nd out how well prepared you are for "nancial

"tness

3) Borrowing Wisely means:

a) Taking out a loan over the longest period possible with a balloon payment.

b) Buying a more expensive item because you can get the credit.

c) Being responsible and ensuring that debt repayments remain manageable in your budget.

d) Taking out a no-deposit loan and paying your !rst installment in a few months because this is what is o#ered.

Answer: If you chose A, B or D you might be in danger of using credit for the wrong reasons. Good debt is debt you can a#ord. Bad debt is debt taken out to repay debt and repayments you cannot afford. The key is to be responsible when you take on debt.

4) Are you managing your monthly debt

repayments?

a) No, I am always left with little money and cannot pay all my debts.

b) Yes, I always pay my debts on time and have enough for my other !nancial commitments.

c) No, I constantly borrow money to pay for debts that my salary cannot cover.

d) No, I need help!

Answer: Unless you answered B, it is advisable to contact your credit provider !rst to negotiate repayments before consulting a debt counsellor. If you are not coping with your monthly debt repayments, please call this number for assistance 086 111 6362. (ey will ask you a few questions and provide you with advice. You might be referred to a debt counsellor.

Credit has become part of modern life, but just where do you draw the line?

FINANCIAL FITNESS

5) Have you heard of debt counselling?

a) No, what is it?

b) Yes, but I have taken out a loan to pay my debts.

c) I am not over-indebted and don’t need debt counselling.

d) Yes I have, but how do I get in touch with a debt counsellor?

Answer: Unless you answered C, you may need help. (e National Credit Act (NCA) gives consumers the right to apply for debt counselling and to be protected when this service is used. Debt counsellors are professionals who specialise in helping consumers who are over-indebted. They will negotiate with your credit providers, on your behalf, to find realistic payment solutions that you can a#ord and ensure that the correct agreements are in place. If you’re interested in contacting a debt counsellor in your area, contact the NCR on 0860 627 627.

Remember to talk to your credit provider before considering contacting debt counsellors. You are not allowed to get further credit whilst you are under debt counselling.

Remember to continue making payments whilst under debt counselling because if you fail to make payments, you will lose the protection of the NCR and NCA, meaning credit providers will take legal action against you! You will lose your house, your car and every asset you value. When you are under debt counselling, you should pay via the Payment Distribution Agent (PDA) and not to the debt counsellor.

To contact the NCR

call 0860 627 627

HP

GA

dve

rtis

ing

- 1

0353

Putting consumer issues on the agenda 11

Sluggish times ahead

so bank that bonusTHE long-awaited Christmas bonus

countdown has begun, but will you

bank it or blow it?

That 13th cheque is just days away

and you may be agonising over how to

spend the year-end windfall.

But will you spend it wisely or go

berserk and blow it on “must have” but

non-essential items?

Temptation is everywhere and re-

tailers are working flat out to separate

you from your cash. Prices are being

slashed and even before the January

sales kick in.

It’s going to take discipline and

determination to get through the silly

season sensibly and still have to have

money left for all those bills around the

corner in January.

Performance bonus The annual bonus is now mandatory

in employment contracts with many

companies, says economist Tony

Twine of Econometrix.

However, not everyone will get a

welcome 13th cheque as some bonuses

are linked to corporate and individual

performances, and if it had been a

tough year, employees should not ex-

pect bonuses.

But if you are lucky enough to get

a bulky pay packet, the first thing you

should do is to pay off some of your

debt, say the experts. South African

families spend on average 78,2% of dis-

posal income on debt repayments, ac-

cording to the SA Savings Institute.

Detonate debtPay off accounts that attract the most

interest. The last thing you should do

is use your bonus as leverage to take on

more debt into the New Year.

“Put some of that bonus in the bank

for January,” said Twine.

For January is going to be a very

long month, especially if you are paid

early in December.

It will bring countless bills and an-

nual increases in expenses.

There are school fees to be paid,

new uniforms to shell out for and

books and stationery are expensive.

And if you have not budgeted, Jan-

uary could be a financial nightmare.

Rather, buy school necessities now

than wait until January, said

Andre Snyman, chief executive of

debt counseling firm Consumer Assist.

Pay off revolving credit or short-term

debt first, Snyman said.

