Consumer affairs - The shame of a blacklist
The names of traders who ignore the decisions of the Consumer Claims Tribunal are to be posted on the Competitiveness Ministry website, in an effort to increase the sting of "naming and shaming".
"Do not forget that there are consumers who win claims of Lm20 or Lm30 but there are also people who have, say, paid a deposit of Lm500 on a kitchen that was never delivered," Barbara Buttigieg, director of the Information and Client Affairs Directorate at the Consumer and Competition Division said.
"Even one consumer who is denied justice is one too many!"
Less than 10 per cent of traders defy rulings that they should compensate disgruntled consumers. The tribunal's decision carries the same weight as that of a court ruling.
The directorate first tries to mediate an amicable agreement - and Ms Buttigieg believes that things have improved considerably over the years. However, it does not always succeed and the case then goes to the tribunal. When a case is decided against the traders, the directorate gives them up to three months to comply, failing which the directorate will "name and shame", issuing a report via the Department of Information and to the media - but this is not always published, she lamented.
Being included on a ministry "blacklist" on the website should prove to be quite a deterrent to traders, who can hardly ignore the bad publicity. Nevertheless, the consumer may still be left empty-handed, unless they want to go to court to have the tribunal's decision enforced.
Competitiveness Minister Censu Galea had said a year ago that measures would be introduced to tackle those who do not abide by the tribunal's decisions. The Consumers' Association also said that justice would only be served when decisions can be enforced. The problem is how to do that.
"I have been meeting the permanent secretary and the president of the association to try to find a way out of this. There are measures we would like to impose, such as the imposition of fines and temporary closure of outlets, but which the current law prevents us from doing. So we are trying to push for the law to be amended," Ms Buttigieg said.
What about having a court marshall allocated to the division to enforce the decisions?
"The Court Registrar was trying to find something in the law which would allow the tribunal to have this type of enforcement. But to date nothing has happened.
"On the other hand, seizing goods and having a court auction is not the most effective way of getting compensation for the consumer, who after all, wants his money and not seized goods."
However, Ms Buttigieg believes that the onus is on the customer to check before he or she makes a purchase.
"We encourage consumers to check the list on the website. If I saw the name of a business which had not honoured the tribunal's decision, then I would know that it is not serious and that if there is a problem I will not get my rights because it defies everybody.
"I think that 'naming and shaming' is effective, especially for big businesses, as long as consumers give it due importance. Having your name published because you do not give redress to your customer is not exactly good for business."
The tribunal's workload has increased - but not to the point that a second arbiter is required, she said.
"Martin Fenech has increased the sittings from two a week to three and has cleared the backlog. Each case now has an appointment for a hearing. Although we do not need another full-time arbiter, it would help to have a locum who could step in when Dr Fenech is not available or when there are cases that he cannot hear because there is a conflict of interest."
There are three different directorates within the division, the others dealing with operations, price indications and product safety, and with legal issues. Ms Buttigieg and her team of 12 focuses on informing the consumer and all are very active in the media, taking part in radio and television shows almost every day.
The main concerns raised are prices and service.
"Price indication is a major concern. But sometimes, the apathy of consumers is annoying. One of the things that we must do is persuade people that it is worth complaining.
"On the other hand, people sometimes cannot accept that their complaint may not be justified. Some people think that the consumer is always right but that is not the case! In our talks, we do explain that the trader has rights but that the consumer also has obligations. And we also stress that complaints should be handled without aggression."
The directorate's main concern at the moment is the price of package tours.
"The price of a package tour should be complete and it very rarely is. It is not enough to say 'from' a certain price as that price very often does not relate to any real tour because there are taxes to add on. Everything should be mentioned in the advert.
"We get a lot of complaints about misleading advertising. The package tours are the worst offenders. They are almost all misleading. Traders know what their obligations are but they rarely comply. We are therefore handling this through our lawyers."
Another problem relates to distance shopping, such as products bought from teleshopping channels and catalogues.
"The EU has set seven days as the minimum cooling-off period. Malta has opted for 15 days. During that time, the consumer can return the product without having to give any reason and get a refund.
"And yet we have around 50 cases against one particular outlet which refuses to give refunds and instead gives a credit note. The issue has now been put into the hands of the lawyers," she said.
http://www.mcmp.gov.mt
The principles of consumer protection
As an EU citizen, you have the right to:
• Buy what you want, where you want.
• Send it back if it does not work.
• High safety standards
• Know what you are eating
• Fair contracts
• Change your mind
• Easily compare prices
• Protection from being misled
• Protection while you are on holiday
• Effective redress in cross-border disputes.
Cross-border safety net
In 2004, the European Consumer Centres handled over 2,544 cases involving purchases from another country - either direct or via internet. In most cases, consumers complained about non-delivery. Others said their product was defective or did not correspond to their order. There are 24 ECC all over Europe, making it cheap, fast and easy to seek remedy.
Malta's centre was set up in October 2005. Last year, there were 26 complaints but many more enquiries than that about consumer rights in other countries.
The directorate has published a leaflet about guarantees in Malta and other countries, explaining how they differ. It also was part of a joint project with five other consumer centres to issue a leaflet about consumer rights in Germany before the World Cup Finals.
