Sometime ago, I bought some pots from a man who was selling them around the neighbourhood. They were going around shouting that they had nice pots for sale. I was not interested at first, but one of the ladies approached me.

She was about to leave when my mother said, “Go and have a look. As a woman, you should have these things in your house.”

So I followed her.

They came back with several sets of pots, and I eventually chose one that cost GH₵3,000.

I was given a receipt showing the total amount and the payment dates, and I signed it. So far, I have paid GH₵500.

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The utensils have now been with me for about two months, but I have not used them at all. They are still in exactly the same condition as when they were delivered. I have not even boiled hot water in them before.

My problem is that my financial situation has changed.

I earn less than GH₵1,000 a month, and paying GH₵500 every month means I am using more than half of my salary just to pay for these pots.

On top of that, I am currently dealing with significant medical expenses. I have had to pay for hospital visits, tests and medication. After being discharged from the hospital, it finally dawned on me that I simply cannot continue with this payment arrangement.

I called the salesperson and asked him to come and take the utensils back. I told him that I could no longer afford the payments and did not want to keep putting myself into debt.

He told me that their company has a policy that items cannot be returned after 15 days. Since I have had the utensils for about two months, he said he could not take them back.

First of all, I was not informed about this 15-day return policy when I bought the utensils. Nothing about such a policy is written on the receipt I was given either.

These people go around actively looking for customers, but when I contacted him to ask that the unused utensils be taken back, he said that he just couldn’t.

Also, at the time of the transaction, he told me that the name on the MoMo number and the receipt was his name and gave me the impression that the company/business was his. However, now that I’m asking about returning the utensils, he is saying that he works for the company and that the amount may be deducted from his pay. So I’m honestly confused about whether he owns the business or works for them.

He has also told me that if I don’t continue paying, they will find a way to extract/recover the money from me, however they have to.

That statement has made me even more worried.

I have explained to him that I am willing to return the utensils because they are completely unused. They have been sitting in my house for about two months, and I have not used them even once.

I am even willing to accept that the GH₵500 I have already paid may not be refundable, if that is what is required.

My main concern is simple, I want to return the utensils and stop accumulating a debt that I can no longer afford.

I understand that I should have asked more questions before agreeing to the purchase, and I take responsibility for that.

But at the time, I did not know that my financial situation would change this badly. It was only after I was discharged from the hospital and started dealing with the medical expenses that I realised I could not continue with the payments.

And this 15-day return policy was never made known to me.

So, am I being unreasonable?

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If a company has a 15-day no-return policy, shouldn’t the customer be informed about that policy before agreeing to the purchase, especially when the item is being bought on instalment?

And finally, can they legally force me to continue paying the remaining GH₵2,500 if I am willing to return the completely unused utensils?.

— Felicia

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