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The Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector in Dubai Economy received a total of 25,665 consumer plaints in 2017 – an average of 70 complaints per day – following greater efforts to enhance consumer rights awareness in general and promote transparency as well as cordial consumer-trader relations in the emirate’s retail sector. CCCP also received 2,885 alerts and 1,772 enquiries on the Ahlan Dubai number (600 54 5555) as Dubai Economy maintained focus on reinforcing the emirate’s reputation as a preferred shopping destination for residents as well as tourists.
Consumer complaints relating to the Services sector accounted for 28.6% of the total while 22.8% were from the Electronics sector, 11.5% from Automobiles and 6.1% involved e-commerce. Car rentals (6%), Textiles & personal goods (4.6%), Furniture (3.5%), Clothing & accessories (3.4%), Shipping (1.9%), Car repair (1.4%), and Decoration & maintenance of buildings (0.6%) also had their share respective share among consumer complaints in 2017 while 9.4% of the complaints came from various other sectors.
Non-compliance with the purchase agreement constituted the number one (31%) issue raised by consumers while refunds (20.1%), defective products (14.9%), non-compliance with warranty terms (5.1%), exchange (4.2%), commercial fraud (3.9%), non-compliance with the price list (1.5%), product failure (1.3%), surcharges (1.2%), damaged goods (1.1%), additional charges (0.9%), non-compliance with promotional offers (0.9%), failure to provide after-sales service (0.8%), refusal to provide repairs (0.3%), badly stitched clothes (0.2%), and failure of the shop to abide by existing laws (0.1%) were also among the complaints. A number of other issues accounted for 12.3% of the complaints.
Mohammed Ali Rashid Lootah, CEO of CCCP, said: "Dubai Economy is committed to constantly improving the business environment and facilitating the relationship between the trader and the consumer in accordance with the highest quality standards and best practices, while maintaining Dubai as one of the world's leading business and leisure destinations.
"The Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection team works with due diligence and speed to receive and resolve complaints round the clock, and we are proud to have solved 93% of the complaints we received in 2017 within four working days. We are always working to improve performance and serve the public in accordance with the objectives set by the Government of Dubai in terms of improving the level of services provided to consumers, residents and tourists.”
UAE nationals topped the list of consumers who raised complaints in 2017 at 36.36%, followed by Indians (12.34%), Egyptians (9.81%), Saudis (7.87%), Jordanians (4.61%), Philippines (2.84%), Syria (2.35%), Pakistan (1.95%), Britain (1.92%) and Lebanon (1.29%) were also among the complainants, reflecting the success of Dubai and the UAE in general in spreading the consumer rights message across all communities.
CCCP has intensified consumer awareness campaigns in recent years and the sector has also organised a series of specialised programmes in view of the increasing tourist arrivals across major market areas in Dubai. Specific areas, categories and age groups have been identified to enhance the effectiveness of the awareness programmes and ensure that no segment is left out.
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