Africa-Press – Mauritius. From January 2022 to end of August 2022, the Consumer Affairs Unit, under the aegis of the Ministry of Commerce and Consumer Protection, have conducted some 4,800 inspections all over the country and some 400 contraventions have been established, among which 185 contraventions were against retail shops and supermarkets for selling controlled goods at higher prices and for non-display of price labels.
Those surveillance operations, aiming at investigating any abusive pricing, and other unfair practices by traders, as well as ensuring that the maximum approved retail prices of certain commodities are being adhered to, are in line with the responsibilities of the Consumer Affairs Unit.
The Unit thus endeavours to, among others, enforce the various consumer legislations and provides overall consumer protection, satisfaction and security.
The Consumer Affairs Officer, Mr Hans Kumar Lori, underlined that consequently in their entrusted responsibility of enforcing the various consumer legislations, officers of the Unit were authorised to issue contraventions not exceeding Rs 5,000.
For the year 2021, following a series of inspections in trade premises and crackdown operations to ensure compliance with consumer protection laws by the officers of the Consumer Affairs Unit, 1,797 retail shops/ supermarkets/importers were sanctioned for non-affixing of prices, charging higher prices for controlled goods, manufacturing underweight loaves and misleading consumers, among others.
Moreover, the Consumer Affairs Unit collects samples of steel bars, firecrackers, toys, electric cables, certain electrical domestic appliances, motorcyclist helmets, etc.
for submission to the Mauritius Standards Bureau for testing. The Unit, as well, receives and processes applications for the registration of warehouses for the storage of certain controlled commodities. Rights and responsibilities of consumers
Regular surveillance in retail outlets around the island and ensuring that traders are complying with consumer legislations are just one aspect of the Unit’s mission to ensure that stakeholders, thriving within a competitive business environment, are aware of consumer rights as well as the responsibilities and obligations of the business community towards them.
On that score, the mandate of the Consumer Affairs Unit spans from protecting consumers through enforcement of laws and awareness initiatives on the rights and responsibilities of consumers to handling of complaints, reported by consumers, and the settlement of disputes between traders and consumers by mutual agreement or in case of deadlock through a court of justice.
It is noted that the Consumer Affairs Unit has a dedicated hotline, 185, to enable consumers to report any abuse or complaint and also to obtain consumer advice/information. The Unit receives some 250 complaints monthly and most disputes are settled by mutual agreement, and others are referred to the court of justice.
In line with its mission to educate consumers, the Unit sensitises the public as well as traders through awareness programmes in the media, and the distribution of pamphlets in a bid to disseminate information and advice on consumer laws and other related issues.
Consumer, know your rights! The Consumer Affairs Unit, in its continuous education and raising awareness endeavours, appeals to consumers to not only know their rights but also to exercise them when buying goods or availing of services.
The primary focus is that the good must be of satisfactory quality, meeting the reasonable required standard, and within an adequate price range. Price and quality are the main criteria for any product or service.
Consumers are invited to examine the goods inside out, gather all information about the product and ensure that the goods meet their requirements before entering into any consumer transaction.
For mobile phones, electronics domestic appliances, vehicles, and other similar products, the supplementary requirements to be considered by the consumers are the conditions of warranty, after-sales service, installation (if included), the availability of spare parts and delivery periods.
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