That means getting rid of retail ac-

counts. Then cut up at least two-thirds

of credit or store cards and throw

them away.

“Try and repay your credit cards as

there are a lot of costs involved. And

try and change those credit cards to

debit cards,” said Snyman.

On average, consumers have nine

credit agreements and three credit

cards, Synman said, adding that the big-

gest problem was that consumers did

not have a plan for their bonuses and

did not anticipate the January bills.

Christmas presentsDo not neglect those regular monthly

repayments: water, electricity, phone,

rent or bond, insurance, pension, medi-

cal aid, stressed Paul Slot, Octogen debt

counseling director.

Of course, the festive season tends

to demand more money as people buy

presents and prepare for celebrations,

Slot said.

However, he added: “It is impor-

tant to set aside a very specific amount

for this.”

Work out exactly how much is

available beforehand and then you will

not have to resort to using your credit

cards. It’s all about making a plan and

drawing up a budget.

The country has not yet fully re-

covered from the recession and the

forecast is that more jobs will be lost

and the economy will be sluggish, Slot

warned.

SolutionRecommending that families look at

their finances and plan for next year, Slot

said Octogen had a 35:25:35 budget prin-

ciple that has proved very successful.

He said 35% should be allocated to

household expenses (food, communi-

cation, entertainment, security, travel-

ling costs, water and electricity) 25% to

financial services (insurance, medical

aid, pension and savings), and 35% to

debt repayments.

This leaves 5% for emergency sav-

ings. Prem Govender, chairwoman of

the SA Savings Institute, offered some

words of wisdom.

“This festive season, we’re ask-

ing consumers to not get carried away

with spending. Our theme Spend

wisely: New Year ahead’ should re-

mind consumers of their responsibili-

ties for 2011.

Use that 13th cheque to:

Reduce your bond.

Pay off your credit cards.

Slash your retail accounts.

Start an emergency fund.

Pay early for January expenses like

school fees, uniforms and stationery.

WHAT A BONUS:

START saving now for next year’s fes-

tive season’s expenses to avoid having

to buy on credit.

This is the advice of the KwaZulu-

Natal MEC for Finance, Ina Cronje, who

has been on a special financial literacy

campaign to encourage people to spend

wisely during the festive season.

Saving for next year’s festive sea-

son “works out cheaper and empow-

ers consumers with bargaining power,”

she said during her recent responsible

spending roadshow.

Warning people not to borrow mon-

ey for the coming festive season, she

said: “Everyone must have a strategy

in place before the expenses or tempta-

tions arise.”

And if people have not budgeted for

a year-end holiday, they should stay at

home instead of going into debt.

And make Christmas presents in-

stead of buying them, she advised.

“When you make your new year’s

resolutions, it should be for a fresh start

and the start of a savings plan.”

After paying off some of your debt and

banking some of your bonus for all those

January expenses then “Treat yourself to

something special: it is Christmas after all.

But don’t go further into debt just because

you have got a little bit of extra money,”

– Tony Twine of Econometrix

MANAGING MONEY

LODGING A CLAIM AGAINST AN ESTATE AGENT AND THE DISCIPLINARY PROCESS

ABOUT THE ESTATE AGENTS FIDELITY FUND

The Estate Agency Affairs Act, Section 12(1) provides for the establishment and control of the Estate

Agents Fidelity Fund. The fund is intended to reimburse persons who in certain circumstances

have suffered pecuniary (actual) loss due to theft of trust monies by estate agents.

REQUIREMENTS FOR LODGING A CLAIM

The following requirements are set out in section 18(3) of the Estate Agency Affairs Act No 112

of 1976 for lodging a claim against the fidelity fund:

The claim must be submitted within 3 months from the date the claimant become aware of the

theft of his money by the estate agent, or failure by the estate agent to pay money into his trust

account;

The claimant must within 6 months after written demand was sent to him by the EAAB, furnish

the EAAB with whatever proof the EAAB may require;

The claimant must have dealt with an Estate Agent/ Estate Agency Firm,. Section 1 of the

Estate Agency Affairs Act defines an estate agent as any person who for the acquisition of gain,

on his own account or in partnership, in any manner holds himself out as a person who, directly

or indirectly advertises that he, on instruction of or on behalf of any other person, sells or

purchases or publicly exhibits for sale of immovable property, or any business undertaking; or if

a company is selling or leasing its own properties cannot in terms of the Estate Agency Affairs

Act be classified as an estate agent, or to be acting in the capacity as an estate agency;

The claimant must prove his claim against the Fidelity Fund to the reasonable satisfaction of the

EAAB by submitting the under-mentioned documents:

Affidavit (complaint initiation form) detailing particulars of the claim; ¡

Copies of proof of payment for example receipts, paid- ¡

out cheques, bank statements, Audited statements;

Copy of contract (sale/ lease agreement); ¡

Details of criminal case opened at the South African ¡

Police Service of the Commercial Branch Unit.

