New Consumer Act Welcomed

Compliance Challenges for new Consumer Act welcomed.

Some window film companies in South Africa could be facing challenges in complying with the new Consumer Act which was introduced last year, reports Leon Lev, CEO of Klingshield, the world leaders when it comes to the innovation of window film and window tinting products.

Leon Levy the founder of Klingshield, says the act will be beneficial.

"It is designed to protect consumers against unscrupulous suppliers who misrepresent consumers and don't offer genuine warranties”.

Klingshield comply with many of the requirements of the CPA and therefore Klingshield and other such companies strictly adhere to these standards.

Consumers will benefit as the legislation will see many unscrupulous suppliers and installers not being able to comply with the legislation said Levy.  In essence if the product fails, the CPA would ask whether the supplier expected it and whether the supplier took sufficient care to avoid the failure. The act calls for product guarantees to be strictly enforced, and the guarantee must be fair and easy for the consumer to understand.

The aim of the act is to protect poorly informed consumers from buying products and services that do not meet the intended specification. For example, having smash and grab installed on your car windows without taking the film below the door panels in order to offer the best protection possible. The act also prohibits certain unfair marketing and business practise, which will be monitored by a new consumer tribunal.

This will mean that any importer, distributor or installer could be held liable for any harm their product may cause if they could foresee the defective part causing such harm and reasonable steps were not taken to avoid such harm.

Window film installers will also be held liable for installing film that does not create a safe barrier by making sure the film tucks under the door panel otherwise it could come out of the frame very easily when it is penetrated by an attacker and will therefore fail as a protective product.

If the installer does not warn the consumer they could be held liable no matter who the fault lies with. Most smash and grab installers do not even understand what is required of them under the Consumer Act and the difference between premium products and economy products that do not offer the best protection to the consumer.

Therefore it is not about price selection, but very much about how the product is installed. Klingshield safety film products have a huge amount of adhesive to hold the glass together as well as offering the best clarity in the business. These factors play an important role in ensuring we deliver the best safety film in the market place.

Let the installers beware!

View our video Klingshield one way mirror window film applied to glass for internal partitions