Legal Advice
Welcome to the Legal Advice Office in South Africa
The Legal Advice Office offers affordable Legal Advice as well as Legal and Paralegal Services throughout South Africa.
Our legal advice and services are based on 40 years of experience in the professional legal field. As a purely internet based legal consultancy business, we pride ourselves in personal, professional and efficient service at affordable rates and undertake to revert to our clients within 48 hours of their query being received by us.
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At midnight on that day; that all changed for the better of the consumer
The Consumer Protection Act No 68 of 2008 (CPA).
One of the branches of our law that we, at The Legal Advice Office, try to specialise in, is Consumer Law.
There have been enormous innovations, improvements and new legislation in this field of the law over the last decade.
One of the most important pieces of legislation for the protection of consumers has been the promulgation of The Consumer Protection Act.
Prior to the commencement of The Consumer Protection Act, No 68 0f 2008 (CPA) which came into effect at midnight on the 31st March 2011; consumers had very little defence against abuse by service providers and/or abusive business practices; other than their normal common law or contract law rights.
At midnight on that day; that all changed.
A previously accident damaged vehicle IS ALWAYS a defective motor vehicle and this is especially true vis a vis the dealer if they did NOT disclose this fact to you at the time of the sale.
Last week we received this query:
“In February 2018 I bought a 2016 second hand BMW motor vehicle from a dealership in Gezina, Pretoria and although I have had satisfactory use of the vehicle for the last four months; I have now discovered that the vehicle which I bought in February 2018 was involved in a major accident last year (March 2017); which required repairs apparently totalling R 127350.00 by the insurance company and I am not happy with keeping this vehicle as that fact was not disclosed to me at the time of the sale in February this year and the dealership must have known about the accident. Is this vehicle defective and can I still claim a refund or replacement vehicle for the dealer I bought it from?”
The inconvenience for a landlord caused by an early cancellation will no doubt be annoying but it is clear that a tenant has the RIGHT to cancel a lease
One of the matters that we specialise in is Consumer law and lease agreement terminations.
Here is a recent query that was received by The Legal Advice Office last week:
“Hi, Hugh. I refer to our telephone call. I bought a business last year in September and signed a three-year lease agreement for its premises with the landlord. I also signed as surety for my company which runs the business. The business is losing money each month and I need your advice and help on getting out of this lease. Can you please help me?”
We will try to answer this question in this blog.
We will try today to give you some practical guidelines on what to do when you have bought a “lemon!”
As a consumer forum and as consumers lawyers; we are often involved in cases where clients of ours have bought a defective motor vehicle and refer the matter to us for legal advice on their rights in these circumstances; and also sometimes to provide them with proper professional legal services to resolve and mediate the matter with the dealer or private seller.
Here are some of the common questions sent to us.
- What do I do if I have purchased a defective or damaged motor vehicle from a dealer?
- How does the Common Law protect me when I have bought a defective vehicle privately?
- How does the Consumer Protection Act No 68 of 2008 (CPA) protect me as I bought a damaged and defective vehicle three months ago and the dealer it is not his problem?
Strictly speaking, the three laws are all different and in separate categories of the law.
Consumer Law and some related fields:
The close relationship between Food Law, Medicine Law, and Consumer Protection Law are often mentioned interchangeably in the press; although strictly speaking they are all different and separate categories of the law.
We will today look at these three branches of the Law and see how they interact with one another.
All fixed terms agreements only apply to natural people like you and me and not to companies. This is the first important aspect to note.
On a regular basis, we receive enquiries at The Legal Advice Office about how a consumer can go about terminating a fixed term contract.
Both the common law and the Consumer Protection Act No 68 of 2008 (CPA) can play a role in this subject; so we thought we would today look at the role of the CPA in this regard.
The supplier’s written guarantee does not replace the warranty created and contained in the CPA.
A Case Study
In response to our last blog on the consumer’s right to a repair, replacement or refund; we received the following query on Saturday morning.
“I read your blog on section 56(2) of the CPA on Facebook. My situation is different. I bought a new vehicle from a BMW dealer in Benoni in a cash transaction. Within a period of 6 months, the vehicle had to go in for repairs on two occasions, the last time was on the 22nd March 2018. On both occasions, the dealership repaired the vehicle at their own expense. In both instances; the repairs related to mechanical problems with the vehicle's transmission. In the last week the vehicle has again broken down and I am now at my wit's end. Do I have to allow them to repair the vehicle yet again or can I still insist on a replacement or a refund of my money?”
We, as consumers, have the choice of repair, refund or replace in the event of goods bought by us being defective or damaged at the time of the sale.
One of the branches of the Law that we specialise in is Consumer Law and often regarding defective motor vehicles. The inquiry was sent to us yesterday.
“Can I sue a dealer who has sold me a defective motor vehicle? My attorney told me to sue them for damages and wanted a R 15000.00 deposit. What are my options? I bought the vehicle on the 20th January 2018 and it now has a seized engine as a result of a defective water connection pipe and I have been quoted R 66400.00 for repairs. Please advise me in this regard.
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