The claimant must have exhausted all available legal remedies against the Estate Agent

involved, and against other persons responsible for the loss by attaching proof of such, as copy

of the summons, judgment obtained, writ of execution etcetera.

DISCIPLINARY PROCESS

Lodging of a Complaint against an Estate Agent

Lodging of a Complaint against an Estate Agent must be by way of completion and

submission of the Complaint Initiation Form which, can be downloaded from the EAAB

website www.eaab.org.za

Consideration of Complaint and Investigation, the EAAB will:

Acknowledge receipt of complaint; ¡

Respondent will be notified of the complaint and ¡

provided with a written response within 30 days;

After investigation, the matter shall be considered by the EAAB; ¡

The EAAB may decide to investigate further/ withdraw/ mediate/ charge. ¡

Charge against an Estate Agent

It must be in writing; ¡

Must contain an exposition of the conduct; ¡

Must be delivered by hand/by registered post. ¡

Disciplinary Committee of Inquiry

Summonses and subpoenas sent to relevant parties to appear; ¡

Chairperson and two committee members conduct the proceedings; ¡

Case presenter/prosecutor present the cases; ¡

Proceedings are mainly inquisitorial; ¡

Legal representation is permitted. ¡

Decisions of the Disciplinary Committee ¡

Respondent found guilty or not guilty; ¡

If guilty – reprimand/fine to a maximum of R25 000 per contravention; ¡

A compensatory award of up to 80% of the fine imposed may ¡

be awarded to a claimant who suffered pecuniary loss;

Withdraw a Fidelity Fund Certificate. ¡

Appeals Procedure ¡

Must be in writing and submitted within 30 days; ¡

Deposit of R1 000 for the transcript; ¡

Disciplinary committee provide written reasons for judgment. ¡

The Board may

Confirm, amend or reverse the decision; ¡

Remit the matter for further hearing; ¡

Confirm or suspend penalty imposed; ¡

Set aside penalty and impose new penalty; ¡

If successful, the deposit paid shall be refunded in full. ¡

Persons seeking further information are invited to contact the ESTATE AGENCY AFFAIRS BOARD AT 011 731 5600 or

email to dineo@eaab.org.za

Putting consumer issues on the agenda 13

FRESH PRODUCE

Save money on fruit and vegetablesShop around if you can for the lowest

fresh produce prices, and be prepared

for them to vary from one day to the

next, influenced by all sorts of things.

Looking at the price difference be-

tween the highest and lowest price of

one of the top-selling items at the Cape

Town municipal market – a spot survey

showed a roughly 550 percent difference

in the price of sweet potatoes, which cost

R12,99/kg at Woolworths, and R1.98/kg

at the market, in the same week.

Supermarkets are quick to defend

their reasons for charging quite a lot

more than the municipal market.

The Shoprite Group said a compar-

ison between wholesale and retail pric-

es must take account of factors such as

safety, convenience and choice.

"Retail space is more expensive

but offers convenience and a safe,

one-stop shopping environment with

a complete range of household prod-

ucts," Shoprite said.

"Less than five percent of fresh pro-

duce market sales are direct to the pub-

lic. There are no tills, no bulk breaking,

product on the floor is not refrigerated

and prices must be negotiated. There

is a limited product range, and proc-

essed, prepared, cut, sliced and diced,

ripe 'n ready products are not readily

available."

Price comparisons must include the

grade, variety, and whether the prod-

uct is being sold loose by kilogram or

has been washed, peeled, chopped and

prepacked in modified atmosphere

packaging designed to sustain the

shelf life, says Shoprite.

