Consumer rights must include awareness and enforcement

Customers usually get outraged when a product does not work properly or when they receive bad service and are quick to proclaim that they know their rights but Cornellé van Graan, chairperson of the Direct Selling Association of South Africa (DSASA) said Customers often don’t know their rights.

“Most people are simply too busy to find out what their rights really are and tend to rely on assumptions, advice from a friend or colleague, or a vague recollection of something that they had heard or read,” said van Graan.

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Van Graan stressed the importance of consumer rights awareness in direct selling, a sector that is growing rapidly and contributed close to R13 billion to South Africa’s economy in 2016.

“It is a dynamic, growing industry which can only be sustainable if consumers have confidence in the professionalism, customer service and business ethics of the resellers and the direct selling companies which they represent,” van Graan said.

For this reason, van Graan said the DSASA is strict regarding its Code of Ethics, a legally binding document that members and their resellers are obliged to comply with as a condition of membership.

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Van Graan said the code has been in place for a number of years.

“The focus now is on increasing awareness of the Code, so that consumers are aware of their rights and independent resellers are aware of their rights and responsibilities. It is also very important for consumers and resellers to know what to do if the Code is not being adhered to,” van Graan said.

The Code protects resellers and consumers by, amongst other provisions, ensuring that member companies provide:

• Resellers with accurate information about products and services;
• Sufficient and ongoing training to resellers on product information
• Sufficient and ongoing training to resellers on ethics and marketing practices.

It also requires resellers to:

• Respect customer wishes to discontinue a product demonstration or sales interaction;
• Ensure product and service rates, descriptions and claims are accurate;
• Provide a receipt to the consumer allowing the consumer to cancel any purchase order of products or services within at least five working days from the date of purchase and receive a full refund.

Van Graan pointed out that the code is more than words on a website and is legally binding, especially to companies belonging to the DSASA who are obliged to ensure enforcement in cases where the code is not being adhered to.

“Obviously the first port of call in a dispute is the reseller. If he or she is unable to resolve the issue, it can be escalated to the related member company, failing which the DSASA should be contacted by E-mail at admin@dsasa.net for an unbiased assessment of the issue and steps for remedying the issue if required,” said van Graan.

The continued growth of direct selling in South Africa means more consumers will be buying more products and services from more independent resellers, more often. The Code ensures that these transactions are professional and ethical and that both consumer and reseller are protected if the Code is not adhered to.