Complaints

1 Who can complain

1.1 Anyone we have dealt with can complain: landlords, tenants, sellers, buyers, applicants, neighbours, contractors, and anyone whose personal information we hold. 1.2 Complaining is free. You will not be treated worse for complaining, and your complaint will not affect any application, lease or sale we are handling.

2 How to complain

2.1 Contact the principal, Sipho E. Mahayi, in any of these ways:

Way	Details
Email	[email protected], subject line “Complaint”
Phone or WhatsApp	064 048 0426
In person or by post	9 Tom Van Aardt, Aqua Park, Tzaneen, Limpopo, 0850 (weekdays 08:00–17:00)

2.2 You may complain in any language you are comfortable with. If you complain by phone or in person, we write the complaint down, read it back to you and send you a copy. 2.3 It helps if you tell us:

• your name and how to reach you
• the property, and the agreement or lease if there is one
• what went wrong, and when
• what you would like us to do about it
• copies of any documents or messages

You do not need all of these to start. We will ask for what is missing.

2.4 Someone else may complain for you (a family member, an attorney or an adviser), if you tell us in writing that they may.

3 What happens next

Step	When	What we do
Acknowledge	Within 2 business days	We confirm in writing that we received your complaint, give it a reference number, and tell you who is dealing with it.
Look into it		We read the file, speak to the people involved and, where useful, meet or phone you.
Respond	Within 10 business days of receiving it	We reply in writing with what we found, whether we agree with you, what we will do to put it right, and by when.
If we need longer	Before the 10 days end	We tell you why, what is still outstanding, and the new date. We do this only where we are waiting for someone else (for example a bank, a conveyancer or a contractor).

“Business day” means any day except Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday.

3.1 Putting it right can include an apology, an explanation, correcting a document or record, doing work again at our cost, refunding or reducing our fee, or paying for a loss we caused. We say plainly what we will do. 3.2 If the complaint is about a landlord or a tenant, not us, we tell you, and where we act for the landlord, we pass it on to the landlord in writing. We explain the routes in section 5 that may help. 3.3 Urgent matters (safety, a lockout, water or electricity cut off, a possible fraud) are dealt with the same day.

4 If you are not satisfied with our answer

4.1 Ask for a review. Reply within 20 business days saying what you disagree with. If the complaint was handled by a staff member, the principal reviews it personally. If the principal handled it, he reviews it again from the start, and offers to meet you in person. 4.2 We give you the review result in writing within 10 business days. That is our final answer. 4.3 Our final answer names the outside bodies in section 5 that you can go to. 4.4 You do not have to finish our process first. You may go to any of the bodies in section 5 at any time. We will never ask you to give up that right as part of settling a complaint.

5 Outside bodies you can go to

If your complaint is about	You can go to	How
How we behaved as a property practitioner (honesty, mandates, disclosure, fees, money)	Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA), under section 28 of the Property Practitioners Act. The PPRA may investigate, refer the matter to mediation, or charge the practitioner, and decisions can be taken on appeal.	Complete the PPRA’s Complaint Initiation Form and email it to [email protected]. General line 087 742 0000. Website: theppra.org.za ⚖
Your rights as a consumer (fair terms, quality of service, cancellation, honest marketing)	Under section 69 of the Consumer Protection Act you may: refer it to an accredited industry ombud (if one covers property practitioners); refer it to the Limpopo consumer court or another alternative dispute resolution agent; or file a complaint with the National Consumer Commission. If those routes are used up, you may go to court. Some matters can go directly to the National Consumer Tribunal.	National Consumer Commission: ________ · Limpopo Office of the Consumer Protector (LEDET), Polokwane: ________
Your personal information (privacy, marketing messages, access to your records)	Information Regulator, under the Protection of Personal Information Act	[email protected] · 010 023 5200 · inforegulator.org.za
A dispute between landlord and tenant (deposit, repairs, unfair practices, lockouts)	Limpopo Rental Housing Tribunal, free of charge, under the Rental Housing Act. The Tribunal cannot evict anyone.	________
Anything else, or a claim for money	A court with jurisdiction, such as the Magistrate’s Court or the Small Claims Court (claims up to the current limit)	Your local court

5.1 Our privacy questions go first to our Information Officer, Sipho E. Mahayi, at the details in section 2. Our Privacy Notice (mcbethkings.com/legal/privacy) explains your rights.

6 Your information

6.1 We use the information in your complaint only to deal with it, to improve how we work, and to meet the law. We share it only with people who need it to resolve the complaint, or a regulator or tribunal you or the law involves. 6.2 We keep complaint records for 5 years after the complaint is closed.