But buying fresh produce as close

to their original – out of the ground

state – is always the cheapest and usu-

ally the healthiest choice. Zyda Ry-

lands, Woolworths managing director

of food, said customers used Woolies

fresh produce with very little wastage.

"Woolworths products have a very

good shelf life."

Kevin Korb, merchandise direc-

tor at Pick n Pay, said while prices at

the market were influenced by sup-

ply and demand and fluctuated a

lot, Pick n Pay's growers were given

a clear indication of the volume of

products required for the duration of

their season.

"We also believe in paying our

farmers fair and equitable prices,

generally exceeding the prices that

most growers are paid by municipal

market agents.

"The grading and quality specifica-

tions of fresh produce have a signifi-

cant influence on the price," says Korb.

A municipal market price analyst

said “prices vary from day to day, de-

pending on the season, the demand

and availability".

“You will have a week where pric-

es will climb up to R50, R60 a unit, and

next week will come down to R20 be-

cause the market is flooded,” he said.

A fresh produce staff member at

Pick n Pay said he preferred to shop

at Shoprite.

"Take R1000 into Shoprite and you’ll

come out with a heck of a lot more than

your R1000 will buy you at Pick n Pay.”

His advice is to “be shrewd, know

your market, read the ads, shop around

and keep an eye out”.

However, Korb said: "A number

of factors affect pricing, but in the ab-

sence of knowing exactly which prod-

ucts are being compared, and if it was

a like-for-like comparison, it is impos-

sible for us to comment. According to

our information, his assertions are in-

deed incorrect.

"Weekly price checks against all

our competitors, including Shoprite

Checkers, verify that Pick n Pay is ei-

ther cheaper or on par with the pricing

of our competition,” Korb said.

The price of apples differs according to

variety. For instance, in the same week

the price of similar-in-appearance

Granny Smiths ranged from R7,99/kg

at Fruit and Veg City to R2,50 each

at Checkers and R9,99/kg at Spar.

Golden Delicious were R10,89/kg

at Pick n Pay and Shoprite, R12,99/

kg at Fruit and Veg City, R10,95 for

four at Woolworths, and about R7,50/

kg (R90/12kg) at the municipal mar-

ket. Top red were about R9.30/kg

(R112/12kg) at the municipal market,

R14,99/kg at Fruit and Veg City, R12,95

for four at Woolworths, and R17,99/kg

at Shoprite. Starking were R14,49/kg

at Spar in Fish Hoek and R12,99/kg at

Spar in Tokai a day later, R15,89/kg at

Shoprite, R10,89/kg at Pick n Pay and

about R10.41 (R125/12 kg) at the mu-

nicipal market.

Woolworths Spar Pick n Pay Checkers Fruit &Veg City

Cape Town

municipal

market

Cauliflower R 7,99 R 9,99 R8,99 a head R 6,99 each 3 for R 10 about R 2,60

Onions R 8,99 R 5,99 R7,89 R 5,99 R 6,99 about R 2,83

Pumpkin R 3,99 R 6,89 R 6,99 R 4,99 about R 2

Butternut R12,99 R 5,99 R 6,89 R 5,99

Cabbages (each) R 9,99 R 5,99 R 6,89 R 9,99 2 for R 10 about R 2,10

Lettuce (each) R 6,99 R 3,99 R 5,89 R 6,99 3 for R 5R 14,53 average

for crate of 18

Sweet Potatoes R 12,99 R 9,99 R 6,89 R 7,99 R 6,99 about R 1,98

Gem squash R 14,99 R 9,69 R 6,89 R 6,99 R 9,99 about R 1,64

Oranges R 8,95 R 3,99 R 6,99 R 5,99 R 6,99 about R 2,45

Lemons R 6,95 R 9,99 R 15,89 R 14,99 R 14,99 about R 2,96

Carrots R 8,99 R 7,99 R 8,99 R 5,99 R 7,99 about R 1,49

Tomatoes R 10,99 for 1.2kg R 11,99 R 9,99 R 10,99 R 12,99 about R 5,27

NOTE TO PRICE TABLE:The market prices per kg were calculated from the bulk price in each case, and reflect the average rather than the highest price obtained by the

various agents. So onions, for instance, selling for R35 for a 10kg pocket, averaged at R28.27, which was the price used to calculate the kg price.

