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Part 5 in our series on our focus on the Consumer Protection Act.

Part 5 in our series on our focus on the Consumer Protection Act.

Author: Fawzia Khan
Date: 2013-08-09
Source: Department of Trade and Industry

Right to Fair and Honest Dealing Your right to protection against unconscionable conduct. Unconscionable conduct refers to behaviour that is unethical or improper.

Suppliers are not permitted to use physical force against consumers, coercion, undue influence, pressure, duress, harassment, unfair tactics or any other similar conduct when doing the following:
Marketing goods or services;
Supplying goods or services;
Negotiating, concluding, executing or enforcing agreements to supply goods and services;
Demanding or collecting payments for goods or services; and
Recovering goods or services from consumers.

Suppliers are not permitted to take advantage of consumers who are unable to protect their interests due to mental or physical disability, poor literacy, ignorance or inability to understand the language of an agreement or any similar factors.

Your right to protection against false, misleading or deceptive representations

Suppliers are not permitted to, directly or indirectly, provide consumers with false, misleading or deceptive representations regarding goods or services; and Suppliers are not permitted to use exaggeration, innuendo or ambiguity when referring to goods or services or the benefits thereof.

Your right to protection against fraudulent schemes and offers Persons are not permitted to initiate, sponsor, promote or knowingly participate in communication or activities, with the intent to defraud others.

Persons are not permitted to produce counterfeit currency, or purport to increase a sum of money, through scientific means or otherwise.

Persons are not permitted to engage in fraudulent or unlawful financial transactions.

Your right to protection against pyramid and related schemes

Persons are not permitted to, directly or indirectly, promote or knowingly join, enter into or participate in the following schemes:

Multiplication schemes (offering interest rates of 20% and above the South African Reserve Bank-regulated repo rate);

Pyramid schemes (receiving compensation, primarily from the respective recruitment of other participants);

Chain letter schemes (actively solicit or recruit participants, and obtain compensation for new recruits); or Any other fraudulent schemes or scams.

Your right to assume that suppliers are entitled to sell goods

Consumers have the right to assume that suppliers have the legal right or authority to supply goods or products that are on sale or promoted by the suppliers.

Consumers have the right to assume that lessors have the legal right or authority to lease goods or products at the time that the lessees are to take possession of the leased goods.

Know your rights! Email fawzia@thelawdesk.co.za or call 031-5025670 for legal assistance.