A rose by any other name would not smell as sweet

(First Published in New Era Newspaper - 1 October 2014)

I am a very recently married man and am still living the honeymoon. However, the other day I had to stop and think about something that I have only noticed since I got married. I remember when I was growing up, my grandmother had a fridge that seemed to be there from the time I was in primary school till I left for university. That fridge played a part of my life (and those of my siblings and cousins) for at least fifteen years. Recently I was buying furniture for our home and noticed that the life span of the appliances seemed very short compared to what I remember.

This complaint is quite common especially about fridges, washing machines and even the smaller appliances like kettles and toasters. Thus, my grandmother’s fridge which was bought more than 30 years ago is still in working condition, while the average life of modern fridges is not more than 5 years.

Many times consumers blame manufacturers because they believe the manufacturer will make faulty products, product with short life spans, etc. so that the consumer will buy another product thus making them more money.

Recently I read an argument that gave me a completely different perspective. In the article the writer argues that this statement by consumers would mean that “manufacturers intentionally work against the interest of the consumer. While the observations of consumers correspond with reality, their explanation of this phenomenon is wrong. I want to stress that the producers of consumer appliances are unjustly blamed.”

After reading the article, and doing some more market research, I have to agree with the writer. Many consumers are of the opinion that the manufacturers of goods will make the product that is “best for us”. This thinking means we believe as consumers that the goods we buy will last longer, be of higher quality and possibly be of lower price.

Obviously this cannot be the truth. After all, the many Chinese products are aimed at the low quality market and many customers buy these products even though there is often no “money-back” or other guarantees. So we must understand that the market (manufacturers, retailers, etc.) produce and sell products that consumer are willing to pay for, and try to do this as efficiently as possible to allow them to make the maximum return.

In plain English, manufacturers are asking themselves two main questions, namely, “What exactly do consumers want?” and “What do they pay for?” before they make the products.

What most manufacturers will tell you is that they will do market surveys / research and from this decide what it is consumers want. From personal experience as an enumerator (collector of information for surveys), I know that most people lie about what they want and what they actually buy. For example, we all want a car that is low on fuel and easy to maintain. However, when we buy, we will probably buy the car that we find good-looking on the inside and gives us the “wooma” when we drive.

Thus we must conclude that producers are trying to understand how we make our decisions about what we buy – in other words what values we as customers give to particular qualities such as price, functions available, durability, etc.

This means that as consumers we are more likely to buy a cheap, good-looking fridge that might not have the long-life we pretend to want. So whose fault will it be that the fridge I buy now does not last as long as the fridge my grandmother bought?

So next time you buy an appliance, consider your purchase as an important choice that needs due diligence. Compare the price, the functions you want it to perform, and for how long you want the product to last. It will be worth your time and effort in the long run.

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride

(First Published in New Era Newspaper - 24 September 2014)

The past few weeks I have been reminded about an old English proverb/nursery rhyme that goes: “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride; If turnips were watches, I'd wear one by my side; If, If's and And's were pots and pans, there would be no need for tinkers.”

My grandfather often told me this while growing up and he meant for me to understand that it is useless to wish on something as better results will only be achieved through actions. Of course, I always had a dream in my head and believed that one day my wish would turn into horse (and I also thought the rhyme said thinkers rather than tinkers). The past few weeks one of my wishes did become a horse: A small lump sum of money came to my wife and she was able to invite me on a shopping spree. We started by purchasing all the main furniture such as fridge, microwave, deep freezer, bed and matrass, as well as completely new pots, pans, cutlery and the Russell Hobbs toaster and kettle. We even had enough left over to buy that big screen television, television decoder and the George Foreman grill. I have never understood “retail therapy” but am now convinced this is an exercise that can really bring pleasure as long as you do it with cash and not a credit purchase which creates a monthly payment.

Yep you read it right, I suggest retail therapy or shop till you drop – IF you can do it with cash in hand and not on credit.

After our purchases, it did a precursory look at the furniture we bought and the monthly payments that we would have to pay if it was bought on credit. If we had purchased for an amount of N$ 28 999, our deposit would have been in the region of N$ 2,900 and our monthly payments would have amounted to N$ 2,184 per month for 24 months. If you add this up, our purchase would have cost us a total of N$ 55, 316. You should read that again. We would be paying interest and other charges to the value of N$ 26,317. That means if we had paid this over the normal 24 months we would be paying almost double the value of the furniture. Phew. Finance charges are expensive.

When we as consumers wish to purchase goods or products, we often do not have the money readily available to pay for our goods in one go. Therefore, retailers have come up with the concept of consumer credit which means the creditor or seller trusts the consumer enough to provide us with the goods and services we desire and expect us to pay off this amount at some time in the future. In exchange for this service (which is in fact lending the consumer money to buy from them), the supplier of credit is allowed to charge a certain amount of interest on the amount they have lent to you as the consumer.

