How well do you know Qatar’s Consumer Protection Law?
Although it is not as bad as in some parts of the world, one does sometimes hear of Qatar-based companies ripping its customers off. But thanks to the country’s stringent rules, many of the erring companies are quickly brought to the book.
As a consumer in Qatar, do you know your rights? Do you know what to do in case you feel you are wronged? Let us look at some of the laws of the land.
How do you define a consumer?
Under Qatar’s Consumer Protection Law (CPL), a consumer is defined as any person or legal entity who obtains a product or service for personal needs or the needs of others.
CPL covers all products and services whether they are charged or given free of charge.
As a consumer, you can claim compensation for any damage to property caused as a result of buying or using a product or service.
Definition of a supplier
A supplier is defined as any person who provides and distributes, trades in, sells exports, imports or is involved in the production or circulation of goods and services.
The law places an obligation on suppliers to play fair, provide certain information about their products and services, and to reimburse and/or compensate the consumer for poor service or faulty goods.
Know your consumer rights!
The law sets out a basic bill of rights for consumers. Some of them are:
* The right to health and safety in the ordinary use of products and services.
* The right to obtain correct information on products and services.
* The right to obtain all relevant product or service information in Arabic as well as other languages.
* The right to return, replace or repair the product free of charge, if a defect is found out or it doesn’t meet standard specifications or its purpose.
* The right to find all relevant product information including its type, nature, components etc.
* The right to find the price of the product clearly displayed.
* The right to obtain a dated invoice for the product purchased.
* The right to obtain all warranties relevant to the product offered by the producer or agent.
* The right to obtain another free product if the period of executing warranty terms exceeded 15 days until the warranties terms are fully honored.
* The right to take legal recourse on any breach or restriction of their consumer rights.
Misleading/false advertisements
The CPL prohibits selling, displaying, offering, promotion and advertisement of any spoilt or out-of-sell-by-date products. Suppliers are also prohibited from describing, advertising or displaying products using false or misleading information.
Labelling
Suppliers should display the following information clearly and legibly on all labels:
* The price of the product or service.
* The product’s type, nature and ingredients.
Purchases via installment scheme
The CPL also protects consumers who pay for goods or services by installment system. In such cases, the supplier is obligated to provide the following information:
* The total cost of the product or service.
* The total cost of the product or service when purchased by installment.
* The amount to be paid in advance (if applicable).
* The instalment period.
* The number of installments for each period and the amount owed on each installment.
Penalties for suppliers
Suppliers who breach any of the provisions of the law may face ‘detention for a term not exceeding two years and fine.’
The fine for non-compliance can range from QR3,000 to QR1 million. This penalty will be doubled if the supplier repeats the offence within five years of the original infringement.
Furthermore, if the supplier fails to advise of a dangerous commodity, the fine will range from QR15,000 to QR1 million.
However, suppliers who unintentionally advertise incorrect information are excluded from this penalty if it is determined that the information provided was too technical to verify.
Violating shops can be closed by up to three months where repeat violations occur.
Courtesy: www.gov.qa
