A fight that the FF Plus has been fighting for a number of years on behalf of consumers was finally won this week when a panel from the Department of Trade and Industry made recommendations with regard to problems in the holiday club industry that confirmed the FF Plus’s view of the matter.
The panel’s numerous recommendations are mainly focused on rectifying shortcomings in the point system of the holiday club industry.
The FF Plus will make sure that the recommendations contained in the report are indeed implemented so that consumers can finally get out of unfair contracts and get the services that they paid for.
What is of great importance is the finding that perpetual contracts are problematic and that contracts should, therefore, only be valid for a specific term. Another recommendation is that it must also be made easier to cancel contracts.
Furthermore, it was found that the industry is dominated by monopolies at present and that opportunities for competition must be created which will lead to improved products and services.
Consumers need to realise that this report is aimed at the future and that it may not necessarily solve the problems that consumers have right now. The FF Plus, therefore, recommends that consumers must still report their individual complaints regarding holiday club contracts to the Consumer Commission for assessment.
The panel’s recommendations will be turned into legislation and that could take two to three years and so it is important that consumers still lodge personal complaints with the Consumer Commission.
The Commissioner of the Consumer Commission has indicated that in the interim, the Commission will liaise with stakeholders in the industry to ensure that perpetual contracts that were entered into by pensioners and elderly people due to aggressive marketing strategies are cancelled immediately.
The FF Plus agrees that it is a serious problem and is shares consumers’ joy over the Commissioner’s undertaking. The party will continue to monitor the implementation thereof and ensure that it is indeed executed as promised.
This report underlines the importance of having a political party in Parliament that acts on behalf of consumers and the public should not underestimate the power and influence of the political parties in Parliament.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Adv Anton Alberts on FF PLus
South Africa Today – South Africa News
