Last week “Johan” sent an e-mail to the almost 60 people on his mailing list, including me, giving us what sounded like useful advice.

“Anyone can get one free credit check each year to see whether you are blacklisted”. So far so good.

An energy drink has no place in the hands of a child. Or at least not a child under 12.

And since April 17, all energy drinks made for sale in South Africa have had to carry the following warning: “Not recommended for children under 12 years of age; pregnant or lactating women; persons sensitive to caffeine.”

My first column of 2013 comprised a list of top advice – invaluable stuff I’ve discovered about doing business, thanks to the hard lessons of others.

Included was: “I know it’s not up there on your list of most fun things to do, but go to your filing cabinet, find your short-term insurance policy and your homeowner’s insurance policy and read them from start to finish, especially the exclusions. You may find that despite dutifully paying your premiums every month, you won’t be covered in the event of a claim, because of a term in your contract… do not even consider buying a property without first having it professionally inspected.

Contrary to popular belief, you can’t return something you’ve bought from a store and demand a refund or even an exchange or credit note if there’s nothing wrong with it.

The Consumer Protection Act only covers the return of defective goods, in which case consumers may return their purchase, within six months, for their choice of a refund, repair or replacement.

I’ve been so thrilled by the feedback I’ve received in response to last week’s column on Simon Mathale of Mamelodi, who has taken it upon himself to visit the shops in his area in order to check the date stamps on their food products.

His passion for ensuring that his community doesn’t pay good money for dusty goods way beyond their prime began late last year when he discovered that his mother routinely bought “expired” products from shops in her area in Limpopo.