By ANNELIA NIXON

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

Consumer protection regulators yesterday asserted they have recovered more than $117,000 over the past year for aggrieved Bahamians who believe merchants violated their rights.

Alfred Taylor, the Consumer Protection Commission’s deputy complaints manager, said the regulator receives on average around 35 complains per month from consumers who believe they have been sold defective or shoddy products, or that businesses have exploited them and failed to deliver what was promised.

Disclosing that fines “should not exceed $5,000 when providers are found in breach of consumer rights”, he said that from September 2023 to now he believes the Commission has gained more than $117,000 in refunds from merchants.

Senator Randy Rolle, the Commission’s executive chairman, announced it “intends to leverage existing laws to compel retailers to improve their products practices”. He added: “To address these violations, we intend to leverage existing laws to compel retailers to improve their practices.

“We are also recommending to government through our minister [Michael Halkitis] to establish fixed penalties creating a more straightforward process for imposing fines on those who violate these standards. What the consumer infers from these findings is that retailers have somewhat lax or are arbitrary in complying with the laws of the land. This is primarily due to regulators and some enforcement agencies failing to act as legislatively empowered to do so.”

Mr Rolle said two advisories are to be sent out by week’s end to two courier companies that have been the subject of numerous consumer complaints. He added that courier companies, grocery stores, beauty supply stores, hardware stores and even pharmacies are among the businesses subject to such complaints.

The Commission recently inspected more than 14 food stores, finding that nearly half violated consumer protection standards. Key concerns included unclear “best by” dates on baked goods and fruits, which could confuse consumers, and inaccurate scales in produce sections, potentially leading to overcharges.

Some pharmacies in the Over-The-Hill communities were also found selling expired over-the-counter medications, posing potential health risks. Other grocery stores failed to provide clear labelling on some food products. However, Mr Rolle added that some stores, since the Commission’s visit, have improved and taken the necessary steps to meet its standards.

The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation (BCCEC), in a statement, joined the Commission in calling for fair treatment among consumers and businesses. However, while it is “deeply concerned” over some businesses not adhering to consumer protection standards, it questioned what the Commission has in mind in terms of “leveraging existing laws”.

“The BCCEC notes the comments of Randy Rolle relative to those businesses that may be in contravention of the consumer protection standards, and is deeply concerned with the same. We always encourage our members and other business owners to adhere to all governmental policies and regulations, just as we lobby for the Government to enhance the ease while reducing the cost of doing business for the community,” the Chamber added.

“We also note the Government’s position that they will be enacting the letter of the law on those non-compliant businesses and wonder exactly what that letter entails? We suggest there be requisite awareness and educational campaigns on these policies and procedures before, during or after the exercise, especially for fledgling entrepreneurs who may not be knowledgeable of the same.

“Additionally, we recommend that these policies be published, routinely updated and easily accessible to the business community. As with food handlers, perhaps there should be an annual review or refresher offered to ensure complete compliance with the standards as outlined. Finally, knowing the penalties and grace period for compliance, if any, would be helpful for those businesses that need to adjust accordingly.”

The Commission clarified that it is not against businesses. “I don’t want to make it appear as if we’re here to just attack providers,” Austina Smith-Knowles, its marketing, education, research and training manager, said. “We want to make the marketplace fair. We want businesses to thrive.

“As recent as this morning, I would have spoken with a manager at Budget in Coral Harbour because there was a query that was put to me when our marketing team went out to CV Bethel and we actually did a presentation there for teachers during their professional development seminar. The question was, ‘why is it that supermarkets can have different branches and there are different prices? That seems unfair to consumers.’

“So I put that question to her this morning, and she simply explained to me that the different outlets for a particular supermarket, they operate as separate entities and some of them are convenience stores versus the supermarket version, which is bigger. And so they have different budgets.

“And so, bearing that in mind, the smaller locations, they can’t buy in the bulk volume that the bigger location can. So therefore their overhead is more expensive. So that’s why you will see variances on a particular product; the same product at different locations. So I just wanted to point that out that the providers are not always unscrupulous and determined to just make a profit. They have to do what is feasible for that particular branch.”

Mr Rolle explained that recent findings prove that there should be more oversight of providers and that the Commission “dropped the ball”, promising: “This will be a thing of the past for the CPC.” He also called for collaboration with other entities to help protect consumers and their rights, and extended an invitation to the Bahamas Bureau of Standards and Quality and the Consumer Affairs Price Control Department to join in.

“This is why we have extended an open invitation to the Bahamas Bureau of Standards and Quality, headed by Dr Renee Bufford, Consumer Affairs Price Control Department, headed by Rex Adderley, and all regulators of agencies charged with some form of consumer advocacy to meet with us to help craft the collective way forward for consumer protection in The Bahamas,” Mr Rolle said.

The Chamber is also calling for collaboration, adding: “While we believe in the adage that ‘ignorance of the law is no excuse’, we remain advocates for fair and equitable treatment of the business community and consumers alike.

“To this end, we welcome the opportunity for collaboration with the CPC to ensure a robust public awareness and educational campaign to ensure businesses are fully apprised of the regulations and requirements that govern industry practices, and can do so through our multi-centric approach to member engagement. Together, we can ensure a collaborative rather than confrontational outcome to the same.”