Complaints against a member of the Master Builders association of KwaZulu-Natal

Upon joining the Association, our members incur certain duties and obligations in terms of our Constitution. These include provisions that:

1. A member is required to conduct his/her business in a fair manner and shall in his/her dealings with others at all times maintain a high standard of business ethics.
2. A member is required to ensure that all work is of the best standards and is carried out in an efficient manner.
3. A member is required to satisfy the building requirements of his/her Clients by observing the spirit, as well as complying with the letter of his/her contractual obligations and to handle all business transactions with fairness.
4. A member is required to organise his/her business administration effectively, to maintain adequate financial resources for the proper discharge of all his/her contractual obligations, to assist wherever possible with the training of the future human resouce needs of the Building Industry and, where applicable, to comply with all legislation applicable to the Building Industry in KwaZulu-Natal.
5. A member is required to endeavour to encourage all suitably qualified employers to apply for membership of the Association.

In instances where we receive complaints about one our members, we embark on a process of investigation, consultation and engagement which seeks to achieve an equitable resolution for all parties concerned.  In the relatively rare instances where members refuse to co-operate in achieving this outcome, the Association will invoke a disciplinary process which may ultimately result in the member's expulsion. 

It is important to clarify that the Association does not formally enforce standards in the strictly legal sense.  The good reputation of the vast majority of our members is, however, important to us and consumer complaints are managed with a view to ensuring that this reputation remains intact.  We are available at all times to offer technical assistance and advice to our members should they request this.

We are confident that membership of the Association does provide additional recourse for our members' clients in that we do follow up on complaints and we do direct our members to remedy unsatisfactory conduct and/or workmanship. The truth is that certain of these cases take a reasonable amount of time to dispose of effectively.