Governments (as well as religions) have recognised that the consumer is at a distinct disadvantage as they are in the position of wanting, and would probably do almost anything to get the product or service. The credit supplier can in this case charge a very high rate that would in fact be unethical or even be considered immoral. In cases like this, the term we use for such practices is called USURY. The government, through the Namibian Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA) is the organisation responsible for regulating these types of transactions. If you have purchased any goods or services through a credit agreement and you feel that you might have been overcharged when the interest and other charges are added, you should contact the regulator and make your complaint heard.

Consumer Protection Act of Namibia

(First Published in New Era Newspaper - 16 September 2014)
 

This week I was really struggling to get a topic to write about for Consumer Court. It felt to me that everything I have written till thus far about consumer issues was falling on deaf ears. That was until I was stopped on the street by a person I have never met before. The man was driving past me and waved to me, then pulled over, reversed and rolled down his window to talk with me. The first thing he said was, “Thank you for the great job you are doing”. I immediately thought he was referring to the organisation where I work as I was wearing a corporate branded golf shirt. “No”, he continued, “I mean the work you are doing with your weekly consumer column in the newspaper.”

It turns out he has been an avid follower of my articles since I started writing in 2011 and had even used some of the advice to his own monetary advantage. My day was made. I once again felt that through this opportunity of the consumer court column, a difference was being made. So, please next time you get good or excellent service please tell the person or organisation that you appreciate their effort to make you a happy customer.

During my conversation with this stranger, we also touched upon the Consumer Protection Act and what the Ministry of Trade and Industry hopes to achieve with this legislation.

What is consumer protection?

Consumer protection refers to all the laws (and the organisations tasked with consumer issues) that are made to ensure that the rights of consumers as well as fair trade, competition and accurate information about products and services is made available to consumers. The main purpose of such laws is to prevent business that engage in fraud or specified unfair practices from getting an advantage over their competitors. They often also include additional protection measures for the most vulnerable members of society. The laws also spell out the consumer complaint procedures that business must follow as well as the punishment they can expect if they do not adhere to these laws. Consumer protection covers a wide range of topics, including but not necessarily limited to product liability, privacy rights, unfair business practices, fraud, misrepresentation, and other consumer/business interactions.

The Consumer Protection Act (which is the current process that the Ministry is involved in), will probably include the following provisions:

·         It will promote a fair, accessible and sustainable market place for consumer products and services;

·         Establish national norms and standards to ensure adequate consumer protection;

·         Give guidelines for improved standards of consumer information that will prohibit unfair marketing or other unfair business practices;

·         Encourage responsible consumer behaviour; and

·         Establish the National Consumer Commission

The law will also define which other bodies (such as the Competition Commission, NAMFISA, Bank of Namibia) are tasked with specific areas that will not be covered by consumer issues in this law.

It is hoped that the Competition Act will also look at how consumer are represented and how the government will assist these consumer representative bodies (financially, technically, etc.).

I would also like to see that the Namibian law includes a provision for a small claims court that will allow consumers and business with civil issues (differences on who owes whom money), to be able to have legal rulings without the present prohibitive cost that involves legal professionals.

As a consumer activist I must add that I hope the Ministry follows through with this important process and we see this act before the end of 2015.

“Nommer Asseblief” (Number Please)

(First Published in New Era Newspaper - 10 September 2014)

A few months ago, my wife and I were discussing our wedding and how we saw married life. My fiancé surprised me by asking that I please install a landline at our house after we get married. The first though on my mind was, of course, with the bad service we are receiving from our mobile telephone companies I cannot blame her. I was rather surprised by this request and even more by her answer: I just want to answer the landline by saying, “This is Mrs Shaanika-Louw speaking”.

The ability to communicate is today no longer a privilege but a right. Each and every one has the ability to get a telephone without waiting weeks, or even months (and yes, sometimes years in the rural areas) for our local telephone service provider to install the lines and the hardware to allow us to communicate with the outside world.

In Namibia, the ability to connect our population was not developed by a private company as in most western countries, but rather a government department that was tasked by the political leadership to get the people connected. In Namibia, even the creation of a mobile network and mobile service providers is also spearheaded by government owned companies.

Internationally, consumer groups have realised that the telephone companies (telcos) are making heaps of money without taking into consideration the rights of their consumers. In many countries it is because there is a lack of competition in the industry, or simply that the government appointed regulators are not doing enough to support the rights of the consumers. This has become such a burning issue that Consumers International (an international federation of consumer organisations) decided to dedicate World Consumer Rights Day on 15^th March 2014  to highlight the consumer issues that are undermining and frustrating the success of mobile phone services.

