Sanan Al-Jabri, Director of the Consumer Protection Department at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, warned merchants and shops against placing the phrase “goods sold are not returned or replaced” and considering it as a principle in commercial transactions with customers, as whoever puts this phrase will be subject to legal accountability .
The official indicated to a number of merchants who participated yesterday in the introductory meeting held at the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry regarding the consumer protection law and its internal regulations, that the law regulated the process of recovering goods according to 3 cases, including the existence of a defect or lack of conformity with the specifications and what was contracted. on him.
The official explained that the Consumer Protection Department moved to alert merchants of the need to remove these phrases, whether from invoices or signs that are placed, pointing out that the customer has the right to return the goods according to the conditions set by the Consumer Protection Law, which he saw as came to preserve the rights of consumers and merchants alike.
The executive director of “Ashraf” stores, Amal Al-Moayyed, clarified regarding the use of the principle “goods sold are neither returned nor exchanged” that it is used as custom, for example, when buying underwear, which is practiced in various countries of the world for health matters, and she also pointed out that some shops do By making discounts for liquidation in order to get rid of old goods from the warehouses, and therefore it is not feasible to accept the retrieval of such goods by the customer after the end of the rebates period, which costs merchants to store the goods again for a period of rebates to come.
Sanan indicated that the ministry does not use the law as a "stick" to wave to merchants, and that it believes in applying the spirit of the law, praising the role played by sales outlets in Bahrain, which contribute to resolving most of the disputes that may arise between shops and customers, which It often does not reach the Consumer Protection Department. He believed that there is a good base for customer services, and that the administration wants to maintain this positive atmosphere between customers and shops, and that the ministry's focus is on applying the spirit of the law.
Unreceived customer awards
Al-Moayad was also exposed to the problem of promotional prizes that the winners did not receive, which shops must hand over to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry after about 60 days of no claim.
Al-Moayad demanded that the shops be authorized and given the right to dispose of these unreceived prizes, which were incurred by the shops, whether by using them in other promotions or even donating them to charity. Al-Moayyed criticized the lack of monitoring of commercial exhibitions hosted by Bahrain, in which sales are made to customers, pointing to her personal experience, which was to buy a carpet that she bought from one of the exhibitions that takes place at a certain period and in which foreign merchants from abroad participate, as the color of this carpet faded after a short period. .
Al-Moayad touched on the problem of competition by “Instagram” merchants, as she saw that there is no control over this type of trade, as its owners do not pay any fees or obligations to the state, and in return they offer goods at lower prices than merchants who practice their work in traditional ways. They have business licenses and financial and legal obligations.
The CEO of "SrindPiti" Youssef Salah El-Din agreed with Al-Moayad regarding the "Instagram" merchants, and also questioned the government's role in enhancing consumer protection through the application of the laws in force, and at the same time demanded that there be courts or judicial committees to deal with consumer issues. And disputes that arise between merchants are similar to the committees that have been allocated to real estate.
Saladin asked about monitoring the transportation of food, especially perishable foods, such as milk and its derivatives, pointing out that he noticed some cases in which the production of dairy products takes about 10 minutes, which, in his opinion, may cause damage to these materials. He also asked about the administration's role with regard to the speedy repair of cars by garages and agents and the provision of spare parts.
New laws and cooperation of car agencies
The Director of the Consumer Protection Department revealed that a package of decisions will be issued soon, including two decisions that are being reviewed related to promotional campaigns and discounts, and that they will take in their entirety the observations made by the private sector, and it is expected that they will be issued soon.
Al-Jabri indicated that the issue of “consumer protection” is an issue in which a number of departments overlap, although its name is currently attributed to his department in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, as Al-Jabri saw that there are departments related to websites or food safety monitoring in the Ministry of Health whose powers overlap With regard to consumer protection, including food safety monitoring and transportation, he warned consumers against dealing with unlicensed parties, which is not a legal capacity or commercial restriction; This is to protect the consumer in the event of claims related to the sale process.
Al-Jabri indicated that there is a response from car dealerships in Bahrain by providing consumer spare parts in sufficient time to provide them to the customer and maintain a stock of them, but some rarely used parts may require bringing them from warehouses in nearby countries.
Closing restaurants
Responding to Al-Wasat's inquiries about the justifications that prompted the Ministry of Commerce to close restaurants against the backdrop of redirecting subsidies for meat, which numbered about 5 restaurants, Al-Jabri indicated that the situation witnessed during this period is considered an "exceptional case", and that The Ministry has the right to take action in these cases in order to protect the consumer. He pointed out that each case of the closed restaurants differs from the other, but the closure came as dictated by the law.
