Absolutely shocking prejudice against low-income customers using lay-bye option to buy cellphones.

I am writing this on behalf of my domestic worker, who were mistreated and absolutely prejudiced against when she bought a defective cellphone using the Ackermans lay-bye option.

On 16 October 2020 my domestic worker initiated the lay-buy purchase of a R999 HMR Axe 2 cellphone because she does not have the financial means to buy the phone cash. On 23 October 2020 she made the last payment, and got the phone. That was a Friday afternoon. Over the following weekend, she struggled to register the phone on the Vodacom network, and the phone had extremely poor sound. On 28 October 2020 she took the phone back to Ackermans in Hillcrest, KZN. They found the phone to be faulty. She demanded her money back or a new phone. Ackermans Till slip has the following wording: " Faulty handsets can be exchanged within 7 days of purchase..."

Great was her surprise, and shock, when she heard that she cannot have her money back or a new phone, because the 7 day period does not apply to lay-buy purchases!! She was told that there is no other option but the "brand new" phone must be repaired, and she will have to wait 3 to 4 weeks (starting from 28 October). When I asked her what was happening with her phone a MONTH later, she cried and told me this story that the staff at the shop refused to help her, and chased her away after taking her phone for repairs. Her excitement to buy new phoned turned into a horror story!

So I felt I had to go with her to the store to ask what happened and where the phone is. The store staff told me that the 7 day period indeed applies to lay-buys, but the clock on the 7 days starts the moment the lay-buy is initiated! Point 2 of the Ackermans policy on lay-buys clearly states that "Lay-buyed good shall remain the property of Ackermans until final payment is made." That means, ANYONE buying a cellphone on lay-bye is extremely prejudiced because they cannot inspect the phone until the final payment is made, yet the 7 day period commences weeks or even months before. That means the right each consumer is given by the Consumer Protection Act to return faulty or unwanted items within a 7 day period is taken away from low-income customers who can only afford to purchase items on lay-buy! This is an absolutely shocking policy, which severely disadvantages and prejudices Ackermans own customers.

I phoned the store manager, Esme, who did nothing but refer me to Ackermans Customer Care because it is apparently a policy issue.

I phoned the Ackermans Customer Care line on the back of the till slip. 0860 900 100. Ironically, NONE of the options given when you phone the number leads you directly to customer complaints!! How shocking. You have to hold the line until finally someone answers. So I eventually came through, and spoke to someone at Ackermans. Her first reaction is to direct me to the store manager, which would have put me right in a endless cycle of no commitment and responsibility. I refused that, and demanded them to take action. I even got a reference number: 682 060.

Today, 3 weeks later, I phoned because there was no follow up. Again, I was in a series of endless transfers from 1 department to the next, until I landed at Customer Complaints (remember, none of the phone options leads you there directly). I got told that they didn't have the details of the branch of Ackermans where this happened so they closed the previous complaint! Absolutely shocking! They tell you at the start of the call that all calls are recorded, yet they couldn't go back to the recording to pick up it is Hillcrest (even though the person on the first phone call could even give me the Hillcrest Store Managers contact details). Again, atrocious customer service to close the complaint for this reason.

So there is a list of complaints here, and if I could give a zero for satisfaction I would: 1. Shocking lay-buy policy that severely disadvantages and prejudices all customers who have a faulty cellphone, not just my domestic worker. I don't have a legal background, but I am sure this must be ******* and unconstitutional.

2. The way my domestic worker was treated at the store.

3. Shocking Customer Care experience. Ackermans deliberately makes it almost impossible to get through to complaints, and only the most persistent customers can persevere.

4. And when you get through and even get a complaint number, it is just closed because of a mistake on their side. i think it was done deliberately because I do not agree with the lame excuse.

5. The shocking cellphone repair - it was supposed to be 3 to 4 weeks, we are now at 6 weeks.

6. The phone itself. Why do they keep such poor quality phones - No one has heard of the HMR Axe 2 phone, but they sell it to customers for R999. If it is poor quality, don't sell it in the first instance!

Ackermans have to be ashamed that they treat low income customers in this manner. This specifically targets those customers buying using lay-buy, so that is why I specifically say they discriminate against poor customers. No one, whether you have money or you don't, should be so disadvantaged and treated in this manner.

Again, what was supposed to be a exciting and big event to buy the new phone turned into a horrible nightmare, which is still unresolved almost 2 months later.