CCPC sensitizes Chisunka Chiefdom on their consumer rights and obligations.

Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has called on consumers of various products and services in Chief Chisunka’s Chiefdom of the Ushi people of Luapula Province in Mansa District to know their rights and obligations for them to always get value for their money and a fair dealing at every transaction.

CCPC Luapula Province Investigator Mwate Mulenga made the call in Chief Chisunka’s Chiefdom during a sensitization meeting with the villagers in the Chiefdom.

She said it is a right of every consumer to get a fair deal in every transaction as they spend their hard earned money on any product or service.

Mrs Mulenga called on the consumers to ensure that whenever they buy products which are defective and malfunctioning, they have a right to take the defective products back to the seller for either an exchange for the one working properly or a refund.

She also sensitized the villagers to report their complaints on defective products and unfair treatment from sellers of various products and service providers to the Commission for redress on a toll free number 5678 for help.

She added that those who can manage should report their cases in person to the Commission Officers based at NAPSA building in Mansa, the provincial capital.

And Commission representative Masautso Phiri added that cases of defective products and unregistered insurance through agents were rife and frequently reported to the CCPC offices for redress.

Mr. Phiri said following the increased awareness campaigns mounted by the Commission in the recent past, the efforts have resulted in appreciable reduction in the occurrences of the cases being reported.

He said even random checks on Shops in Mansa and other Districts countrywide have revealed a drastic reduction in Shop owners stocking expired produced on their shelves which is a good development for the consumers.

Mr. Phiri emphasized that it is important for consumers to develop a good culture of asking for genuine receipts for the products they are buying from established Shops and Retail outlets in order to have a strong case in an event of receiving a defective product from the seller.

He also advised the villagers to ensure that when they are travelling on long distance journeys which could be intercity or inter town to get genuine receipts even for their luggage so that in an event that the luggage goes missing, they would have a written document to show that they paid for the luggage for them to be compensated.

Mr. Phiri further stated that consumers should always check the expiry dates on the products before buying so that they do not buy expired products for health reasons and also as a way of helping the Shop owners not to continue stocking expired products on their shelves.

He said products being sold to the consumers must be sold within the timeframe that does not put the lives and health of consumers at risk for consuming such products because every consumer is entitled to get value for their money.

Mr Phiri said the rights do not just end at foodstuffs but extends to all products and services that consumers spend money on which should meet their expectations.

He thanked the local authorities and the Zambia Bureau of Standards for partnering with the Commission in advancing and enforcing consumer rights and obligations.