If you buy something as a result of direct marketing, you get the right to back out of the deal without having to provide a reason, thanks to the Consumer Protection Act (CPA).
You have five business days in which to cancel the deal, in writing, for a full refund.
For example, if you agree to a cellphone contract when a telesales agent rings you up out of the blue, you have those five days in which to mull over the terms and conditions of the deal and decide whether or not you really want it.
And you get to cancel for no penalty, without having to provide a reason.
But if you initiate the “upgrade”, you have no such option. Cancel and you’ll be made to pay a hefty penalty.
The same should apply if you buy an air ticket in response to an e-mail from an airline advertising special offers – this makes it a direct marketing deal.
But this wasn’t Zulekha Badat’s experience with Mango Airlines. She made a return Durban to Joburg Mango booking on April 12 as a direct result of an e-mail from the airline advertising certain flights.
Within five business days she cancelled the first leg of her trip, in writing, at which point she was told she’d have to provide a doctor’s certificate to support her claim of being ill, and that she’d be refunded only in the form of a voucher – valid only for three months – minus a R170 “admin fee”. So I asked Mango Airlines to justify this position, given its apparent non-compliance with the CPA.
Spokesman Hein Kaiser said that had Badat cancelled her entire booking, “we would agree that perhaps it may have been a decision made in haste based on direct marketing”.
“However, Ms Badat chose only to use the one leg at her convenience and did not cancel the full trip.
“In such an instance Mango feels that it is entitled to charge a reasonable cancellation fee which covers our costs of the transaction.
“We do have products available such as Mango Plus and Mango Flex that offer flexibility and other benefits; these are sold at a premium and are available on our website.”
To my mind, suppliers don’t get subjectively to decide whether or not their customers deserve to benefit from the CPA’s protections, and to what extent.
If a deal is concluded as a result of direct marketing, the consumer should have the full protection which the act provides in such circumstances, if they cancel within five business days – a no-questions-asked refund.
So I sought the views of David Railo, head of research at the National Consumer Commission (NCC), who has been tasked with the responsibility of investigating airlines’ various contraventions of the act – particularly the continuing no-refund policy on budget ticket purchases. Railo agreed that Mango should have refunded Badat for the flight she cancelled – in full.
“We intend to come down hard on the airlines as soon as next week,” he said. - The Star