The Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector in Dubai Economy received 11,655 consumer complaints during the first three months of 2020, which was 40 per cent higher than the complaints received in the same period last year.
The increase signifies the persistent focus of Dubai Economy on protecting consumer rights, improving consumer awareness, as well as on promoting transparent and fair dealings between merchants and consumers.
Total number of consumer issues handled by the feedback CCCP sector in Dubai Economy during Q1 2020 reached 14,300, of which 11,655 were complaints, 1,965 were observations, and 680 were enquiries. Of the total complaints, 59 per cent were submitted through the smart channels of Dubai Economy, including the’Dubai Consumer’ app and the consumer rights.ae website, while the remaining 41 per cent came through the call centre.
Emiratis accounted for 25 per cent of the consumer complaints received, followed by Indians (14 per cent), Egyptians (12 per cent), Saudis (9.0 per cent), and Jordanians (5.0 per cent).
The largest share of complaints (34 per cent) was about services electronics (12 per cent), e-Commerce (11 per cent), and car rentals (10 per cent) came next. Automobiles as well as clothes & accessories each accounted for 7 per cent of the complaints, followed by furniture (5 per cent), freight (4 per cent ), textiles & personal items (4 per cent), car workshops (3 per cent), interior decoration (2 per cent) and hair salons (1 per cent).
Mohammed Ali Rashed Lootah, CEO of CCCP, said: “Dubai Economy is keen on enhancing consumer confidence in the emirate through reaching resolving consumer complaints amicably and strengthening the relations between merchants and consumers. Our awareness programmes are aimed to clarify the rights and duties of consumers as well as merchants, and enhance the principles of transparency in transactions.”
Lootah added: “We see that the nature of complaints is changing according to market variables. Complaints relating to refunds accounted for 22 per cent of the total in the first quarter, 21 per cent were about non-compliance with the terms of agreement, 15 per cent were about defective products, while commercial fraud and added fees on products and services accounted for 11 per cent.” More
issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com
By Issac John
Editorial Director of Khaleej Times, is a well-connected Indian journalist and an economic and financial commentator. He has been in the UAE’s mainstream journalism for 35 years, including 23 years with Khaleej Times. A post-graduate in English and graduate in economics, he has won over two dozen awards. Acclaimed for his authentic and insightful analysis of global and regional businesses and economic trends, he is respected for his astute understanding of the local business scene.
