Istore Clearwater Mall in breach of Consumer Protection Act

On Saturday 01 Oct 2022, I visited the Clearwater mall Istore with my son to do an upgrade which took 2 hours. In that 2 hours, my son wanted a Rubik's connected cube, which had a price tag of R0.00. This box was sealed and the only sealed box on the shelf. There were no Rubik's demo items on the shelf. I took the item to the sales consultant and advised that I would like the item. According to the Consumer Protection Act, an item needs to be sold to a customer at the price displayed on the item. Again as mentioned the price tag on the item was R0.00 (zero rands). The sales consultant then took the item to the Assistant Manager Thenjiwe Sithole, who apparently called the Store Manager, Bongo Desha who left for the day, to obtain guidance on the sale of the item.

Thenjiwe, number 1 did not know anything about the Consumer Protection Act and refused to listen to anything I had to say. She went on to say that the sealed item was a demo item for customers to see. I asked, how is this a demo item when the box is sealed and the actual item is not displayed on the shelf. The item I picked up, was the only Rubik's connected cube on the shelf and it was sealed. She did not answer my question but instead continued to say I cannot give you this item. I am utterly appalled at the service received from Clearwater mall Istore. I honestly have never stood in an Istore for 2 hours for an upgrade previously, and secondly been to any store where a store manager does not know the Consumer Protection Act nor understand a customer's rights.

I would love for someone at Istore South Africa to contact me to resolve this issue as I would love to provide pictures of the item being discussed including a price tag saying R0.00. As a customer, a retailer needs to honour the price tag on the item and sell that item at the price on the item. It sadly appears that the message from IStore staff and the company being represented is, ‘You as a customer really don’t matter, and I can breach the Consumer Protection Act without any consequences!’ It further means they don’t care if they lose the business of a customer.