GOOD SAMARITAN buys in bulk to help elderly and poorThe struggle of pensioners and poor

people to put food on the table in the

face of high food prices prompted Fish

Hoek housewife Merle Walker to offer

affordable fresh produce.

She buys fruit and vegetables in

bulk directly from the municipal mar-

ket and sells it to the poor.

She leaves home at 6am every two

weeks to drive to the market about

20km away, where she pays a carry

man R15 to cart her purchases in a trol-

ley down the market’s long aisles back

to her waiting car. “The produce is not

only much cheaper than in the super-

markets – at least half the price – but

also much fresher,” says Merle.

Even with a markup of between

50 cents and R1 to cover her petrol

costs and the carry man’s fee, she is

able to sell fresh produce at prices

half or a third lower than what su-

permarkets charge. She spends about

R600 a time at the market, which

gives her enough produce to supply

about 12 customers.

For instance, she was selling toma-

toes for R5 a kilo when they cost R14 a

kilo in the supermarket.

Only rarely is the supermarket’s

price better than the market’s.

“Two or three weeks ago I got straw-

berries for R19 a punnet at Pick n Pay

when they were R22 for the same quan-

tity at the market. But that is unusual.”

The inconvenience of getting to the

market early enough in the morning,

searching for the lowest price from the

agents, and dodging tradesmen’s trol-

leys and forklifts in the aisles ensures

that few women shop regularly at the

market, says Merle.

Consumer champion Lillibeth

Moolman said the fees supermarkets

pay each market and agents added to

their costs, which included transport

and other overheads.

“It is usually the costs added on af-

ter the market that gives you the even-

tual price, which varies tremendously

because not all vendors have the same

overheads, and there are many grades

of vegetables and fruit being sold. So the

price the consumer pays also depends

very much on what they are buying.

“For instance, street vendors buy a

standard grade, which is acceptable and

good, and are able to sell fresh produce

more cheaply than Woolworths, for in-

stance, which only buys the best crop.

“For every kind of fresh produce

you will find this absolute price vari-

ance, driven by supply and demand,

which in turn is dictated by the climate,

freak weather conditions, and cost.”

PROTECTING CONSUMERS

Caution! Spending speed limit ahead

Department of Economic

Development and TourismUmnyango WezokuthuthukiswaKomnotho Nezokuvakasha

KWAZULU-NATAL PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

Physical address: 270 Jabu Ndlovu Street, Pietermaritzburg, 3201 | Postal address: Private Bag X 9152, Pietermaritzburg, 3200 | Tel: 033 264 2500 | Fax: 033 264 2676

rabotapil@kznded.gov.za | www.kznded.gov.za

By Lehlohonolo Lucky Rabotapi

Senior Manager: Consumer Protection.

Welcome to our last edition for 2010 as

we look back and reflect on the activities

for the year and what we did as the office

in order to improve the lives of consum-

ers in the Province. This has been a year

filled with excitement as we hosted the

first ever soccer World Cup in the African

soil. We have also seen on the economic

ground our Rand getting stronger, the

Reserve bank decreasing the interest

rates for the benefit of consumers as well

as the findings of the Competition Com-

mission on price fixing and collusions in

the bread industry. We further saw the

first ever consumer class action against

the bread companies at the high Court.

This is also the year that saw the effec-

tive date of the Consumer Protection Act

being deferred by the Minister of Trade

and Industry to the 1st of April 2011

The year was indeed a mixed year

as it also came with a lot of challenges

for consumers at large particularly for

those consumers in the KwaZulu-Natal

Province. One of the major challenges

facing consumers in the Province was

that the Consumer Protection Services

did not have any kind of legislation for

the protection of consumers in the Prov-

ince. This created a huge challenge on

the team of complaints handlers who in

most instances were faced with a chal-

lenge of justifying seeking redress for

consumers as most businesses in the

Province were aware that the office did

not have any legislation to back them. As

a result we had to rely on the provisions

of the National legislation (the Unfair

business Practices Act, No. 71 of 1988)

which will be repealed by the Consumer

Protection Act, No. 68 of 2008 on the 1st

of April 2011. The lack of legislation in

the Province meant that we did not have

the Consumer Tribunal to deal with com-

plaints in the Province. The office relied

heavily on Alternative Dispute Resolution

mechanisms to resolve complaints and

to escalate those complaints that could

not be resolved to the Regulators as well

as the Office of Consumer Protection at

the Department of Trade and Industry.

