A search for a bed that was meant to give a granny a peaceful sleep has turned into a nightmare after the shop she bought it from refuses to refund her, claiming bankruptcy.
Victoria Nemaduluni, 54, a second-hand clothes seller in Cape Town, had been battling with back pain for years and then last year she thought she had found a bed that would bring her relief after a friend recommended a particular brand that was stiff and would bring comfort to her back.
While bed shopping last year in November she ended up at Beds Galore in Montague Gardens, Cape Town, where she bought an R8,000 queen-size bed with accessories, totalling R11,000. The bed had a 20-year warranty.
“The sales manager Chris was so kind and he helped me pick the kind of bed that suited me. He seemed to have understood my condition. I’ve had my old bed for about 20 years and it had become too soft for me to sleep on and didn’t help my back pain. So I was happy with Chris’s recommendation,” Nemaduluni told Sowetan Consumer last week.
Her new bed was delivered shortly afterwards.
“When they came with it they realised that it wouldn’t fit the stairway to my flat. We eventually agreed that they will take it back to the shop and refund me. They paid me back R5,000 a week later and there was still R6,000 outstanding,” said Nemaduluni.
She said she had gone to the shop several times and was told that the money would be paid to her as soon as the shop had it.
“They told me that they were having financial troubles. I don’t understand because whenever I go I’d see customers buying stuff around me and business seemed okay. I really do not understand how a shop could be so broke that it can’t afford to pay me back my R6,000,” said Nemaduluni.
Chris, the sales manager, said he was aware of Nemaduluni’s plight and that he had been waiting for the shop’s owner's intervention.
“Unfortunately the owner is currently overseas. I know about the lady’s problem and I have taken this up with the owner but what I know is that the shop have been having a cash-flow problem since November and business went down hence there have been delays with paying the refund.
“We had hoped that we would make some profit during the festive season but a lot of people are suffering financially. Even I did not make my targets for the month of January. We are hoping that things will pick up in February and then we will pay her back her money,” said Chris.
He promised to send the owner’s contact details but had not done so by the time of going to print.
The Consumer Protection Act makes it compulsory for businesses to accept returned goods and refund consumers their money.
“The warranty places an obligation on suppliers to accept returned goods within six months of delivery in the event that the goods do not comply with requirements and standards for safety and quality. In such an event, the supplier must at the discretion of the consumer, either refund all the monies paid, exchange the goods or repair them.
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