CURRENTLY there is an electronic store advertising great bargains with a mini convertible laptop that does the work of a tablet and a netbook, with a multiplicity of functions, like accessing different media sites and other fun things.Earlier this same store had advertised great deals for electronic items, with too good to be true bargains, with hi-tech electronic equipment being sold for approximately half the price they would normally cost. Well, it is too good to be true, because most times the items do not work effectively, or they cease to work after a few days. Take it back? Waste of time and taxi fare, because they always have an excuse why the warranty is not applicable, so the item is not returnable.
One woman bought a rice cooker, among a number of other things from a store in Regent Street. While she had bought the rice cooker for herself, the other items were Christmas presents, so she had no idea whether the gifts had worked and she had forgotten to whom she had given what; a couple of weeks after, she tried to use the rice cooker.
She washed the pot, put in rice and water and then switched on the appliance, only to discover that while the power light was indicated as on, the food was not cooking. When she removed the pot she saw the heating apparatus below had been bent out of shape. She took back the item to the store and was treated with much supercilious scorn by the manager and salespersons, all of whom refused to even speak to her, except to make fun of her. The woman was so disgusted that she left the unworkable appliance on the counter and walked away.
She then filed a complaint to the Consumers body located in the Ministry of Trade and Tourism building, only to be informed via snail mail that their inspector had inspected the item and discovered that it had been damaged by liquid spilling in. Well, either that inspector works in collusion with the store owners, or he did not inspect the item before formulating his conclusion, because the water had not even heated up, much less boiled over; but that is moot, because anyone who knows the structure of a rice cooker knows that it is impossible for liquids in the pot to spill and affect the heating mechanism, because it is artfully protected. The woman still has the letter from the Consumers body. She had used a rice cooker for years and it was still working when she bought the new one, because she had decided to give her old one, which was very small, to her bachelor handyman. She subsequently bought another cooker from another store and, a couple of years since then, the second rice cooker she bought is still working perfectly.
Someone, not versed in the way of the world, bought a universal computer charger from a supposedly reputable computer and electronic store that is located on Brickdam. The salesperson assured her that she had a 3-month warranty and that the item was returnable if it became dysfunctional within that time-frame. It became dysfunctional within two weeks, but when she returned it, the manager said that those items only had a seven days’ return policy.
A popular Brazilian store in the Regent Street Mall advertises all kinds of miraculous solutions to a multiplicity of problems; so one person went to buy a massage equipment. When he asked for a warranty, he was told they do not issue warranties. He had already made the purchase so he left. Within weeks the item stopped functioning and he is left with no recourse to recoup his money.
These stories of the duplicity of business houses and the duped occur on such a regular basis that consumers, especially those who do not like a fuss, have become stoic in accepting such incidents as a fact of life.
Even the vendors have gotten into the act. They offer you “taste and buy”, then give you a very sweet genip to taste, then you decide to buy a ton because the genip they proffer is so sweet and fleshy and you anticipate with relish the enjoyment you would have ensconced in your hammock with a book with which to relax after a hard and tiring day; then you take a bite, preparing to savour the flavour, but instead your hair nearly stands on end because the genip you bite into is more sour than sourree. The trick they play is to buy the sour genip cheaply in bulk, then buy a couple of parcels from another vendor who has luscious genips; which is what they provide to the gullible consumer in their ‘taste and buy’ offers. You eventually discover that you are literally left holding the bag – proverbially and actually, a bag of inedibly tongue-curling fruit.
And they advertise: They put three nearly-rotten mangoes, hidden behind a sign that says “One parcel for $100, then carefully place a luscious four in a parcel prominently displayed in front of the sign. You then hand over your $100, thinking you got a bargain; but you didn’t. You instead receive the three nearly rotten mangoes that had been craftily hidden behind the sign.
And the scams continue endlessly, with newly emerging devices winning for the con artists riches beyond compare in some instances. So consumers; take warning and guard your dollars.