The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has said that Nigerian customers can seek redress from supermarkets and traders for the purchase of defective, unsafe goods by appealing using Sections 136 and 116 of the FCCPC Act.
This was disclosed by Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Mr Babatunde Irukera in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.
Irukera was speaking on the back of reports that some supermarkets and traders usually refuse a repair, replacement or refund of some faulty goods purchased from them by their customers.
What the FCCPC boss is saying
Irukera urged that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) reserved the right for consumers to return goods and supermarkets were obliged to comply with it.
He said consumers could seek redress directly from the manufacturer, importer or distributor in line with Sections 136 and 116 of the Act. He urged Nigerian customers to file a complaint to the Commission where producers or providers failed to comply with the law.
He said the Act stipulated that manufacturers, importers or distributors of goods were required to label or describe the goods in a manner that would be easily traceable to them to enable consumers to reach them.
He also urged that consumers could file a complaint to the Commission where producers or providers failed to comply with the law, including with respect to return, repair or refund.
”They have to also provide an implied warranty that the goods are of good quality and suitable for the purpose for which they are intended.
”Section 132(2) stipulates that consumers may return goods which do not meet the required standards to the undertaking that supplied the goods within three months after the delivery of the goods to the consumer.
”The undertaking shall either repair or replace the failed, unsafe or defective goods or refund to the consumer the price paid for the goods.
”Consumers have multiple avenues for redress in such situations, ” he said.
In case you missed it
- Nairametrics reported earlier this month that the FCCPC provided a guide to electricity consumers on how to track their bills even with the use of estimated billing by the electricity distribution companies.
- FCCPC advised electricity consumers to always check their monthly bills for tariff band (expected hours of daily power supply), noting that a consumer could contest his or her tariff band if the supply fell short of the required hours over a 60-day cycle.
- The commission also advised consumers to check the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Amended Order on capping of estimated bills for their distribution company and ensure that their estimated consumption does not exceed the stipulated cap for their area.