CAC Secures $24.6 Million For Customers

The Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) has secured some $24.6 million in refunds for customers for the 2019/20 financial year.

In an interview with JIS News, Communications Specialist at the CAC, Dorothy Campbell, said the agency does not retain any of the funds.

“We keep getting requests for advice [and] we have had 654 requests. Persons making a purchase or signing a contract would call us [and say] ‘this is what I am doing, this is my expectation, this is what the contract is saying, how would you advise me to go about this’. So we do this as well,” Ms. Campbell said.

She noted that even though the agency currently has an 84 per cent resolution rate, the CAC is pushing for a higher rate.

“Very often the cases that are delayed are the ones where we are depending on a third party to assist us in resolving these issues, and this is coming from a total of 1,645 complaints we received for the financial year,” Ms. Campbell said.

“Although it’s coming from people who are still a little bit reluctant to submit claims, when they do, we do our best to ensure that there is some kind of resolution, and if the rights of the consumer have been breached, we ensure that we get some kind of resolution in a speedy manner,” she added.

Ms. Campbell emphasised that consumers need to take more care when making purchases.

“We still believe that there is some care consumers need to take before they spend their money, especially in large transactions. I still think we are not being as thorough in our research and in our due diligence as we ought to be,” she said.

The CAC is the national agency responsible for consumer advocacy. For further information, persons can call 876-906-5425 or email info@cac.gov.jm.

JAMAICA INFORMATION SERVICE