Dubai: The Department of Economic Development in Dubai (DED) intends to make public a black list of consumers who submit fake complaints against retailers, a top DED official told Gulf News.
The Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection (CCCP) section in the DED found that a number of complaints the department received against retailers were not genuine and have been reported to cause harm to retailers, Omar Bu Shahab, Chief Executive Officer of CCCP, said.
Investigation by the department found that about 90 per cent of the complaints made against one of the retailers in Dubai were made by one consumer and for personal reasons.
“Currently, the department have the details of 28 consumers who used to submit these fake complaints thinking that they can cause harm to the retailer who refused to deal with them by adopting revenge behaviour,” Bu Shahab said.
Other consumers were pushed by retailers’ competitors trying to affect the business of other outlets, he added.
Penalties likely
While the department hasn’t take any action against this consumer except adding their name to the black list, which until now is internally circulated, but going forward, penalties may be imposed.
“Our role is to protect the rights of retailers and consumers and ensure that they are complying with the Consumer Protection Law,” he said.
Last year, the CCCP resolved 87 per cent of the complaints and most of the cases were cracked in four days.
The services sector in Dubai, one of the fastest growing business segments in the market, accounted for more than half of the increase in the number of consumer complaints along with the electronics sector. These were followed by the automobiles sector ,while textiles and cosmetics figured among the leading sectors in terms of customer feedback and complaints.
The highest share of complaints comprised disagreements between the retailer and consumer on the terms and conditions of sale, while there were complaints of damage and others involved fraudulent practices.
Also, there were objections raised over fees and exchange and charging more than the advertised price, which attracted the lowest number of complaints.
