Nothing 'shameful' in consumer protection

Għaqda tal-Konsumaturi finds unacceptable the comments made in the contribution by the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, entitled Shame In The Chosen Name (November 7), criticising the proposed nomenclature of "Consumer Protect" for the new consumer agency being contemplated.

We may not necessarily concur with the choice of this nomenclature, however we are concerned about certain comments made by the correspondent. We fail to comprehend what is wrong in using the word "protect" and why this is defamatory to the honest entrepreneur, since according to the correspondent this word "implies that the consumer needs protection from something that is harmful or detrimental to his/her interests".

While we would certainly like to have a market place free of abuse, unfair commercial practices harmful to consumers, and claims before the Consumer Claims Tribunal, the reality in a liberalised market is and will remain otherwise. Perhaps the Chamber of Commerce would find the time to write to the Consumer and Competition Division and request a list of those "entrepreneurs" who refuse to abide by the decisions of the Consumer Claims Tribunal and do not pay compensation to consumers when they lose a claim. Hence, we find the statement that "It is not the consumer that needs protection, but rather the honest entrepreneur" as unacceptable.

We do not contest the need for honest entrepreneurs to be protected from competitors who indulge in abusive or illegal practices. In fact, the Għaqda tal-Konsumaturi encourages its members and other consumers to seek out and prefer honest entrepreneurs who provide a fair deal, good after sales service and good customer care. The Chamber seems to be ignoring the fact that not all entrepreneurs are its members. Equally, however, we firmly believe that consumers should be adequately protected from deceitful and unfair commercial practices.

It seems that the Chamber failed to read the letter sent by the Għaqda tal-Konsumaturi to The Times (October 26) entitled Naming And Shaming Is A Powerful Deterrent, in which we referred to a sweep made by the European Commission, where the Commissioner for consumer protection made reference to only one aspect where abuses are committed and consumer protection is required, namely "misleading advertising" in ecommerce.

Għaqda considers that while various laws inspired in part by EU regulations have been enacted in the past years to protect consumers, much more remains to be done to empower the consumer lobby to be in a position to effectively protect consumers in Malta and Gozo.