Q: Less than two years ago I bought an ice-crusher from a local store.

Recently it stopped working altogether. A few days ago, I went back to the store for a replacement or a refund.

I first complained to the floor manager, who told me that the store only caters for replacement in the first month after the sale.

I was also told that company policy states that customers have to fill in a form after which the company will decide what to do.

I was not satisfied with this answer, so I asked to see the shop manager. Basically, he told me the same thing – that it is the company’s policy.

I filled the requested form and now I am waiting for an answer as to whether my product will be replaced or not.

Could you kindly tell me if such company policy is legal? Am I entitled to request an immediate solution to my problem?

A: The Consumer Affairs Act obliges traders to provide a remedy to consumers for any lack of conformity in the goods purchased, such as latent defects. The remedies consumers are entitled to are free repair or replacement.

If these two remedies are not possible or may cause a significant inconvenience to consumers, a part or full refund may be requested.

The law does not specifically state what procedure should be followed by traders to provide such remedies.

What it does state, however, is that any repair or replacement “shall be completed as soon as possible, within a reasonable time and without any significant inconvenience to the consumer, taking into account the nature of the goods and the purpose for which the consumer required the goods”.

So the company may implement its own procedure as to how to handle consumer complaints.

My advice is to follow the company’s procedure, and if you do not have a satisfactory reply to your complaint within a reasonable time of say, two weeks, then file a complaint with the Consumer and Competition Department for mediation.