Buford A Dull
Puppy
The saga unfolds……
On 1 Sept 2012 I purchased a Spirit Dual Sport DSV helmet from Julian at Spirit Motorcycles for R1299, paying by credit card.
After a couple of months the lining started fraying on the cheekpads and neck area. I mentioned this in an earlier post.Oh well , wear and tear I thought.
About a month ago the chin strap started to fray, slowly at first and then at a quickening rate. This was not normal wear and tear.
On 29 Dec I returned to the shop and presented the helmet to Julian. He admitted that he had 3 helmets with this problem out of 300 sold and immediately offered to replace my helmet as soon as new stock arrived.
I thanked him but declined this offer stating that I had lost faith in the durability of the helmet and would like to exercise my right to a full refund ( as entitled to by law in the Consumer Protection Act ).
He agreed to do so without hesitation and apologized for the problem , undertaking to attend to it right away . I furnished him with my bank details to do an EFT to my cheque account.
I was satisfied with this arrangement and left the store thinking that dealing with him had been a pleasure.
And then …..
in the dawn of 2013……….
The transfer came through to my account on morning of 4 Jan 2013.
But wait …..whats this ? …… Only R1200 had been credited to my account.
I called up and asked Julian why I was short by R 99.
“ For bank charges “ I was told.
“ Um… No, I am entitled to a full refund “I said
“Do you expect me to absorb the costs of bank charges ? “ he asked.
“ Uh …yes “ I replied.
I then got a spiel about how little profit there is on each helmet ,and how he is doing me a favour by refunding me after so long and there are charges for credit card use ,and if it had been a cash sale there would be no problem and that his refund policy is under review and….and…..
When I could get a word in , I then pointed out that in terms of the Consumer Protection Act of 2012, which, by the way ,is now amongst the strongest consumer protection laws in the world , I am entitled to return defective goods within a period of 6 months for either a full refund , repair or replacement. This is at the purchasers discretion, not the vendor’s.
“ I don’t run my business like that . You have had the use of the helmet for 4 months. I can do nothing with it . I offered to replace it for you and you wanted a refund ,which I have now given you”
Well , yes, if I hadn’t worn it for 4 months it wouldn’t show any signs of defect now ,would it ? I wasn’t asking for anything more than that to which I am legally entitled , ie a full refund.
I then pointed out that Spirit Motorcycles had claimed the helmets were SABS approved and perhaps the SABS might be interested to see the condition of the strap of a piece of safety equipment after only 4 months of use.
“The SABS wont withdraw my approval over the wear of one strap anyway.
Are you trying to damage my business ? “ he asked.
“ No “ I said “ just stating my options “
“ And furthermore “ I continued “ I will be posting this on the Wild Dogs forum.”
“ Are you threatening me ? “ he asked .” You can deal with this any way you like and I have my way of dealing with it as well “
He then proceeded to tell me that I would be wasting my time persuing this and that the phone calls are probably going to cost me more than R99.
And that ,in a nutshell ,is how it went…….
Well , this is how I am dealing with it.
I have lodged a complaint with the National Consumer Commission at the Department of Trade and Industry ,and next week I will be informing the SABS of this disturbing defect in the chin strap of an item of safety equipment that they have approved , and I will be posting a complaint on hellopeter.com
Viva la consumer.
Peter B
On 1 Sept 2012 I purchased a Spirit Dual Sport DSV helmet from Julian at Spirit Motorcycles for R1299, paying by credit card.
After a couple of months the lining started fraying on the cheekpads and neck area. I mentioned this in an earlier post.Oh well , wear and tear I thought.
About a month ago the chin strap started to fray, slowly at first and then at a quickening rate. This was not normal wear and tear.
On 29 Dec I returned to the shop and presented the helmet to Julian. He admitted that he had 3 helmets with this problem out of 300 sold and immediately offered to replace my helmet as soon as new stock arrived.
I thanked him but declined this offer stating that I had lost faith in the durability of the helmet and would like to exercise my right to a full refund ( as entitled to by law in the Consumer Protection Act ).
He agreed to do so without hesitation and apologized for the problem , undertaking to attend to it right away . I furnished him with my bank details to do an EFT to my cheque account.
I was satisfied with this arrangement and left the store thinking that dealing with him had been a pleasure.
And then …..
in the dawn of 2013……….
The transfer came through to my account on morning of 4 Jan 2013.
But wait …..whats this ? …… Only R1200 had been credited to my account.
I called up and asked Julian why I was short by R 99.
“ For bank charges “ I was told.
“ Um… No, I am entitled to a full refund “I said
“Do you expect me to absorb the costs of bank charges ? “ he asked.
“ Uh …yes “ I replied.
I then got a spiel about how little profit there is on each helmet ,and how he is doing me a favour by refunding me after so long and there are charges for credit card use ,and if it had been a cash sale there would be no problem and that his refund policy is under review and….and…..
When I could get a word in , I then pointed out that in terms of the Consumer Protection Act of 2012, which, by the way ,is now amongst the strongest consumer protection laws in the world , I am entitled to return defective goods within a period of 6 months for either a full refund , repair or replacement. This is at the purchasers discretion, not the vendor’s.
“ I don’t run my business like that . You have had the use of the helmet for 4 months. I can do nothing with it . I offered to replace it for you and you wanted a refund ,which I have now given you”
Well , yes, if I hadn’t worn it for 4 months it wouldn’t show any signs of defect now ,would it ? I wasn’t asking for anything more than that to which I am legally entitled , ie a full refund.
I then pointed out that Spirit Motorcycles had claimed the helmets were SABS approved and perhaps the SABS might be interested to see the condition of the strap of a piece of safety equipment after only 4 months of use.
“The SABS wont withdraw my approval over the wear of one strap anyway.
Are you trying to damage my business ? “ he asked.
“ No “ I said “ just stating my options “
“ And furthermore “ I continued “ I will be posting this on the Wild Dogs forum.”
“ Are you threatening me ? “ he asked .” You can deal with this any way you like and I have my way of dealing with it as well “
He then proceeded to tell me that I would be wasting my time persuing this and that the phone calls are probably going to cost me more than R99.
And that ,in a nutshell ,is how it went…….
Well , this is how I am dealing with it.
I have lodged a complaint with the National Consumer Commission at the Department of Trade and Industry ,and next week I will be informing the SABS of this disturbing defect in the chin strap of an item of safety equipment that they have approved , and I will be posting a complaint on hellopeter.com
Viva la consumer.
Peter B
