DED receives 8,166 consumer complaints in Q1, 2018
DUBAI 24 May 2018: The Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector in the Department of Economic Development saw a 30 per cent increase in consumer complaint during the first quarter (Q1) of 2018, as more consumers continued to come forward and raise their concerns.
Complaints received from inside the UAE accounted for 37 per cent and the nationality-wise breakdown of complainants is as follows: India (13 per cent), Egypt (10 per cent), Saudi Arabia (7 per cent) and Jordan (5 per cent).
CCCP, while continuing its efforts to enhance the role of DED in consumer protection and reinforcing Dubai’s reputation as a safe shopping destination for residents as well as tourists, received 270 complaints a day on average in a total of 8,166 complaints in first three months of the current year as compared to 6,275 complaints during Q1, 2017.
The Consumer Protection section in CCCP dealt with 1,007 issues out of which consumer complaints accounted for 81 per cent. The rest included 1,062 notes and 779 inquiries.
Services Sector
The services sector had a 33.9 per cent share in the total complaints received while 16.7 per cent were from the electronics sector, 10.7 per cent relating to e-commerce, 7.9 per cent regarding automobiles, and 6 per cent about car rentals. Textiles and personal items (3.5 percent ), furniture (3.1 percent ), shipping (2.7 percent ), clothing and accessories (2.6 percent ) also featured among the complaints while 10 percent were from various sectors.
Mohammed Ali Rashid Lootah, CEO of the CCCP sector, said, “The retail sector is a key driver of local economic growth in Dubai and the UAE. Our effort is to bring greater transparency into business transactions, and create a culture of awareness and neutrality in the buying and selling processes in the retail sector, in accordance with the highest quality standards and practices.”
Non-compliance
Lootah added that non-compliance with the purchase agreement was one of the most important complaints received during the first quarter of 2018, accounting for 30.2 per cent of the total. Cash refunds (17.1 per cent ), VAT (14.6 per cent ), product failure (8.6 per cent ), non-compliance with warranty terms (4.3 per cent ), additional charges on products/services (2.7 per cent ), product breakdown (2.1 per cent ), damaged products (1.5 per cent ), non-adherence to the price list (1.4 per cent ), non-compliance with promotional offers (1 per cent ) were the other main issues raised while 6.9 percent of the complaints were related to various other issues.
Lootah stressed the role played by DED and CCCP in immediately following up on complaints received, communicating with the parties concerned, as well as in finding solutions acceptable to all parties concerned within a period not exceeding four working days from the date of receiving the complaint.