Retailers ignore consumer protection rules

Rwanda Bureau of Standards (RBS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry have urged traders to uphold rules and regulations that protect consumers from exploitation.In the ongoing campaign to sensitise the business community on consumer protection, traders have been urged to display price lists as the internal trade law requires.According to articles 11-13 of the trade law, display of prices in Rwandan francs to buyers was compulsory, while articles 14-16 states that business transactions should be accompanied by invoices.Both are aimed at protecting consumers against any form of exploitation by unscrupulous traders. A mini survey conducted by The New Times in Kigali suburbs of Kicukiro and Kimironko shows that very few retail shops neither display prices nor issue invoices. The survey shows that traders and consumers are ignorant about the trade rules and regulations concerning price display. Daniel Gatorano, a retail shop owner in Kicukoro, said they base their sales on bargaining.“I don’t have to display prices because the price of what I sell varies day to day and I can’t keep changing, it is a policy that traders and clients bargain until they agree on the final price,” he said.He adds that the law obliges them to provide invoices but it is rare to give them to clients, unless the client requests for it. “That kind of thing should be for big retail shops and supermarkets...imagine listing all the items I have and their prices then I have to change tomorrow. What if the price increases or decreases, the clients often know the price of the product he or she wants,” says a woman who operates a mini-super market in Kimironko. “Consumers and traders are not accustomed to invoices, it’s on rare occasions that my clients ask for invoices, there is no big challenge I have ever met because I hadn’t provided invoices,” she said, requesting that her name remains anonymous.Ildephonse Uwimana, a resident of Kimihurura, says: “I have never been given an invoice, I buy what I want and I leave the place, it only becomes necessary on items that expire.” Speaking to The New Times, the in charge of competition and consumer protection in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Emmanuel Bayingana , stresses the importance of invoices and the price display.“Traders set the price in their own way depending on how they see a client, we want them to show clearly the price so as not to confuse clients, and the prices should be uniform,” said Bayingana.“And all traders should provide invoices for any product. They have been warned several times; the next step will be punishment for those who do not comply.” Damien Ndizeye, the Executive Secretary of ADECOR (Association for the Defence of Consumer Rights, said that most times, consumers were cheated. “We have received some complaints of substandard or expired products and buyers had no invoices, they couldn’t take them back as they had no proof that they bought them from that trader.” He said that traders should provide invoices comprising the name of business, date, products and a warranty where necessary.

National

Retailers ignore consumer protection rules