Despite all the challenges above

and with only a staff compliment of

11 complaints handlers managed by a

deputy manager, for the entire Province,

we have been very successful in that we

have managed to save more than two

million Rand for consumers from April to

end of November 2010.

The good news for the consumers in

the Province is that the process of drafting

the Provincial Consumer Protection Legisla-

tion is at an advanced stage. The office has

drafted the Provincial Consumer Protection

Bill which has been aligned with the provi-

sions of the Consumer Protection Act. This

will ensure that consumers in the Province

will for the first time enjoy the greater pro-

tection of their rights as the Bill provides for

the establishment of the office of the Con-

sumer Protector as well as the Provincial

Consumer Protection Tribunal. The Bill was

presented and approved by the Cabinet on

Wednesday the 24th of November 2010. As

a result we will now begin with the public

consultations at the beginning of 2011 with

the hope of having the Bill promulgated be-

fore the 1st of April 2011.

The education unit has also not been

left behind in creating awareness about

consumer rights and responsibilities in

the Province. This was done by conduct-

ing major and minor workshops across

the Province. The targets for the work-

shops included consumers in general,

interest groups including non – govern-

mental organizations, community groups

as well as business. Despite the unit

only having eight officials servicing the

whole Province, they have managed to

conduct five major workshops at Ilembe,

Uthukela, Umgungundlovu, Uthungulu,

eThekwini as well as the Umzinyathi dis-

tricts. All the workshops were conducted

jointly with our partners, the National

Credit Regulator, Credit Information Om-

budsman, Council for Medical schemes,

Financial Services Board, Estate Agency

Affairs Board, Banking sector, Banking

Ombudsman, The Dti, SABS, National

Consumer Forum, National Energy Regu-

lator of South Africa and the Saving In-

stitute of South Africa. Another major

workshop will be held on the 11th of De-

cember 2010 at the Amajuba district to

be followed by major workshops at Ugu,

Umkhanyakude, Zululand and Sisonke at

the beginning of 2011. We have also con-

ducted more than 240 minor workshops

and exhibitions throughout the Province.

One of the major highlights for the

year was the launch of the spending wise

campaign held in partnership with Ukhozi

fm at Ladysmith on the 4th of December

2010. This was a very successful cam-

paign attended by thousands of people

with the MEC of Economic Development

and Tourism, Mr Michael Mabuyakhulu

advising consumers about the impor-

tance of saving and spending money

wisely during the festive season. The en-

tire office attended the event and provid-

ed their services to consumers together

with the Credit information Ombudsman

and the National Credit Regulator.

The Enforcement and Compliance

unit were not to be left behind. The unit

has been having only one official who

relied on the assistance and support of

other team members from the complaints

as well as the education units. This has

made our team a very strong team with

a common goal of improving the lives

of ordinary consumers in the Province.

We have recently appointed another of-

ficial in that unit and hope to appoint 10

more officials at the beginning of the

new financial year. The unit has been

involved in a number of joint ventures

with a number of stake holders to ensure

business compliance in the province.

They have conducted about 48 random

inspections based on the Merchandise

Marks Act, Parallel imports prohibition

as well as quasi legal documents.

The unit conducted successful cam-

paigns with the Department of Trade

and Industry on returns and refunds

campaigns between August and Octo-

ber 2010. They have also been involved

in another joint campaign with SASSA,

SAPS and the NCR on challenges faced

by grant recipients against unscrupulous

loan sharks at social grants pay points.

This resulted in a major operation on the

7th of December 2010 at Mpumalanga

Township near Hammersdale. The joints

blitz was a huge success in that con-

sumers were informed about their rights

when dealing with loan sharks or when

applying for loans. The importance of be-

ing responsible and spending wisely was

also emphasized during the blitz. It was

also discovered that operators involved

in lending money to grants recipients

were contravening the law by keeping

the Identity documents or the social

grants cards. Some of the operators

were registered financial services pro-

viders while others were not registered.

