The Consumer Flashcards

1
Q

What is a contract?

A

An agreement that is intended to create legal rights and duties between its parties

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2
Q

What is a breach of contract?

A

When one party doesn’t do what they promised in the contract

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3
Q

What happens if there is a breach of contract?

A
  • Court can force other person to do what they promised
  • Cancel the contract
  • Sue the other person
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4
Q

CPA

A

Consumer Protection Act

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5
Q

What does the CPA do

A
  • Forbids automatic renewal of fixed-term agreements
  • Right to cancel contract at anytime but still pay what needs to be paid
  • If repairs are done - companies must provide estimate
  • Consumer has right to high-quality products = All defects must be known
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6
Q

Guidelines for contracts

A
  • T&C’s must be explained in language you understand
  • ^ Read contract carefully
  • Ask as many questions as possible
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7
Q

What is an exemption clause?

A

A clause that clears the party from any liabilities if he or she fail to honour the agreement or if the product does not serve its purpose.

  • cannot exclude injury/death/defective goods
  • Must be reasonable
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8
Q

Define direct marketing

A

To approach someone in person and promote goods

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9
Q

Examples of direct marketing

A
  • Sales agent approaches customer

- Electronic means = SMS marketing or e-mails

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10
Q

Cooling-off period

A
  • a period of time following a purchase when the purchaser may choose to cancel a purchase, and return goods which have been supplied
  • Applies to goods, not services
  • 5 days cooling-off period
  • You may cancel without penalty
  • Must be refunded within 15 days
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11
Q

What is unfair business practice?

A
  • Fraud, misrepresentation, oppressive and unreasonable behaviour towards customers
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12
Q

Two acts that protect consumers

A

National Credit Act and CPA

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13
Q

What is a warranty

A

A written promise to replace or repair an item if it does not satisfy the consumer - it will be replaced or repaired free of charge

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14
Q

What is a guarantee?

A

A written promise that the quality and durability of a product will meet certain standards and if it does not you will get your money back

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15
Q

What are Grey Goods/Parallel imports

A

Products that imported into a country legally through unofficial distribution channels. It is legal since necessary duties are paid, but sold by unauthorised groups.

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16
Q

What are scams?

A

Fraudulent business deals that are often linked to organised crime

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17
Q

What is phishing?

A

An attempt to act as your bank and get your bank details

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18
Q

Tips to protect yourself against online scams

A
  • Don’t open potential spam emails - delete them
  • Don’t open attachments that may be from your bank
  • Check bank and credit card statements regularly
  • Ensure anti-virus and anti-spam software are updated
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19
Q

How credit card fraud can occur

A
  • Card swapping
  • Theft
  • Card skimming
  • E-mails claiming to be from credit card provider
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20
Q

How to prevent credit card fraud

A
  • Never leave cards unattended
  • Ensure you immediately get your card back
  • Memorise your pin
  • Destroy expired cards
  • Destroy financial information
  • Report lost/stolen cards immediately
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21
Q

What is identity theft?

A
  • Someone stealing personal information and posing as you to do criminal acts
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22
Q

What are stokvels?

A
  • A savings club
  • They are legal
  • A way to put money away each month
  • Ensure you trust the people that are apart of it
  • Ensure there are clear rules about the stokvel
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23
Q

What is a pyramid scheme?

A
  • An illegal scheme where the person at the top enrolls people and promises them money for bringing in other people while there is no real investment or selling of goods happening.
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24
Q

What is Multilevel Marketing?

A
  • The same as a pyramid scheme but with an actual income generated and real goods sold
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25
Q

What is revenue?

A

The total amount of income available to the government = often coming from taxes

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26
Q

What is Direct Tax?

A

The principle that people should contribute towards the wealth of the state
- Income and Property tax

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27
Q

What is income tax

A
  • Tax levied on the income and profit that a taxpayer receives
  • PAYE is implemented where employer takes from the balance of the employee’s income
  • Provisional tax - For irregular income = Paid in 2 parts
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28
Q

Property Tax

A
  • Taxes on ownership of property
  • Based on market value of property
  • Paid monthly or annually
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29
Q

Indirect Taxes

A
  • Hidden taxes among goods and services
  • VAT ; added to price of specified goods and services
  • Sin Tax (Excise tax) ; Alcohol and Cigarettes
  • Licenses
  • Fuel levy
  • Import tax
30
Q

What is an interest rate?

A

The rate at which borrows pay interest for the money they borrowed

31
Q

Repo Rate

A

The interest rate at which commercial banks borrow from the Reserve Bank

32
Q

What is simple interest?

A

Calculated on the principle of a loan ; usually for short-term loans

33
Q

What is compound interest?

A

When interest is added to principal amount so that the interest earns interest

34
Q

Prime interest rate

A

The interest rate that banks use to determine the interest rate charged on the loans of their customers

35
Q

Definition of inflation

A

The rise in prices of goods and services over a specific period and subsequently there’s a drop in purchasing power

36
Q

Definition of inflation rate

A

The annual percentage change in the CPI

37
Q

Effects of inflation

A
  • Effects those with a fixed income if salaries/wages do not keep up with IR
  • Reduces the purchasing power of savings
  • People with fixed interest rate benefit repaying on loan worth less than the money they originally borrowed
38
Q

What is CPI and how is it measured?

