Sunday 20 April 2014

The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Dear Consumer’s Voice #1

I bought a vehicle from Euroafrica Motors from UK last year in June but up to now the car has not been delivered. They have a representative in Gaborone whom I have been dealing with. They sent me a bill of lading and I got the information that the ship that loaded it offloaded in Namibia on the 12th September 2013. They then sent me an email on the 17th of the same month that the truck has left to pick the cars and that I will receive my car in a few days. Then there were just delays related to clearance papers of other cars, but mine was ok with documents.

On the 31st October 2013, I offered to go pick the car myself and that I would like to have refund on my transport fee to Gaborone since I had paid for delivery at Gaborone, but he couldn't give me the details I needed for the car to be picked. I then gave up and waited for the truck to arrive thinking may be it won’t take long.

In December they said the truck is coming but it never came. On the 6th January I also checked the supplier through email, but they said there was a mix up with other cars documents, which delayed the clearance.

I’m looking forward for the delivery of the vehicle, but the supplier's credibility is what worries me. They keep on postponing the delivery and citing the same thing of clearance. I don’t think clearance should take many months to be completed. From their reply, they still wont give assurance of when the car will be delivered. Last week they said it will come in the next few days, but a week has already passed. What can I do?


I’m afraid I’m not very optimistic about this. I’ve contacted Euroafrica Motors repeatedly and on each occasion I’ve been given the same promises you’ve had. Just a few days ago they told me that they’d been having problems with storage fees with their clearing agent in Namibia and said that they hoped “the car might be released and arrive in Gaborone during or after the Easter weekend.”

Read that again. Did you see that word “might”? That’s hardly reassuring, is it?

I suggest you give them until after the Easter holiday and if the vehicle doesn’t arrive you should just call the cops. Maybe a visit from the police will encourage them to be reasonable. Don’t hold your breath.

In case you’re interested, the picture shows their address in the UK. Does that look like a car exporter’s office to you?

Dear Consumer’s Voice #2

It will be my pleasure if you can clarify the following concern for me. In some supermarkets with parcel counters, the is a note which reads PUT YOUR GOODS AT YOUR OWN RISK, which means they will be not responsible for any lost goods by that counter even though they placed an attendant by that counter. Also they won’t let you get into the shop with your goods if you fear to take that risk of putting your items by the counter. What does the law say in such matters?


There’s nothing illegal about those signs. Stores are perfectly entitled to have any rules they want about who can enter their premises, so long as they don’t do anything contrary to the constitution like discriminate on the grounds of sex or race. Remember that stores are private property and the owners or managers are within their rights to say who can and can’t enter just like you can refuse someone entry to your house if you don’t want them there.

However the more important question is this. What message is the store sending to you? The parcel counter and the signs make it clear that they don’t trust you. They think you’re going to steal things from them. In their eyes you’re a criminal. So do you enjoy being insulted? Aren’t you prepared to go to a store where they don’t slap you in the face every time you walk through the entrance?

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