One thing the European Commission is determined to do effectively is protect consumers’ rights. This was confirmed when Brussels expressed concern about the ineffectiveness of the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority to protect consumers’ rights at all times.
A decision of the Court of Appeal last May, in a case instituted by the Federation of Real Estate Agents, practically threw the competition and consumers watchdog into a state of limbo. The court said the director general for competition could not impose fines because only a proper court could guarantee a fair hearing. It seems the competition watchdog can investigate alleged anti-competition abuses but not inflict sanctions. This, in effect, means the watchdog can bark but not bite.
Seven long months have passed and the situation remains unchanged. This sorry state of affairs has worried the Consumers’ Association – Malta, which deems the situation “unacceptable”. It is indeed worrying that legal amendments to give teeth to the consumer watchdog have still not been implemented. This contrasts, for instance, with the enactment and implementation of the provisions of the Arbiter for Financial Services Act that is now in force and the office of the Financial Arbiter is fully functional.
The previous Central Bank governor, Josef Bonnici, had commented that a small market has inbuilt inefficiencies that, at times, do not protect fully consumers’ rights. These comments related mainly to the charges banks impose on clients in a market where many argue there are too few players for the dynamics of competition to work efficiently.
The importance of having an effective competition watchdog was clearly demonstrated when, in January 2015, the MCCAA initiated a probe into alleged anti-competition practices following a decision by the owner of a Rabat fuel station to cut the price of diesel by 2c a litre when complaints were being made by consumers about high fuel prices.
While it was bad enough for the regulator to take months to conclude the probe, a final decision could not be made precisely because of the court judgment. One would have expected the Consumer Affairs Minister to take immediate action to protect consumers’ rights by introducing the necessary legislative changes.
What is perhaps more worrying is the substance of a comment made to this newspaper by a source close to the MCCAA some time ago:“It seems the government is in no hurry to propose the required legal amendments even though Malta is effectively without a competition watchdog.”
This is not good news for the many consumers who work hard to earn a living, pay their taxes and declare their income in full. The least they can expect from the government is to be protected from abusive anti-competition practices. Consumer Affairs Minister Helena Dalli had promised that the necessary legislative changes would be passed through Parliament and implemented.
What is causing the delay? Why did questions sent by the Times of Malta to the Consumer Affairs Ministry after the Consumers’ Association’s comments about the matter in mid-December remain unanswered?
If the government continues to procrastinate, consumers may not have any other alternative but to resort to the European Commission since competition in the internal market is considered one of the most important pillars of an effective EU.
The legislative inertia that has resulted in the erosion of consumers’ rights is sadly another symptom of falling standards in the governance of the public sector.