Got Counted in February/March?

The national census, a once-in-a decade event, took place in February and March.  At least it was intended to.  We saw no census-takers and very little publicity.  I eventually got around to completing the census online for the two of us, but other households on the property didn't.  If our experience is anything to go by, this census will say that the South African population has dropped by 90%.  Expect whole suburbs to show one or two families.

It was interesting to see that they have reinstated the question about religion.  It was missing from the previous census, so recent estimates of the religious makeup of the country were just that –estimates based on surveys.  But how reliable the results will be, is anybody's guess.

Odd Jobs:  Back to top

"Dad, are we pyromaniacs?"

"Yes, we arson."

New on the Block, Movers and Shakers  Back to top

• Innova OT moved from Offices in The Wedge, Morningside to Rivonia Sports Centre in Morningside Area Shops – Occupational Therapy, helping children dream big, believe in their abilities and achieve their potential.
• OHmi Restro Bar, Ground in Rivonia Village – Soul food restaurant. Sister restaurant to OHmi Gin Bar (East London). Cnr Rivonia Boulevard & Mutual Road.
• Logiscool South Africa, First Floor in The Colony, Craighall – Globally teach children coding and digital literacy in fun-based after-schools. Courses, Camps, Workshops, Open Days.
• Luna Spa, Shop S04, First Floor in The Colony, Craighall – Live netter! Full body 1 hr Thai massage R390.
• Kemetic Fish Bar, Lower Level in The Wedge, Morningside – Fried and grilled fish. Calamari. Prawns. Wings (not clear from which fish). Russians. Burgers (hake, chicken). Drinks, Chips.
• Smilepro Dentist, Offices in The Wedge, Morningside – Dr Somaya Mustafa BCHD (Pret).
• Feso Hair Clinic (Medical Suite 7), Offices in The Wedge, Morningside – A hair renewal product that revitalizes hair follicles and helps restore scalp tissues damaged by chemicals and traction alopecia. Feso reverses balding and receding hairline.
• Abina’s Hair Salon, Shop 10, Upper Level in The Wedge, Morningside – New Look African Hair Salon: Relaxing, weave, perm, tinting, locks dreads, braiding, cuts, Caucasian braiding, Brazilian weave. Was Upper Level.
• Tammy Taylor Nails The Wedge, Upper Level in The Wedge, Morningside – Nail Salon.
• Medellin Gentlemen Groomers Morningside, Shop 14A, Upper Level in The Wedge, Morningside – High-end men’s grooming with bespoke personal care. Cut-&-style, hot-towel shave, fades, head art.

Today's Tasty Mondegreen

“This is the dining of the Age of Asparagus”.
Correct lyric: “This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius” from Fifth Dimension’s ‘Aquarius’. Source

Are "HushSocks" a Scam?

I (Rick) cannot recommend the elastic support socks called HushSocks.  They overcharge and the product does not arrive.  They eventually did give a partial refund.

I ordered two pairs of these alleged neuropathy compression socks online for Judith to try out. The first problem was that extra charges, not specified beforehand, appeared on the receipt. I expected an order totalling R670. Their order confirmation email gave Amount Billed: R768.91.  My credit card showed two debits on the day (12/02/2022) Epremier Products R124.47 and Primetimetrends.com R673.25.  Total: R 797.72.

I queried this by email and got a  meaningless stock (or should that be "sock"?) answer.  Upon further complaint, the suppliers, HushBody, offered a 25% refund which they then did not honour.

They sent tracking details claiming Date Shipped: 20220213. That tracking claimed that on 2022-02-22 23:07:19 it “Arrived at destination”, but made no mention of what that destination was, which seems suspicious. Queries about this received the canned response "Your product has already been sent. Shipment usually takes between 14 and 21 business days. Due to the high demand at your city's post office due to COVID-19, we have experienced delays".  Notice that they do not specify an actual city or an actual post office.

If they really tried to send anything of value via the South African Post Office, it would be no surprise if it failed to arrive.

