East Coast Radio - Catch Up Consumer Hacks with Wendy Knowler

Sold a dud car on finance? Chase the bank

Loading player...
If you buy a used car on finance and it turns out to be a lemon, don’t spend all your energy on the dealer. The bank that financed it is on the hook too. Our Supreme Court of Appeal confirmed it recently: when a bank finances a defective car, it wears two hats, lender and supplier, so it is liable under the Consumer Protection Act. That means you can cancel the agreement and get your money back, not just chase a refund from the dealer. So, when a dealer and a bank point fingers at each other, remind the bank of that ruling and compel them to cancel the deal. If they refuse, lodge a complaint with the National Financial Ombudsman.
24 Jul English South Africa Education · Self-Improvement

Other recent episodes

Mind that balloon

Balloon payments are appealing in that you get the car for a smaller “affordable” monthly payment, BUT a big lump sum awaits you after six or seven years. On a R350 000 car over five years, a 20% balloon knocks around R870 off your instalment. But here's the catch. You…
31 Jul 1 min

That “local” shop is shipping from China

Spotted a slick online shop with a South African-sounding name and great prices? Look twice. A lot of them aren’t local at all. They are fronts for sellers shipping from China. And those appealing pics are all AI. So, your “three-day delivery” becomes three weeks, the quality often disappoints, and…
30 Jul 1 min

Pay the invoice without checking, lose the money

An awful form of bank fraud is on the rise – it’s called Business Email Compromise. Here how it works - a fraudster hacks into an email exchange, waits for an invoice, then swaps in their own banking details before it reaches you. You pay, in good faith, and your…
28 Jul 1 min

That’s not me, that’s a clone

Here is a fast-growing scam - fraudsters copy your social media account, your name, your photo, even your videos, and set up a near-identical fake. Then they slide into your followers’ comments and messages, posing as you, to sell them something dodgy or fish for their money. It happened to…
27 Jul 1 min
All episodes