The Consumer Goods and Services Ombudsman (CGSO) has released a new guideline following a rise in complaints related to goods being damaged by suppliers.<\/p>\n
The CGSO recently dealt with a case where the complainant contacted the supplier to move their household goods from Cape Town to Durban at the end of April 2018.<\/p>\n
Upon delivery, the complainant discovered that numerous items were irreparably damaged in the move, including an antique dressing table, five ceramic platters and numerous glasses and vases.<\/p>\n
The complainant notified the supplier who refused to offer any compensation for the damage on the basis that the complainant did not take out insurance with the supplier.<\/p>\n
The complainant was seeking an amount of R7,000 in respect of the damage caused to her property.<\/p>\n
The supplier said that it would not entertain the complainant\u2019s claim because she should have taken in-transit insurance with the supplier or had her own household insurance.<\/p>\n
They further disputed the amount claimed for damages, R7,000 – as the complainant only paid R4,000 for their services.<\/p>\n
What you need to know\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n According to the\u00a0CGSO, in the majority of these cases, the\u00a0suppliers argue that they have limited their liability in the terms and conditions of the agreement.<\/p>\n In other cases they argue that they are excluded from liability on the basis that the complainant should have insured the goods, the CGSO said.<\/p>\n However, the CGSO noted that section 51 of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) limits a supplier from deliberately contracting out of these types of claims.<\/p>\n It added that Section 65 of the CPA specifically sets out the manner in which a supplier should deal with a consumer\u2019s property and the consequences should they fail to do so.<\/p>\n It drew specific attention to\u00a0Section 65(2) which states that:<\/p>\n Section 65(2): When a supplier has possession of any prepayment, deposit, membership fee, or other money, or any other property belonging to or ordinarily under the control of a consumer, the supplier – …<\/em><\/p>\n (b) in the handling, safeguarding and utilisation of that property, must exercise the degree of care, diligence and skill that can reasonably be expected of a person responsible for managing any property belonging to another person; and<\/em><\/p>\n (c) is liable to the owner of the property for any loss resulting from a failure to comply with paragraph (a).<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n “A supplier can therefore not contract out of the CPA and can therefore not have terms and conditions which restricts a consumer\u2019s right in terms of the CPA,” the CGSO said.<\/p>\n “It is then only a question of whether the supplier exercised the degree of care, diligence and skill that can reasonably be expected of a person in the circumstances.<\/p>\n “Therefore, the supplier is liable for any loss resulting from a failure to take proper care of a consumer\u2019s property while in their possession, regardless of the supplier’s terms and conditions,” it said.<\/p>\n
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