Consumer Affairs body kicks off countrywide compliance inspection

As part of its function to administer and enforce the provisions of the Consumer Affairs and Competition and Fair-Trading Act, a team of officers of the Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission (CCAC) on Thursday last kicked off its first leg of a countrywide compliance inspection activity in Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

The team started the Bartica exercise with a courtesy call and meeting with the town’s Mayor and Councillors, representatives of the business community and other stakeholders where the role of the Commission and its relevance was highlighted.
The Mayor and Council, as well as the representatives of the business community welcomed the visit from the Commission and pledged to encourage and advocate for the compliance of the Consumer Affairs and Competition Fair Trading Act.
The Council and business representatives extended an invitation for the Competition Unit of the Commission to make a presentation on the Competition and Fair Trading Act to the group.
During the three-day compliance exercise, the team checked to ensure that the provisions of the Consumer Affairs Act “Part IV -Duties of the Supplier” are adhered to.
Provisions examined include the adherence to the six-month warranty obligation, the need to issue receipts for all transactions, the return and refund policy, the non-display of signs which indicate no refund and exchanges.
Ninety-five per cent of the businesses in Bartica were found to be compliant with the Act.
Those businesses were issued with “Certificates of Compliance, while those in contravention were given a notice of issues that they should correct and the CCAC will re-check within a month to ensure that they have become compliant.
The second phase of the CCAC’s compliance will move next to the Georgetown area.