Consuming in the dark

An informal retail survey has shown that consumers were buying parallel goods - goods without a manufacturer's trademark - without their knowledge, the department of trade and industry said on Thursday.

Spokesperson Aubrey Mathope said it was required by the department that retailers disclose that the product had not been authorised by the distributor (retailer) and that the distributor was under no obligation to honour the manufacturer's warranty.

However, the survey, conducted on 40 Johannesburg and Pretoria retailers, revealed that 13 retailers did not comply with the disclosure requirements.

One of the dangers of consumers buying these products was that the retailer was not obliged to honour warranties.

"(However) it should be emphasised that grey or parallel goods are genuine products and not fong kong or counterfeit goods," said Mathope.

"Consumers should enquire as to whether products are parallel goods as well as enquire about warranties before buying such a product," he said.

The survey was conducted on December 11 by the department's consumer protection office. - Sapa