This week I want to take the chance to acquaint you with what are the rights/benefits we as consumers of telephone services should be getting:

·         TELCOs must provide consumers with access to an affordable, reliable service - Consumers want to be able to have access to affordable telephone services in order to communicate and to access information. It is only reasonable that they then expect those services to be consistent and of a high quality without drop outs in service.

·         MTC and Telecom must provide consumers with fair contracts explained in clear, complete and accessible language - Consumers often feel cheated by their telephone service provider, either because of unfair contract terms and conditions or because they didn’t understand what they had signed. Telecom providers should always provide consumers with fair contracts with all relevant information explained clearly so that consumers can exercise their right to make informed choices.

·         Provide consumers with fair and transparent billing - Consumers shouldn’t be billed for services they didn’t request. We demand fairness and transparency in our bills, and protection from billing fraud. There have been regular complaints to this column that the service of the TELCos is non-existent in a specific month – but the consumer is still expected to pay the full rental / usage fees.

·         Provide consumers with security and power over their own information - Telecoms providers and regulators alike must protect the personal data that consumers give up in order to use mobile/data services. Whilst giving consent to use personal data can enhance the experience of using a mobile phone, it can also compromise the consumer’s right to safety. Consumers must be able to set the terms of how this data is used.

·         Listen and respond to consumer complaints - Telecom providers should have effective complaints systems and if consumers are not satisfied there should be redress mechanisms to ensure a fair outcome. We must be able to penalise providers for abusive and unjust business practices. AND please, tell me once that irritating automated service at Telecom is taken down. I cannot argue with the poor defenceless box that answers.

The above rights are encapsulated in the Consumer International statement for World Consumer Day and can also be accessed via their website.

RING-Ring – The user you are trying to reach has been disconnected for being impolite to our level of service. ;-)

Ask what your country can do for you

(First Published in New Era Newspaper - 27 August 2014)

I have been working for a government institution for the past year. This has been the first time in my career spanning over twenty years that I have been a ‘public servant’. Over the years I have heard (and even contributed to the conversation) stories about the laziness of the government service and the un-helpfulness of public servants. Now that I am working in one of these institutions I have realised that these stories are more urban legends than actual fact. Many public servants, from the street cleaners in Windhoek to the election officials in the remotest parts of our country, are doing their best to deliver the service that is expected from a government.

Looking at consumer issues, means we should also look at the largest service organisation in Namibia, namely the Government of the Republic of Namibia (GRN).

The GRN launched the first Public Service Charter was launched in 1997 and then expanded to its present ten principles that form part of reform designed to provide professional, efficient, effective end economic services.

This week I will look at some of these principles and invite you, our esteemed New Era readers, to look at them and write to us at Consumer Court about any of these principles you have seen first-hand being followed or ignored.

Standards – These must be published and monitored – allowing consumer access to the standards public servants are expected to uphold.

Courtesy and helpfulness – yes, this means a “good morning” or “how can I help you” when speaking to us the consumers.

Accountability – each consumer should be able to identify who at a GRN organisation/ministry or agency (OMA) has provided the service. To allow such identification each government employee working with customers should wear a name badge.

N0n-discrimaination – this is not only about race or gender, but also about understanding that some consumers might not of the educational background to be able to fully explain their needs. This is about taking time to “know your customer”.

Value for money – Each GRN employee is expected to efficient, effective and affordable services. Efficiency meaning that our time as customer and service provider is well used, effective meaning we get the result we expected when asking for a service and affordability referring to our purchase price of such service or product from GRN.

Information – The availability of information on services should be provided in a prompt straightforward and open manner that is readily understandable by all consumers. This also opens a small crack on the wider debate of public access to information at the OMA’s.

Consultation and participation should take place regularly to take into account the views and needs of the public.

Transparency – I quote, “Disclose how public services are managed together with the cost and performance of specific services which are open to public scrutiny in all actions taken in public office”.

Quality of service includes appraising consumer of the complaints procedures, feedback methods and how corrections will be made.

The Public Service Charter end with the principle of accessibility and refers to the provisions of the needed services where the consumer are situated. In other words bringing government service to the people.

As a public servant, even I had to question myself on how many of these principles I actually adhere to in my work. Sadly, I was only able to honestly state that wile six of the principles were adhered to by myself, I was clearly lacking in four other areas.

The main reason thus for this week’s column is thus to fulfil the principle of INFORMATION. I wish to encourage each and every consumer of government services to question any GRN employee (starting with myself) on the services we provide and how you can access them to ensure an improvement in your quality of life in our Land of the Brave.