A

Consumer price index

- Measures the changes in the cost of goods and services over a specific period

39
Q

Main sources of electricity

A
  • Fossil fuels, solar energy, hydropower, wind power, bioenergy
40
Q

Fossil fuels

A
  • Fossilised forms in the earth from plant or animal remains the process to form fuel
  • Oil, coal and gas
  • Non-renewable
41
Q

Advantages and disadvantages of fossil fuels

A

Advantages

  • Coal stations are reliable, cost-effective and energy-efficient
  • Large amounts of electricity generated
  • Stations can be located anywhere

Disadvantages

  • Pollution
  • Sulphur dioxide = acid rain
  • Habitat loss
  • Can be dangerous
42
Q

Regenerative energy

A

Renewable energy that nature will replace

43
Q

Solar Power

A
  • Comes from sun’s rays
  • Are abundant

Advantages

  • Clean, no pollution
  • Available almost anywhere
  • No noise pollution
  • Government gives financial incentive

Disadvantages

  • Investment is quite high
  • Expensive
  • Only available during the day
  • Dependent on hours of sunlight per day
44
Q

Wind power

A
  • Converting wind energy into electricity using wind turbines

Advantages

  • One of the best renewable sources of energy
  • Clean, no pollution
  • Land beneath turbines still used for farming
  • Can supply to remote areas

Disadvantages

  • Can be expensive if near coast
  • Unpredictable
  • Can kill birds/bats
  • Unsightly
  • Noisy
45
Q

Hydropower

A
  • Derived from using falling water to produce energy
  • Dams built on existing lakes and water is used on generators

Advantages

  • Can be cheap
  • Most reliable
  • Can be used at any time
  • Doesn’t create pollution

Disadvantages

  • Can destroy ecosystems
  • Can be costly to build
  • Can affect quality and quantity of water
  • Finding a site can be difficult
46
Q

Biomass

A

All plant and animal matter used for energy

47
Q

Bioenergy

A
  • The energy using biomass to generate heat and electricity

Advantages

  • Cheap
  • Reduces greenhouse gas effect
  • Reduces dependency on oil
  • Does not create CO2

Disadvantages

  • Can lead to erosion and desertification
  • Can release greenhouse gases
  • Materials may not be easy to retrieve or unavailable
48
Q

Why should consumers reduce use of electricity?

A
  • Cuts expenditure costs

- It adds to global warming and pollution

49
Q

Using lighting efficiently

A
  • Lights off when leaving a room
  • Use compact fluorescent lamps
  • Use fewer bulbs with higher wattages
  • Use low-energy lamps
50
Q

Using heating and cooling efficiently

A
  • Insulate your ceilings
  • Use infrared heaters
  • Wear warm clothes instead
51
Q

Using the fridge efficiently

A
  • Arrange shelves so air circulates freely
  • Let hot foods cool
  • Don’t open door unnecessarily
52
Q

Heating water efficiently

A
  • Set geyser temp to 60 degrees
  • Insulate geyser and pipes to prevent heat loss
  • Use a low-flow showerhead
  • Use solar energy to heat up water
53
Q

Washing clothes efficiently

A
  • Wash full load in cold water
  • Front-loading washing machine uses less water
  • Select short washing programmes
54
Q

Drying clothes efficiently

A
  • Hang clothes on washing line instead of in dryer

- Avoid ironing clothes by removing clothes promtply from tumble dryer

55
Q

Cooking efficiently

A
  • Use a pressure cooker
  • Plan meals
  • Match pots and pans to stove plates
  • Keep oven doors closed until food is cooked
56
Q

Washing dishes efficiently

A
  • Fill it completely
  • Turn it off before drying cycle
  • Scrape but don’t pre-rinse dishes by hand
57
Q

What gas do we use?

A
  • Liquid petroleum gas (LPG)
  • No odour but a harmless, non-toxic chemical is added to it and gives it a distinct smell
  • Cylinders should always be upright
58
Q

What do we use gas for?

A
  • Cooking

- Water heaters

59
Q

How should we use gas?

A
  • Ensure cylinder is in good condition
  • Ensure all connections are secure
  • Too much air = blue flame , too little air = yellow, orange air
60
Q

Advantages and disadvantages of LPG

A

Advantages

  • Saving electricity
  • Lower your demand for electricity = less negative impact on ecosystem
  • Shrinks carbon footprint
  • Easy to use and store
  • Relatively clean

Disadvantages

  • Can be costly
  • Can explode making it unsafe in rural areas
  • A non-renewable resource
  • Is heavy - difficulty transporting
  • Highly flammable
61
Q

What is water quality?

A

Water that is safe, drinkable and pure enough for consumption with little to no harm done

62
Q

What is water pollution?

A

The contamination of water bodies

- Caused by urbanisation, deforestation, damming of rivers, destruction of wetlands, mining, industry, agriculture

63
Q

Substances that cause water pollution

A

Micro-organism (Diseases)

Chemicals (Toxins released by industries)

64
Q

How to make water safe to drink

A
  • Boiling ; kills germs
  • Adding bleach (Chlorine)
  • Adding Chlor-floc
65
Q

How to use water responsibly

A
  • Be aware of your water consumption
  • Do a water audit
  • Check and fix for leaks
  • Make your garden water wise
  • Manage the use of water in swimming pools
  • Reduce the toilet flush volume
  • Reduce shower volume
  • Think conservation when using water
  • Water-efficient use of appliances
  • Recycle grey water to the garden
66
Q

What does the national government do?

A
  • Make policies and laws about the rights and responsibilities of citizens and the delivery of government services
67
Q

What does the provincial government do?

A
  • Carry out the government policies
68
Q

What is the municipality?

A

A town enjoying some degree or self-government

69
Q

Services that municipalities are responsible for

A
  • Water
  • Electricity
  • Sanitation
  • Refuse removal
70
Q

Responsibilities of communities regarding the use of municipal services

A
  • Pay the municipalities for their services
  • Appreciate and handle services with great care
  • Obey and follow the law
  • Vote in elections
  • Hold municipalities accountable for the constitutional obligations
  • Engage with the municipality