UAE consumer Q&A: Is haggling for products legal?

'There is no specific provision in law that prohibits buyers from bargaining or haggling on the prices of goods.'

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Q: Is haggling for goods or services advisable or allowed when purchasing items – especially for expensive things like cars?

A: There is no specific provision in law that prohibits buyers from bargaining or haggling on the prices of goods. Even while purchasing an expensive item such as a car, a buyer may haggle or seek to bargain on the price. As long as buyer and seller agree, and the car is sold at that agreed price there is no breach of consumer protection laws.

Q: Is there a law about items that are on ‘sale’? I have seen items being described as two for the price of one – when in fact they have just doubled the price for a single item, and you do not save any money at all.

A: There is no special provision of consumer protection law regulating a ‘sale’. Sellers must set prices at all times and may be held liable for misrepresenting or misleading a buyer. A misleading offer designed to attract a consumer in a deceitful way is an illusory promise. These are void in law and must be reported to the consumer protection department so that authorities can take legal action against the seller or supplier.

Q: I keep getting calls from companies offering me financial services. They know my name and have my phone number – how did they get this information if I did not give it to them directly? How can I make the calls stop?

A: It is not legal for anyone to harass you with offers of financial services. Harassment caused by continuous calls from agents or brokers and sharing of confidential information with third parties is deemed illegal in the UAE. Harassment, in law, means causing a nuisance to others that is disruptive and offensive, and which substantially interferes with an individual’s daily routine. Such conduct has to be reported to police by filing a complaint in accordance with Article 72 of Law No 23 of 2003.

If you have a question for our lawyer, please email it to newsdesk@thenational.ae with the subject line ‘Consumer Q&A’.