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Lucy was having trouble getting any of the R2 000 she’d paid to Hi-Fi Corp after her lay-by agreement lapsed. That’s when Wendy Knowler took up the case.
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Millions of consumers are opting for one of the “buy-now-pay-later” payment options most retailers are offering, and for good reason.
You get the goods immediately and pay them off over a few months, with no interest. You only pay fees if you default on payment.
But the good old lay-by still remains the most consumer-friendly way to buy things you can’t pay for in a lump sum, in my opinion.
Especially if you don’t need them immediately.
That’s because if you change your mind at any point in the paying-it-off process, or you can’t afford to make any more payments, you get to cancel, and the store must refund you what you’ve paid up to that point, minus just 1% of the purchase price.
So if the product costs R2 500, the cancellation penalty deduction would only be R25, meaning your refund would be R2 475.
That’s how it’s supposed to work, according to the Consumer Protection Act.
But domestic worker Lucy* was having trouble getting any of the R2 000 she’d paid to the Hi-Fi Corp branch in Bayside Mall, Tableview, after her lay-by agreement lapsed.
She had paid the store R2 000 as her first payment on a R9 000 gas stove in November 2024.
As she was unable to afford any further payments, the agreement lapsed six months later – in May 2025 – and despite visiting the store many times, she never left with her refund in hand.
Taking up the issue on Lucy’s behalf, her employer, Dee Blias, emailed the store manager about the case three times with no response.
“When Lucy called him, he said he’d call her back but didn’t,” Blias said.
“It appears as if the matter is being delayed in the hope that Lucy will abandon her claim.
“Minus the 1% cancellation penalty, she is owed R1 910,” she said.
“For someone in her circumstances, that is a significant amount of money.”
I took up Lucy’s case with Ankia van der Pluym, corporate customer relations manager for Pepkor Lifestyle, which owns the Hi-Fi Corp brand.
“We have tracked this transaction’s history and can confirm that the refund is being processed in full – we will not be charging any cancellation penalty,” she said.
As for the delay, she said an internal review had identified “a few complications".
“While the lay-by was cancelled in May 2025 and a R2 000 refund was marked as processed, an error occurred, resulting in the customer not receiving it,” she said.
“It is a policy within our business that all lay-by cancellations are diligently refunded in line with customer rights and legislation.
“[Lucy] will be contacted to collect the refund from the store.”
The collection happened last Thursday.
“Lucy is absolutely over the moon and so incredibly grateful to you,” Blias said.
“Ironically, the very sales consultant who told Lucy each time she followed up in-store that she would not be getting her money back was the one who handed her the cash refund in the end.”
I do love a satisfying end!
Winter is coming
So you know how the clothes retailers are filling their windows and their online listings with winter clothes now, when most of us are still in summer gear?
Well, that makes for the perfect lay-by scenario because only getting that pair of boots or that jacket in three months’ time – when the weather is a lot cooler – is perfect.
You get to secure that winter garment now at today’s price and spread the payments over the next few months. No interest, no fees, and if you decide to cancel, you get what you’ve paid back – minus just 1% as a cancellation penalty.
And if they say the item of clothing is no longer available at the end of the lay-by period, you can demand an equivalent or superior item.
If it was negligent in not keeping it aside for you, you are entitled to a refund of double the amount you paid.
And if the lay-by item is no longer available due to circumstances beyond the retailer’s control – such as the store being looted or burnt down – you are entitled to a full refund, plus interest.
*Surname withheld for privacy.
CONTACT WENDY:
Email: consumer@news24.com
Twitter: @wendyknowler
Due to the volume of emails Wendy receives, she cannot undertake to take up every case or respond to every email. Please include dates, reference numbers, receipts, and other relevant details in your emails.
