As part of its effort to ascertain compliance with the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), the National Consumer Commission (NCC) conducted compliance inspections across KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). 

The inspections took place in Pinetown, Pietermaritzburg, Durban CBD, Springfield, Inanda, Umlazi, and Pavilion Mall. 

The NCC’s spokesperson, Phetho Ntaba, said the inspections are part of its efforts to ensure that unsafe and expired goods (goods that have passed their shelf-life) are removed from the shelves.

During inspections, the NCC joined forces with the South African Police Services (SAPS), the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS), and other enforcement agencies. The NCC inspected food, clothing, and blanket retailers where various non-compliant practices to the CPA were reported as still prevalent.

“The NCC inspectors uncovered widespread non-compliance in terms of product labelling. This includes goods on the shelves and refrigerators without ingredients, product descriptions, country of origin (in the case of clothing), or altered trade descriptions. This contravenes section 24 of the CPA, which requires that products be properly labelled with information like the country of origin, fibre content, and other prescribed information,” Ntaba said. 

She said in some cases, products were labelled in a foreign language.

“These items include mayonnaise, vinegar and soya sauce. Some suppliers issue receipts that are written in a foreign language. This makes it difficult for consumers to interpret the receipt. This is a clear contravention of Section 22 of the CPA, which requires that goods must be written in plain and understandable language,” Ntaba said. 

The inspections revealed that certain goods were sold while they had passed their sell-by, use-by, or best-before dates. The non-compliant goods include meat products. These items have the potential to cause harm and compromise the health of consumers.

 “Some suppliers mixed food for human consumption and animal feed in one refrigerator. This practice compromises the quality of food, thus contravenes Section 55 of the CPA. Section 55 provides that every consumer has a right to goods that are of good quality, safe, and comply with applicable standards or any other public regulations,” Ntaba said. 

She said another common practice identified during these inspections is that of suppliers who do not display the prices of goods, making it difficult for consumers to know the cost in advance, and this denies consumers the right to choose a supplier. 

Section 23(3) of the CPA stipulates that “suppliers of goods and services must not display any goods for sale without displaying to the consumer a price in relation to those goods. The Act further states that a price must be adequately displayed, expressed in the currency of the country, affixed to, written, printed, stamped, located upon, or applied to the goods or the band. 

While suppliers generally issue sales records, these sales records were not consistent with the CPA. According to Section 26(3) of the CPA, a sales record or receipt,  must have the following information: the name of the supplier or registered business name, VAT number (if any), address of the premises, date on which the transaction occurred, name and description of any goods or services supplied, unit price of the goods, quantity, total price before any applicable taxes, and total of the transaction, including applicable taxes. 

Some sales records contained terms and conditions that are unfair to the consumers (no exchange). This violates Sections 48 and 51 of the Act. 

 Some suppliers display notices indicating that they do not replace or provide a refund on repaired goods. Section 56(3) of the CPA states that ‘if a supplier repairs any particular goods or any components of any such goods, and within a period of three months after the repair, the failure defect, or unsafe feature has not been remedied, or a further failure, defect or unsafe feature is discovered, the supplier must replace the goods or refund the consumer the price paid by the consumer.’

Acting Commissioner for the NCC, Hardin Ratshisusu, said consumers are being deprived of making informed decisions. 

“Failure to label the goods or labelling goods in a foreign language deprives consumers of their right to information, thus making it difficult for consumers to make informed decisions. We remind suppliers to comply with the CPA, as compliance with the Act is not an option but an obligation,” Ratshisusu said. 

robin.francke@iol.co.za

IOL

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