2 weeks Ago By Youri Kemp Senior Business Reporter [email protected]
The Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) said yesterday that it has recouped $117,000 for consumers who presented complaints since last September. Alfred Taylor, deputy complaints manager at the CPC, said during a press conference yesterday that since he came on board at the CPC, there has been a “large number of complaints” as it relates to consumer rights and unfair practices. “We call them unfair trade practices of the providers, and it’s broad,” he said.
“The [Consumer Protection] Act speaks to it [unfair trade practices] in depth, and you would find that some providers, they would engage in these practices and advise the consumer that they have no recourse. And as an investigator here in the CPC, we look into those matters, and we try to bring some resolution to that.” Taylor said most providers have been “compliant” with the CPC in addressing consumer complaints after investigations are launched.
“We think over a period of time, we have recouped over $117,000 as it relates to consumers being refunded,” he said. The CPC has received 292 complaints and boasts a 73 percent success rate. For the remainder of the year, it will be focused on advising grocery stores on putting clear labeling on produce.
Senator Randy Rolle, executive chairman of the CPC, said: “We conducted inspections of over 14 food stores and groceries in response to a significant number of consumer complaints. Alarmingly, nearly half of these groceries were found to have violated some form of consumer protection standard. One major issue we discovered was the lack of clear labeling of baked goods and fruits regarding their best by dates.
“Consumers should never have to guess whether the product is still safe to eat, and if stores choose to reduce prices based on these dates, this information should be displayed to avoid confusion.” “The concern over grocery stores not putting the proper labeling on products, came as a result of numerous complaints from senior citizens who approached the CPC to complain that they were being sold spoiled or out-of-date produce. We also identified inaccuracies with store scales, leading to potential overcharging.
Consumers deserve to know the true weight of the items they purchase,” Rolle noted. He added: “Beyond grocery stores, we observed that some over-the-counter medications in drug stores were outdated, which also poses a health risk. To address these violations, we intend to leverage existing laws to compel retailers to improve their products practices.
“We are also recommending to government, through our minister, to establish fixed penalties, creating a more straightforward process for imposing fines on those who violate these standards.” Rolle continued: “We will be doing our job and canvassing various businesses from all sectors within our jurisdiction to ensure that consumer rights are respected and upheld, but we cannot do this alone. Consumer protection efforts will not be successful if relevant agencies work in silos.
It takes collaboration.”.
