DUBAI // The banquet host’s complaint was quite clear: caterers had served the wrong kind of meat at the buffet.
For Dubai’s consumer “police”, however, investigating the complaint proved more difficult – because guests had consumed the evidence.
“Unfortunately, there was none left after the banquet to verify his claim as the guests ate it all,” said Mohammed Lootah, head of commercial compliance and consumer protection at the emirate’s Department of Economic Development.
The department dealt with nearly 5,000 complaints from members of the public in the first three months of this year, not all of which turned out to be serious.
“We had a consumer who complained about a candy in a hypermarket that looked like a certain medicine bottle,” Mr Lootah said.
“And there was another against a shop that refused to sell a product because they did not have enough cash change for the customer.”
Other calls came from a pet owner who complained about a clinic’s cosmetic surgery on his dog’s jaw, and a complaint filed against a labour supply services company because they sent a pregnant maid to work for a family.
A subsequent investigation revealed it was a false pregnancy, Mr Lootah said.
The department has received 45,713 complaints from the public since October 2010.
The number has increased year on year as greater awareness about consumer rights encourages the public to contact the department.
Last year, it dealt with more than 12,000 complaints compared with 2,900 in the whole of 2010. “About 35 per cent of the complaints registered involve non-compliance with the terms of agreement between companies and their consumers,” Mr Lootah said.
“Complaints regarding technical issues with products account for 15 per cent.” Despite better awareness, some people said they were still in the dark regarding their rights.
“I think there should be one policy that everyone should follow and that would reduce the confusion for people,” said Justin Billesley, 34, from the UK.
For Mohammed Iqbal, 25, from India, tougher action should be taken against retailers who are caught breaking the rules.
“If they were given big fines or had their licences removed that would send a clear message.”
For more information, visit www.consumerrights.ae.
nhanif@thenational.ae
