Cheap power appliances and constant outages
Most electrical extension cables and adapters on sale to us are low quality and can only handle 2.5 kilowatts of power, so you cannot switch on your kettle and toaster at the same time. I have melted or burnt through at least 4 of these extension cables recently – some will even cut out when I have just my kettle on, they have not burned out from using them above their rated output – which is 1.8 to 2.2 kw, well below the stated capacity of the extension cables.
As for adapters, I had my fridge freezer plugged into one and it burned out after maybe 2 months or so of use. It says “high quality British standard”, but is of course made in China. I returned it to Simba (where I have returned 3 other extension cables), but they could not refund me nor exchange it as I do not have the original receipt. C’mon guys, who keeps all their Simba shopping receipts for months on end? You can also clearly see your bar code on the item.
The continual switching on and off the mains power supply in this part of Kicukiro probably does not help. We usually suffer an average of 5 or 6 black-outs DAILY. Despite calling out the technical engineer, and sending him constant text reminders – which he usually answers politely, I have yet to receive a believable explanation for this phenomenon, which has been ongoing since I moved to Kicukiro in January. If these are affecting my electrical components, who pays? Does the electricity provider’s charter not cover equipment destroyed from brown-outs and other effects in their supply?
I love the TSM Compliments and Complaints site! It gives us the opportunity to share concerns, and for those named to respond and correct my obviously tainted way of thinking.
By John Mc Kenna
ISSUE WITH MY BANK
I have an issue with my bank’s customer care. Last month I made a transaction on Amazon which I cancelled and Amazon reversed the transaction and refunded the money. This was on 5th of March. Automatically it should show on my account but KCB bank claimed to know nothing about it 5 days later when I went to inquire at their branches in Kisimenti and town. They told me to send proof of refund which Amazon did 7 days later. They said it would take 5 days to show on my account. It’s been a month and 8 days and every time I call to ask what the status is, they act like it’s a new problem and they say they will investigate, talk to the reconciliation team then get back to me. They never call back and I am tired of their stories.
This is not the first time I have had issues with the bank and they do not assist. Last year they gave me a new ATM card which never worked and every time I went to the bank to ask why I couldn’t withdraw using the card, they said it was a technical issue and they were looking into it. 6 months later I got tired and flew to Nairobi to report the issue which was fixed in less than 2 minutes. Turns out the Nairobi office never got info about my card issue and Rwanda customer service claimed Nairobi was working on it.
This bank has held my month for over a month claiming they are investigating yet I have all the evidence from Amazon that the money was refunded after 5 days. If we can’t trust a bank with our money where are we going to keep it?