Over $30M in complaints received by CAU – quarterly report shows

…electronics, airline grievances top list

The Customer Affairs Unit (CAU) of the Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission (CCAC) has compiled 123 complaints in total for the months of January to March 2019, valuing $30,052,568, almost doubling figures when compared with those of last year for the same period.
This is according to Consumer Affairs Officer, Feyona Austin-Paul who told Guyana Times that these high figures can be attributed to the fact that many persons are becoming more aware of their rights through the Commission.
A report seen by this publication added, “The first quarter of 2019 saw an unusually high influx of complaints when compared to previous years”.
The Unit received 39 complaints by the end of January 2019, which amounted to $16, 754,801. Last January, some 30 complaints were received which valued $9,133,892.
The months of February and March saw 38 and 46 complaints respectively amounting to $5,553,101 and $7,744,666 in the same order.
These 123 complaints received by the Commission represents a 62 per cent increase when compared to the same period last year.
Moreover, they amounted to $30,052,568, an 18 per cent increase in value compared with 2018’s $25,495,011.
When delved deeper, the quarterly statistical report shows that the electronics and airline industries concentrated the list, accounting for 48 per cent of complaints received for the period.
“While the electronics industry has been a dominant area of complaint in previous years, the amount of complaints for the airline industry was primarily due to Fly Jamaica’s inability to refund affected consumers to date. The remaining categories within the top five (5) were auto industry, clothing and accessories and appliance,” the Unit explained.
Nonetheless, the Consumer body boasted that it was able to successfully resolve 49.6 per cent of the complaints received which valued $17,801,799.
Meanwhile, Fly Jamaica’s impending refund issue accounted for 44 per cent of the ongoing complaints. They are expected to be refunded by July 1, 2019. The remaining percentage of unresolved complaints were referred to the CCAC’s Board for a hearing.
Moreover, the report said, “Of the 61 complaints resolved, suppliers were liable for a substantial 77 per cent, with an accumulated value of $9,120,440. The remaining 23 per cent were as a result of either consumer liability or no liability (undetermined or consumer chose to no longer pursue the case)”.