“How can I get hold of the National Consumer Commission? Twice I called and both times was put on eternal hold. The last time I called it went straight to a voicemail facility. The fax line is not accepting faxes and the email address on the website is incorrect. Please help,” writes Gareth.

Maya replies: It is deeply concerning that the Regulator who is the main protection for consumers against unscrupulous product/service providers is unreachable. The complaints site www.hellopeter.com is also carrying several complaints about the NCC.

We contacted the acting commissioner who stated the following:  “The NCC has, for some while now, been experiencing challenges with its call centre. We are in the process of procuring a system that works efficiently but, as I am sure you are aware, procurement processes in government does take time. The best manner to contact the NCC would be to send an e-mail to the NCC at the following address :  complaints@thencc.org.za. We are looking at a more comprehensive solution to our IT challenges and it includes call centre infrastructure, additional servers, website, case management system, etc. Until then, we are doing the best we can”.

While this is not particularly re-assuring for consumers, this does at least provide an email address that works. We would appreciate feedback from our readers in terms of their experience with the National Consumer Commission so we can monitor the progress.