JEDDAH: Since its inception two years ago, the local Consumer Protection Association (CPA) has come under heavy scrutiny from the public. Many citizens and local media reports have labeled the organization as inactive, incompetent, and even gone as far as to harshly say that its chairman is weak.
However, when Arab News spoke to CPA president, Mohammed Al-Hamad, during an interview in February he plainly explained that the cause for the organization's lack of "activity" was due to a lack of promised governmental funding.
"We are required as per the CPA constitution, drawn up by the government, to be responsible for settling complaints between consumers and local businesses, as well as setting up a toll free number, website, fax and other means to help consumers lodge these complaints. We should also support government agencies, do research studies and publish them to promote consumer awareness, in addition to organizing conferences to eliminate counterfeit or unsafe goods from the Saudi marketplaces, however all of these projects are on hold because we have no money to begin working on them," Al-Hamad, told Arab News six months ago.
Al-Hamad continued by adding that according to Article 18 of the CPA constitution, 10 percent of attestation fees of commercial documents charged by the chambers of commerce and industry in each province should be given to the CPA.
"This is equal to SR2.50 out of the SR25 the chambers charge for stamping or certifying documents which would amount to around SR7 million to SR8 million a year that we are not receiving and that could be put to good use in helping begin our work," Al-Hamad explained.
Since then, the CPA chief has been petitioning the Ministry of Finance for the needed funds to begin work and has recently received 50 percent of the budget needed to pay off obligations and get the CPA headed in a more active direction.
"Praise be to Allah, we have finally received aid from the ministry that will be used to pay obligations accumulated since the establishment of the organization by the General Assembly," said Al-Hamad.
He also explained that since receiving the funds the CPA has been busy establishing and participating in a number of symposia on the protection of the consumer, not to mention the CPA's involvement in following consumer pricing and the issuance of a number of statements to local traders warning them about inflated prices.
"We have begun this initiative as a response to a large number of consumer complaints regarding exaggerated prices and have given our report on the findings and explained our response and action to the Ministry of Commerce who is now responsible for addressing the issue," he said. The CPA earlier this summer also launched an initiative to warn travelers of the dangers of fake travel agents.
"The organization explained that consumers should be sure of the legitimacy of the travel agency by asking to see the agencies' licenses. If any discrepancies were to occur, consumers have the right to alert the General Organization of Tourism immediately," said Al-Hamad.
In addition, due to influx of the seasonal summer and Umrah travel the CPA has also been giving travelers vital information concerning their rights while traveling with the local airlines companies.
"For example, if a passenger's flight is delayed by three hours the passenger is entitled to a cold meal whereas if the plane was delayed for more than three hours up to a maximum of six hours travelers have the right to claim hot meals," the president said.
He continued by also adding that if further delays of a passengers' flight of more than six hours were to occur the airline companies would be held liable to provide passengers with housing and must book the passenger on the earliest possible flight at the airlines' expense.
Speaking about the recent decision of the Ministry of Commerce in opening its own Consumer Protection Section, Al-Hamad explained that the CPA is an independent agency but is fully involved in working with concerned governmental authorities.
"We are cooperating with the Ministry of Commerce because we believe we are organizations that care for consumer protection," he said, adding that the CPA would always welcome the cooperation of the ministry at any time.
By Sarah Abdullah
© Arab News 2009