Most electronic goods like laptops and cameras have international guarantees and should therefore be handled by the local agents - even though they all too often try to brush off their obligations. In any case, once the ECC refers the case back to the original supplier, they will often ask the local agent to sort it out!
"Even one consumer who is denied justice is one too many!"
Less than 10 per cent of traders defy rulings that they should compensate disgruntled consumers. The tribunal's decision carries the same weight as that of a court ruling.
The directorate first tries to mediate an amicable agreement - and Ms Buttigieg believes that things have improved considerably over the years. However, it does not always succeed and the case then goes to the tribunal. When a case is decided against the traders, the directorate gives them up to three months to comply, failing which the directorate will "name and shame", issuing a report via the Department of Information and to the media - but this is not always published, she lamented.
Being included on a ministry "blacklist" on the website should prove to be quite a deterrent to traders, who can hardly ignore the bad publicity. Nevertheless, the consumer may still be left empty-handed, unless they want to go to court to have the tribunal's decision enforced.
Competitiveness Minister Censu Galea had said a year ago that measures would be introduced to tackle those who do not abide by the tribunal's decisions. The Consumers' Association also said that justice would only be served when decisions can be enforced. The problem is how to do that.
"I have been meeting the permanent secretary and the president of the association to try to find a way out of this. There are measures we would like to impose, such as the imposition of fines and temporary closure of outlets, but which the current law prevents us from doing. So we are trying to push for the law to be amended," Ms Buttigieg said.
What about having a court marshall allocated to the division to enforce the decisions?
"The Court Registrar was trying to find something in the law which would allow the tribunal to have this type of enforcement. But to date nothing has happened.
"On the other hand, seizing goods and having a court auction is not the most effective way of getting compensation for the consumer, who after all, wants his money and not seized goods."
However, Ms Buttigieg believes that the onus is on the customer to check before he or she makes a purchase.
"We encourage consumers to check the list on the website. If I saw the name of a business which had not honoured the tribunal's decision, then I would know that it is not serious and that if there is a problem I will not get my rights because it defies everybody.
"I think that 'naming and shaming' is effective, especially for big businesses, as long as consumers give it due importance. Having your name published because you do not give redress to your customer is not exactly good for business."
The tribunal's workload has increased - but not to the point that a second arbiter is required, she said.
"Martin Fenech has increased the sittings from two a week to three and has cleared the backlog. Each case now has an appointment for a hearing. Although we do not need another full-time arbiter, it would help to have a locum who could step in when Dr Fenech is not available or when there are cases that he cannot hear because there is a conflict of interest."
There are three different directorates within the division, the others dealing with operations, price indications and product safety, and with legal issues. Ms Buttigieg and her team of 12 focuses on informing the consumer and all are very active in the media, taking part in radio and television shows almost every day.
The main concerns raised are prices and service.
"Price indication is a major concern. But sometimes, the apathy of consumers is annoying. One of the things that we must do is persuade people that it is worth complaining.
"On the other hand, people sometimes cannot accept that their complaint may not be justified. Some people think that the consumer is always right but that is not the case! In our talks, we do explain that the trader has rights but that the consumer also has obligations. And we also stress that complaints should be handled without aggression."
The directorate's main concern at the moment is the price of package tours.
"The price of a package tour should be complete and it very rarely is. It is not enough to say 'from' a certain price as that price very often does not relate to any real tour because there are taxes to add on. Everything should be mentioned in the advert.
"We get a lot of complaints about misleading advertising. The package tours are the worst offenders. They are almost all misleading. Traders know what their obligations are but they rarely comply. We are therefore handling this through our lawyers."
Another problem relates to distance shopping, such as products bought from teleshopping channels and catalogues.
"The EU has set seven days as the minimum cooling-off period. Malta has opted for 15 days. During that time, the consumer can return the product without having to give any reason and get a refund.
"And yet we have around 50 cases against one particular outlet which refuses to give refunds and instead gives a credit note. The issue has now been put into the hands of the lawyers," she said.
http://www.mcmp.gov.mt
The principles of consumer protection
As an EU citizen, you have the right to:
• Buy what you want, where you want.
• Send it back if it does not work.
• High safety standards
• Know what you are eating
• Fair contracts
• Change your mind
• Easily compare prices
• Protection from being misled
• Protection while you are on holiday
• Effective redress in cross-border disputes.
Cross-border safety net
In 2004, the European Consumer Centres handled over 2,544 cases involving purchases from another country - either direct or via internet. In most cases, consumers complained about non-delivery. Others said their product was defective or did not correspond to their order. There are 24 ECC all over Europe, making it cheap, fast and easy to seek remedy.
Malta's centre was set up in October 2005. Last year, there were 26 complaints but many more enquiries than that about consumer rights in other countries.
The directorate has published a leaflet about guarantees in Malta and other countries, explaining how they differ. It also was part of a joint project with five other consumer centres to issue a leaflet about consumer rights in Germany before the World Cup Finals.
Most electronic goods like laptops and cameras have international guarantees and should therefore be handled by the local agents - even though they all too often try to brush off their obligations. In any case, once the ECC refers the case back to the original supplier, they will often ask the local agent to sort it out!