I called on them to honour their "30-day 100% money-back guarantee" and refund my entire R797.72 to my credit card.  They did eventually refund the R673.25.  I'm  still waiting for the R124.47.

Nedbank Dispute Resolution isn't Great Either

In the HushSocks dispute above, after HushBody had failed to respond for some time, and before they gave me my partial refund, I lodged a dispute with Nedbank Card Division to get my money back.

My understanding was that I could get anything that had been charged to my card reversed.  How naive!

It was an unpleasant surprise to discover that, since I had entered the card details myself on the payment website, I could not get an automatic refund.  I had to lodge a dispute, with reasons.  "Not receiving the product" seemed like a good enough reason.  Nedbank Contact Centre kindly emailed me the dispute form.  But they didn't want it emailed back: No, it was meant to be faxed (really!).  Then they wanted "more information" including information already on the form. Then it had to be sent to a different email address (the concept of "forwarding" an email seems unknown at Nedbank).  They asked for "all correspondence" in the case, which I sent on 11/03/2022.  To be told that "the SLA for dispute cases are 45 working days", i.e. nine weeks. 

Of course I am still waiting.

Interesting African Sayings

South Africa is still good.  Best place in the univors.

Departed:  Back to top

• Capitec Bank, Shop 49 & 50 in Morning Glen Mall – Was Upper Level. You know a mall is in trouble when the Capitec branch closes.
• Sing Fei Chinese Restaurant in The Colony, Craighall – Was First Floor.
• Liquorland, Shop S013 in The Colony, Craighall – Soft drinks and anything alcoholic. Was Lower Level, to the right of Steers, around the corner on Rothsay Ave.
• Colony Body Clinic in The Colony, Craighall – Was First Floor.
• Village Vetshop in The Wedge, Morningside – Super premium foods including Hills, Eukanuba, Iams, Royal Canin, Ultradog, Acana. Pets toys, treats, beds, accessories. Bird, fish, and rabbit stuff! Was Lower Level.
• Philo Moodley Biokinetics, Shop 13 in The Wedge, Morningside – Philo Moodley, BA(HMS), BAHons(Biokinetics), PR 0786101. Was in the Offices.
• Acuphysio in The Wedge, Morningside – Physiotherapy, Acupuncture, weight loss, orthopaedic massage. Was in the Offices.
• Avanti Hair-Stylist, Shop 10 in The Wedge, Morningside – Caucasian hair salon. Was Upper Level.
• SA Brand Footprint, Shop 11B in The Wedge, Morningside – Quirky ladies fashion, shoes, gifts. Was Upper Level.
• Kitchen Vibes, Shop 11A in The Wedge, Morningside – Authentic African Tastes: Brebo (ox liver), Jollof, Lamb tails, Beef trotters, Samp & chicken, Lamb burger, Karoo Sirloin steak, Burundian Goat kebab, much more… was Upper Level.

Thought for the Week:

"Have an enjoyable guilt trip!"

Small Business Not POPIA Compliant?  Master it while Government Dithers...

The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA, or the POPI Act) officially went live on 1 July 2021.

That made it mandatory for every business in SA (no matter how tiny), to register an Information Officer. The Information Regulator's Registration of Information Officers Portal had failed a bit earlier.  Nine months later, it is still not functional, still bearing the proud banner:

There are vindictive penalties for non-compliance –fines up to R10M and jail time up to 10 years.  Yet the agency tasked with the job has made it impossible to comply for three-quarters of a year.  This is mind-boggling incompetence, even for an already dysfunctional government.  Adv Pansy Tlakula (the Chairperson) was good at the IEC. but has messed up royally here.  But don't hold your breath for her resignation...

One day they may get their act together.  In the meanwhile you might as well get ready.

Know what's involved so that you can protect yourself and your company: Take the FREE Online POPI Act Training for Small Business Owners. It's self-paced so you can do it at any time.  Share this with anyone who has a business.

Overheard At the Checkout

“I got into an argument defending you the other day.”
“How, Dad?”
“Our neighbour said you didn’t have the table manners of a pig! But I said you did.”