Sale and return policy
Liberty Liquors will no longer accept returns on any goods purchased at our stores. The only exception to the rule will be if the purchased product is defective. Should any defective product be returned to us we reserve the right not to refund the customer until the supplier of the product verifies that the product is in fact defective and has not been tampered with by the customer.
Liberty Liquors Management
There is no general right of return
There are a number of sections in the Consumer Protection Act that allow goods to be returned, but it is important to note that there is no general right of return. For example, when a consumer buys an item from a store and the next day regret spending so much money, or simply does not like the item, the consumer cannot return the item simply because they have had a change of heart. Some retailers do allow consumers to do this, but it is not a consumer’s legal right to do so. A change of heart is not a legal reason to return an item.
There are very limited circumstances where a consumer can return an item. However, in these cases, even if the law is on the consumer’s side, the supplier can simply refuse to give you your money back, leaving you arguing with a brick wall.
Why we do not accept returns
Liberty Liquors changed its policy on the return of goods purchased at our store in June 2023. Unfortunately, there have been several disgruntled customers who believe that our policy is unfair and that they should be allowed to return unwanted stock. For the reasons listed below we will continue to apply the policy.
- There may be retailers who purchase “gray stock” from unscrupulous suppliers. “Gray stock refers to items that are available locally but are sourced outside of South Africa’s borders where we may not know the quality of the goods is in line with our locally produced products. For example: Coca Cola is produced under license in many countries around the world. It may be that there are unlicensed dealers who are producing Coca Cola that is inferior in quality and dumping it in South Africa.
- As can be read in the news of late, the SA Police and the Liquor Licensing Authority have found several underground manufacturers producing well-known brands. These are sold to unsuspecting customers or are returned to legitimate liquor retailers who in turn unknowingly sell to unsuspecting customers.
- Customers who buy liquor and soft drinks for a function tend to over-order so as they do not run out of liquor at their function. They then return the unopened goods (in many cases the goods are damaged, or the packaging is missing) and hope to be credited. In this case Liberty Liquors has outlaid the cash (we purchase most of our goods’ COD) and can therefore not sell what could have been sold.
Liberty Liquors only buys its stock from legitimate suppliers and will not purchase goods from unscrupulous vendors who may be supplying gray or adulterated stock. The policy is in place so that all our customers can be safe in the knowledge that they are buying the genuine product.