A number of Identity documents and so-

cial grants cards were returned to their

owners. In an attempt of understanding

the challenges faced by all consumers in

the Province, the unit has also employed

Ms Lungile Mthethwa as an intern in the

unit and we will hear more about her,

the challenges faced by consumers with

disabilities and what how she is coping

in the next article. Once again we en-

courage consumers to be responsible in

spending their money this festive season

by following the 10 A’s below:

1. Always plan ahead before you spend

and work out what you can afford be-

fore you spend – Draw up a Budget

2. Always have a festive budget –

putting down your income vs. daily

living expenses. This will help you to

be realistic on what you can spend

on gifts, travel, accommodation, and

other entertainment over this period.

3. Always pay your creditors (store ac-

counts, insurances and medical

scheme) on time during festive season.

4. Avoid the little purchases e.g. eating

out, movies, daily take-ways, snacks,

magazines, etc. It can all add up to

one big debt burden.

5. Avoid spending your 13th cheque/

bonus on your “wants” instead of

your “needs” e.g expensive clothes

are “wants” and school uniforms are

“needs”.

6. Always shop around for the best

deals and prices before you make a

purchase.

7. Always be careful about the “buy

now and pay later” strategy.

8. As you spend over the festive sea-

son, always remember that some

bills such as electricity, water and

telephones do not go on holiday over

the festive season and will need to be

paid in the new year.

9. Avoid wasting money on inferior

quality product because you will

spend more money for repairs. e.g

cell phones

10. Always shop with January in mind

From all of us in Consumer Protection

Services we wish you a Merry Christmas

and a prosperous 2011. Remember that

in life “You can never lose anything that

really belongs to you, and you can’t keep

that which belongs to someone else” –

Edgar Cayce

MONTH TEL WALK-IN WRITTEN CLOSED SUCESSFULLY % RATE TURN AROUND TIME MONEY SAVED

APRIL 694 123 128 113 85 75% 78 Days R 303 384,00

MAY 421 119 101 135 100 74% 80 Days R 214 094,00

JUNE 354 93 80 80 58 73% 82 Days R 93 727,00

JULY 393 118 110 114 92 81% 72 Days R 306 913,00

AUGUST 286 69 75 83 69 83% 54 Days R 122 300,00

SEPTEMBER 357 117 117 117 96 82% 58 Days R 444 677,00

OCTOBER 520 105 107 88 76 86% 85 Days R 322 632,00

NOVEMBER 430 120 94 95 81 85% 60 Days R 327 652,00

DECEMBER

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

TOTAL 3455 864 812 825 657 R2 135 379,00

Putting consumer issues on the agenda 15

Blacklisting

Credit Information Ombud

0861 662 837

Unfair competition

Competition Commission

012 349-3200

Motor vehicles

Motor Industry Adjudicator

012 348-9311/011 789-2542

Building companies

The National Home Builders

Registration Council 011 348-5700

Credit providers/bureaus

The National Credit Regulator

0860 627 627

Financial advisors

Ombud for Financial Services Providers

0800 20 20/0800 11 04 43

Medical schemes Consumer complaints

Council for Medical Schemes

Share call: 0861 123 267

DTI – Office of Consumer Protection

0861 843 384

Banks

The Banking Adjudicator

0860 800 900

Furniture retailers

The Furniture Traders Association

011 789-6770

National Energy Regulator

(NERSA)

Tel: 012 401-4600

Fax: 012 401-4700

Tourism Grading Council Telecommunications

Tel: 011 783-0383/ 011 384-7600

Fax: 011 783-0485

Independent Communications Authority of SA

011 566 3000/3001

North West

Tel: 018 387-7820

Fax: 018 392-5660

Northern Cape

Tel: 053 830-4800

Fax: 053 830-4828

Western Cape

Tel: 021 483-5133

Fax: 021 483-5872

Toll Free: 0800-007-081

Gauteng

Tel: 011 355 8000/6/7

Fax: 011 355-8019

KwaZulu-Natal

Tel: 031 310-5300

Fax: 031 310-5416

Limpopo

Tel: 015 293-8529

Fax: 015 291-1336

Mpumalanga

Tel: 013 752-3761

Fax: 013 752-3729

Eastern Cape

Tel: 045 808-4000

Fax: 045 838-3981

Free State

Tel: 051 400-9611/4852

Fax: 051 400-9606

These organisations and associations can also help answer your questions and hear your complaints:

WHERE DO YOU GO WHEN YOU NEED TO COMPLAIN?

