FTC records 100% success rate in 2021 |01 August 2022
Mr Lebon
• New Fair Trading Act takes effect today
The Fair Trading Commission reported a 100% success rate in its cases last year, with all 57 rulings delivered in its favour, according to its chief executive.
Speaking to Seychelles NATION, the commission’s CEO, Francis Lebon, said 2021 was generally a good year despite some setbacks brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced the commission to put some of its projects on hold due to staff shortage and public health restrictions.
Nevertheless, it moved forward with its work by making the necessary adjustments.
In its annual report for 2021, the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) said it registered 189 consumer complaints last year, which was an increase from the previous year and a gradual increase since 2019.
FTC said it received many tip-offs which allowed it also to carry out targeted inspections.
Mr Lebon attributed this increase to the commission’s education programme on various platforms, which is encouraging people to come forward to report unsatisfactory experiences.
He said FTC had also been observing a shift in complaint distribution between goods and services, since 2017. This was also observed last year, with the commission registering more complaints about services.
On average, since 2017 the distribution of consumer cases remains 63% Services and 38% Goods.
Mr Lebon explained this could be due to the economic situation where consumers are buying less or are more careful when buying goods.
For services, construction sector remains the most prominent category for complaints investigated.
There were 43 complaints in that sector in 2021, with a value worth R23,439,364.
It was, however, a slight decrease from 2020, when the number of complaints were 46.
FTC, through its tripartite work with the Seychelles Licensing Authority (SLA), and the Seychelles Planning Authority (SPA), cancelled four licences in construction last year and suspended one. These decisions were upheld at the businesses’ appeals.
FTC commended the SLA for taking these decisions as it said it had been reluctant to take harsh decisions towards businesses in that sector in the past.
Mr Lebon said they will continue to crackdown on businesses that do not comply with the law and has issued a stern warning to them.
“2022 will not be an exception. Other licenses will be cancelled. Your conduct should be in conformity with the law. You cannot take a person’s money without delivering the service or one that is up to standard,” he warned.
As for goods, electronic items remained the most prominent category with more complaints about items such as television and washing machines. Last year, a total of 56 goods complaints were investigated at a value amounting to R690,408.40. This is less than 2020, when the value of cases related to goods stood at R1,449,742.00.
FTC attributes the difference in value to fewer cases relating to vehicles in 2021.
“It is still very high though and we spent over R17,000 on technical report, to ensure the cases, products being brought to us are truly defective and not being misused by the consumers. Because consumers do not get blanket protection, we balance everything out,” said Mr Lebon.
According to the report, the commission’s Market Surveillance Department did not go out in full force due to public health guidelines in place and it investigated a total of 93 cases in 2021 compared to 188 the previous year.
59 of these cases required inspections while 34 were investigations in relation to other possible breaches of the former Consumer Protection Act, 2010 (CPA, 2010).
The commission issued a total of 49 compliance notices in 2021 compared to 105 in 2020.
Out of the 49 notices, 34 were served on retailers, 5 on wholesalers, 5 on pharmacies, 2 telecommunication companies, 1 car hire, 1 garage and 1 bottling plant.
“These were issued when we detected a prohibited conduct, if receipts were not issued, goods had expired, prices were not displayed or none of the three national languages were visible on the products. These are violations and not consumer-friendly behaviour,” explained Mr Lebon.
Only 17 new cases were filed last year, as the board of commissioners did not want to take on many cases as its mandate was ending at the end of the year. According to Mr Lebon it decided to focus on the cases that were already mentioned or heard aiming to complete them by the end of 2021.
The board issued 57 rulings, which was a record number of ruling.
FTC ended the year with a 100% success rate, winning all its cases. The total fines imposed amounted to R554,000. However, the total fines collected was R410,800. The difference is the result of cases appealed. The total refund for consumers amounted to R239,849. It should be noted that in 2020, rulings amounted to R139,900.
“Over R544,000 in fines is a record.The previous highest amount was R497,000. Now you have money going into the government coffers and consumers getting a refund to replace their electronic equipment or other items. All this is possible because you have a commission like ours,” said Mr Lebon.
He has commended his 32-member team for their hard work and commitment and said the commission will continue to push for further training and an incentive scheme that reflects the work it does as well as its responsibility.
“I know this will depend on the resources available, but we want our staff to get a better package so as not to be influenced by outside factors. Also, when you have a well-trained workforce, you can implement your mandate. The law doesn’t implement itself; you need good people to do it to bring about the results we want,” he added.
Meanwhile, a new law, the Fair Trading Act 2022 assented to in June this year, comes into effect today, August 1. It makes provision for the establishment of the Fair Trading Tribunal, which now falls under the auspices of the judiciary. This means the board of commissioners and Appeal Tribunal are no longer functional.
The members are expected to be announced shortly.
Already, 17 cases have been registered from January to June 2022. They will be added on to the 53 previous cases, which are being transferred to the newly formed tribunal. These cases are mostly related to construction and retailers.
With the enactment of the new law, FTC said a new plan and strategy will also be implemented this year.
Patsy Canaya