Consumer Affairs Commission Secures $6.8M In Compensation For Aggrieved Shoppers

The Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) secured $6.8 million in refunds and compensation on behalf of aggrieved shoppers who transacted business with product and service providers between April 1 and November 30 this year.

This was disclosed by CAC Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dolsie Allen, during a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank session on December 11.

Mrs. Allen also advised that the CAC resolved 64.45 per cent of the complaints lodged with the agency over the seven-month period.
“Of the 1,235 cases we dealt with, we were able to secure resolution on behalf of 796,” she informed.

There was a 4.98 per cent increase in requests for advice compared to the corresponding period in 2019.

Mrs Allen noted that the categories for which the most complaints were lodged were electrical equipment and appliances, utilities, other services (miscellaneous), and cable services.

“More than 30 per cent of all the complaints we have handled for the year were for the electrical equipment and appliances, while the categories with the second and third most complaints were utilities and other services, which were 18.57 per cent and 13.65 per cent respectively,” she added.

The CEO indicated that the agency saw an increase in requests for advice regarding issues with electronics this financial year and also telecommunication providers.

Mrs Allen noted that there has been a high level of success in the resolution of complaints against telecommunications providers.

“Persons complained about their credit running out, the data plan that they had not working properly, [and that] they didn’t receive enough information. So we were able to have, in many cases, persons receiving refunds from the telecommunication providers,” she said, while encouraging these entities to take steps to improve customer service delivery.

“We know that there are challenges, such as vandalism. But we are asking them to be a little more mindful [o their] responsibilities to the consumers in terms of how you respond to your consumers, how long it takes to respond to a complaint, and how you communicate changes to your consumers,” she said.

Mrs Allen advised consumers to contact the CAC when they have issues with a product and/or service, for a transaction they have completed.

“We encourage persons to utilise our services as we are here to serve you, and we try our best to ensure that you get the compensation or redress that you deserve,” 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.

Source: JIS