Consumer Affairs OfficesThese are government agencies

that offer a free service.

Do not be naïve and rely on the good-

will of salespeople who are out to earn

their commission. Some good sales-

people explain things properly, but

others who just want their profit will

make misleading promises to convince

you to sign.

*Don’t accept assurances that are

not in the contract because the contract

is what counts when you have prob-

lems or are listed at the credit bureau.

A partially remembered conversation

with a salesperson who may not even

work there anymore will not support

your case.

Don’t let salespeople rush you, or

make you feel stupid or ignorant if

you ask questions. It’s your right to

question everything, make sure you

can afford the purchase, and that

there are no hidden costs.

Never sign a blank or partially blank

document. Your signature is binding

to whatever appears in the document

Don’t assume anything – ask and

make sure.

Always ask yourself – what if I am

not happy? How do I cancel this con-

tract?

Some salespeople request that con-

sumers fill in a contract “to qualify

for a special rate” and that a consum-

er can withhold credit card details

until he makes a final decision on the

purchase of the timeshare. They tell

consumers that if they want to cancel

the contract they just need to phone

and the sales person will destroy it.

However, this does not happen and

that the contracts are processed. If

a consumer has signed the contract

and it is processed, the contract is en-

forceable and the consumer is liable

for the outstanding money, even with

a verbal promise that the salesman

will destroy the contract.

Be aware of time limits – if the con-

tract says you can cancel in writing

within five working days after sign-

ing, and you only let them know in

10 days, you will end up paying for

something you did not want.

Always cancel contracts in writing

and get acknowledgment or a cancel-

lation letter from the company. Sim-

ply phoning the salesperson is not

good enough.

Checklist before buying timeshare or holiday club products

The Department of Justice has given

in to pressure from mobile operators to

extend the deadline for consumers to

register their Sim cards. The new dead-

line is June 30 2011, giving consum-

ers another six months to register in

terms of the Regulation of Interception

of Communications Act (Rica).

Rica, which came into effect last year,

requires telecommunications companies

and internet service providers to register

customer details, including ID numbers

and physical addresses. The reason for

the legislation is to make it easier for law

enforcement agencies to track criminals

who historically have used pre-paid cell-

phone accounts and swopped sim cards

between phones to evade detection.

If consumers are not registered, serv-

ice providers by law have to disconnect

subscribers from their networks.

Mobile operators, who have strug-

gled to get all their subscribers to register

their sim cards, have spent a fortune on

advertising campaigns to encourage their

customers to comply.

Consumers who do not register be-

fore the deadline will face disconnec-

tion from mobile networks. To register

take a copy of your identity document

and proof of address to your nearest

cellular agent.

RICA deadline POSTPONED

The Independent Communications Authority of South

Africa (ICASA), in line with the United Nations, will

celebrate the International Day of People with Dis-

abilities which is observed annually on 3 December.

The Day aims to promote a better understanding of

disability issues with a focus on the rights of persons

with disabilities and gains to be derived from the inte-

gration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of

the political, social, economic and cultural life of their

communities. The goal of full and effective participa-

tion of persons with disabilities in society and devel-

opment was established by the World Programme of

Action concerning Disabled Persons, adopted by the

United Nations General Assembly in 1982.

The theme is: “Keeping the promise: Mainstreaming disability in the Millennium Development Goals towards 2015 and beyond”

The annual observance of the International Day

of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December was

established by the International Year for Disabled

Persons (1981). The Day aims to promote a better

understanding of disability issues with a focus on

the rights of persons with disabilities and gains to

be derived from the integration of persons with

disabilities in every aspect of the political, social,

economic and cultural life of their communities.

The goal of full and effective participation of per-

sons with disabilities in society and development

was established by the World Programme of Ac-

tion concerning Disabled Persons, adopted by the

United Nations General Assembly in 1982.

ICASA has developed regulation on a Code for

People with Disabilities which was introduced in

2007. The regulations look at the rights of people

with disabilities with regards to the Electronic

Communications services, broadcasting services.

The Authority further monitors and enforces com-

pliance with regard to the terms and conditions of

the postal sector licenses.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Independent Communications Authority of South Africa

Pinmill Farm, 164 Katherine Street, Sandton

Private Bag X10002, Sandton, 2146