Tougher laws mooted for errant car dealers
Isaac Pinielo | Tuesday November 15, 2016 18:00
Speaking at a workshop held in Gaborone last week, Principal commercial officer in the Department of Trade and Consumer Affairs, Gorata Moloise said government is set to review the current consumer protection laws to come up with hefty charges.
The workshop was hosted by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry in conjunction with motor industry dealers.
She said the law intends to end unfair business practices in the motor vehicle industry. According to the department, unfair business practices encompass deceptive, misrepresentation, and oppressive or unconscionable acts or practices by businesses, often against consumers. Moloise said the department has taken into account the fact that consumer issues are varied in nature, noting that the current laws do not cover some issues on motor trade. “We hope that the new laws will cover all the areas that are not currently covered by the consumer protection laws,” she said.
Earlier on, the department’s commercial officer, Obed Rankwe said the consumer office was inundated with complaints against car dealerships that engage in unscrupulous practices.
“The office is experiencing an influx of consumer complaints from the motor industry that provide repair services and sell used vehicles,” he said. Rankwe stated that statistics from consumer complaints received by the office show that complaints relating to sale and repair of pre-owned vehicles are among those that are in the lead.
In 2015-2016, Rankwe said the office received a total of 1,571 consumer complaints with vehicle complaints being amongst the leading with a total of 272 cases registered. He indicated that the imported vehicles, usually from Asia, are purchased at an alarming rate due to the affordable prices, adding that consumers do not pay attention to the terms and condition of sale.
He said businesses take advantage of consumers’ ignorance and set contractual terms that exonerate them from any liability for repairing any defects that may arise at a later stage. “Another area of concern is the involvement of third party agents who conspire with businesses to sell on their behalf, making it difficult for consumers to get redress when a complaint arises,” Rankwe said. The officer further noted that there is a serious lack of understanding of the use of the ‘Voetstoots Clause’, hence an influx of consumer complaints from the industry.
Voetstoots is an Afrikaans term used to describe the act of buying something ‘as is’ or ‘as it stands’ or ‘with all its defects’.
Typically found in a sale agreement for second hand movable or immovable objects that have deteriorated through normal wear and tear or may be defective to some extent due to constant use or through natural decay over time, the voetstoots clause frees the seller from any liability for patent or latent defects, which the buyer may later find when he takes possession of the property or goods.However, Rankwe said the seller can be held liable for latent defects which are later discovered, if the seller knew of the defects and did not fully disclose them to the buyer.
“The seller can also be held liable if they make a fraudulent misrepresentation. This may occur by expressly denying the presence of latent defects of which the seller is aware of when asked or failing to disclose a defect, although not specifically asked about the defect,” he said.