Few laws touch day-to-day trading as directly as the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA). Every return at the counter, every warranty claim and every 24-month contract is governed by it. Yet many businesses still rely on old terms and conditions, till slips that say “no refunds” and contracts that make cancellation difficult.
The regulators are paying attention. In 2023 the National Consumer Tribunal fined Vodacom R1 million for, among other things, charging a cancellation penalty it found unjustifiable and refusing to cancel contracts where customers were in arrears. During 2025 the Tribunal ordered several used-car dealers to refund consumers who had been sold defective vehicles. The message for suppliers is that the CPA’s core rights are enforced, and that standard terms will not protect a business that ignores them.
This article focuses on three areas that cause the most disputes: returns, the implied warranty of quality and fixed-term agreements.
Who the CPA protects
The CPA applies to transactions in South Africa between suppliers acting in the ordinary course of business and consumers. “Consumers” include individuals and smaller juristic persons. A juristic person whose asset value or annual turnover is at or above the threshold set by the Minister (currently R2 million) is not protected by the Act, and some provisions, including the fixed-term agreement rules in section 14, do not apply to agreements where the consumer is a juristic person at all.
Returns: what consumers can and cannot insist on
A common misconception is that the CPA gives consumers a general right to return goods because they have changed their mind. It does not. A change-of-mind return is a matter of store policy. The Act gives specific return rights in defined situations, including:
- Direct marketing. Where goods were bought as a result of direct marketing, the consumer has a cooling-off period of five business days to cancel the transaction without reason or penalty (section 16).
- Goods not seen before delivery. A consumer who did not have an opportunity to examine goods before delivery may reject them on delivery if they do not match what was ordered.
- Goods unsuitable for a stated purpose. If the consumer told the supplier the specific purpose for which the goods were needed, and they are unsuitable for it, the consumer may return them within ten business days after delivery (section 20).
- Defective goods. Separately, the consumer has the much wider implied warranty rights discussed below.
Suppliers may impose reasonable conditions, for example that the goods are returned in their original condition and packaging where that applies. Online sellers must also comply with the separate cooling-off rights in the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002.
The implied warranty of quality
Section 55 gives every consumer the right to receive goods that are reasonably suitable for their intended purpose, of good quality, in good working order, free of defects, and usable and durable for a reasonable period. Section 56 backs this up with an implied warranty.
In practice, this means:
- within six months after delivery, a consumer may return goods that fail to meet the section 55 standard, without penalty and at the supplier’s risk and expense;
- the consumer chooses whether the supplier must repair, replace or refund the goods, not the supplier;
- if goods are repaired and, within three months of the repair, the defect has not been remedied or a further defect appears, the supplier must replace the goods or refund the price; and
- the implied warranty applies in addition to any manufacturer’s or supplier’s warranty. It cannot be excluded by a “voetstoots” clause or “no refunds” notice in a consumer sale.
The warranty does not cover damage caused by misuse, or defects the consumer was specifically told about and accepted. It also does not mean every fault after five months is the supplier’s problem: the question is whether the goods met the quality standard the consumer was entitled to expect. For second-hand goods, that standard takes account of age, price and condition, but the warranty still applies.
Fixed-term agreements
Section 14 and regulation 5 of the CPA Regulations regulate fixed-term consumer agreements, such as gym memberships, cellphone contracts, security monitoring and many subscription services. The key rules are:
- the fixed term may not exceed 24 months, unless the supplier can show a demonstrable financial benefit to the consumer for a longer term;
- the consumer may cancel at any time on 20 business days’ notice, in writing or another recorded manner;
- the supplier may charge only a reasonable cancellation penalty, assessed against factors such as the amount still owing, the value of any discount or equipment received and the time left on the contract;
- the supplier must remind the consumer that the agreement is about to expire between 40 and 80 business days before the end date, and explain the options; and
- if the consumer does nothing, the agreement continues on a month-to-month basis, which the consumer can then end on notice.
A supplier may not refuse to cancel because the consumer is in arrears or has not yet paid the penalty. The consumer remains liable for those amounts, and the supplier can recover them, but cancellation must still be processed. The Vodacom decision also confirmed that a supplier can be held responsible for the conduct of call centres and other agents acting for it.
The cost of getting it wrong
Consumers can complain to the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud, a provincial consumer protection authority or the National Consumer Commission. The Commission can issue compliance notices and refer matters to the National Consumer Tribunal, which may declare conduct prohibited, order refunds and impose administrative fines of up to 10% of annual turnover or R1 million, whichever is greater. Unfair or prohibited contract terms can also be struck down.
A compliance checklist for suppliers
- Remove “no refunds”, “voetstoots” and similar wording from consumer-facing documents, signage and till slips.
- Write a returns policy that separates change-of-mind returns (your policy) from statutory returns and warranty claims (the law).
- Train staff that the consumer chooses between repair, replacement and refund under the implied warranty.
- Keep records of delivery dates, repairs and the defect reported, so that six-month and three-month periods can be tracked.
- Review fixed-term contracts for length, cancellation rights, the penalty formula and expiry notices.
- Check that your systems send expiry reminders in the 40 to 80 business day window and that cancellations are processed promptly, including by outsourced call centres.
- Align your online terms with both the CPA and the ECT Act.
- Have a clear internal process for escalated complaints before they reach the Ombud or the Commission.
How O’Reilly Law can help
We review and draft consumer terms and conditions, returns and warranty policies and fixed-term agreements, and train customer-facing teams on the CPA. We also assist businesses responding to consumer complaints, Ombud referrals and National Consumer Commission investigations and compliance notices.
Contact us to review your consumer terms and CPA compliance.
Related reading: Selling online: legal requirements for online stores · Website terms and conditions: what yours should say
This article is general information and not legal advice. Correct as at November 2026.