PULL QUOTE = “The warranty was not to the satisfaction of the complainant, and the terms agreed upon by the parties.” — Gauteng consumer affairs court
The Gauteng consumer affairs court has ordered a painting company to rectify billing discrepancies, repair shoddy workmanship, and replace the inferior gutters it installed at a Joburg house
An elderly Joburg homeowner took Permatex, which specialises in roof and wall coatings, to the Gauteng office of consumer affairs after she had exhausted all other channels to have her concerns resolved.
According to the judgment handed down by the court, the homeowner last year entered into a contract with Permatex to renovate her family home of over 50 years. The renovation, which cost R58,000, included painting of the external house and garage walls, carport frames, and metal doors and installation of Chromadek gutters and two downpipes, among other repairs.
An amount of R30,000 was paid as a deposit in August, and the homeowner and the company agreed that the balance would be paid on the completion of the work.
However, cracks in the relationship started before any work started. The property owner insisted that Dulux Waterproofing paint be used, but the company could not provide the paint as its supplier was out of stock.
“The complainant’s sister then gave evidence that they then bought their own Dulux paint to supply to the contractor; they purchased a tin of 20 litres for R4,400,” the judgment said. “She submitted that they were told they needed to provide another 20 litres. When they went to purchase the paint, the owner of the shop told them they only needed 5 litres. Thus, to err on the side of caution, the complainant purchased two 5 litres of Dulux,” the judgment said.
The property owner said Permatex’s salesperson was putting pressure on her to pay the balance of the repair despite the work not being completed. She eventually paid the balance minus the money spent on the paint.
“She was only given the warranty for the work done on September 14 after having paid the balance. However, the warranty was not to the satisfaction of the complainant, and the terms agreed upon by the parties,” the judgment stated.
However, the homeowner’s complaint remained about the general workmanship on all the repairs and installations. There was also no site manager supervising the work, even though this was part of the agreement. The site manager only arrived after the homeowner complained about his absence.
“The complaint is about misrepresentation with regards to the quality of gutters installed and invoicing discrepancies where the complainant was invoiced for Chromadek gutters, meanwhile a different brand of gutters from Gutterco was used,” said the judgment.
Despite the company being afforded time to fix the issues through the intervention of the Gauteng consumer affairs office, it failed to do so.
The consumer protector then issued summons through the court to the company to rectify the defects.
The court has given Permatex until February 28 to repair the defects and to replace the gutters with what was agreed on.
What is the Gauteng consumer affairs court?
The Gauteng consumer affairs court is a tribunal established in terms of the Gauteng Provincial Consumer Affairs (Unfair Business Practices) Act 7 of 1996. Its primary mandate is to receive, hear and adjudicate disputes arising between consumers and suppliers in Gauteng in matters concerning the sale of goods or rendering of services by such suppliers to consumers.
It consists of a chairperson, normally a retired high court judge or an attorney, advocate, retired magistrate or lecturer in law at a university. There are four additional members who have special knowledge or experience of consumer advocacy, economics and industry or commerce.
The court hears matters referred to and brought before it by the consumer protector with whom consumers in Gauteng can lodge complaints. The Gauteng office of consumer affairs will investigate the complaint and endeavour to conciliate and settle the dispute between the consumer and the supplier.
If a settlement is reached, the office will draft and have a settlement agreement signed by both parties and referred to the court to have it made an order of court.
In cases where the settlement cannot be reached, the matter is referred to the consumer protector, who may issue summons against the business to appear before the court.
The court summons witnesses to provide evidence as requested. A person summoned but who fails to appear (without sufficient cause) shall be guilty of an offence.
The court awards costs, on a scale to be prescribed or in an amount determined by the court, against any person found to have conducted the unfair business practice concerned and who is found to have acted fraudulently or grossly unreasonably.
Non-compliance with an order of the consumer affairs court constitutes a criminal offence.
