Consumer complaints decrease by almost 12% in Oman

Times news service

MUSCAT: Consumer complaints in Oman decreased by almost 12 percent during the first half of 2019, the Public Authority of Consumer Protection has revealed.

PACP said, “The decrease in complaints is due to increased awareness among traders and suppliers of the Consumer Protection Law and regulations and decisions issued by the Authority.”

“The suppliers become more familiar with the penalties applied as a result of violating the laws, which leads them to abide by the regulations and to avoid breaking them,” the authority official added.

Statistical indicators for the first half of 2019 showed a decrease by 11.9 percent in the index of reports, violations and seized goods compared to the same period for 2018, while the total number of communications during the first half of 2019 amounted to 2401, compared to 2725 reports for the same period in 2018.

According to the PACP report, the food consumer sector witnessed a decline of 34 percent in complaints compared to the same period in 2018.

The authority said in a statement: “Compared to other sectors, the food consumables sector led the decline in 2019 with a decrease of 232 communications compared to the first half of 2018.”

“The consumers submitting reports in this sector do so mostly due to price differences between the shelf and the till, shops not pricing goods clearly, raising prices, and the presence of expired food,” PACP added.

The report also showed a decrease in the rate of reports in most consumer protection directorates and departments. Dhofar Consumer Protection Department recorded the highest rate of decline during the first half of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018 with a drop in the number of reports of 109 percent, followed by the North Al Sharqiya Department which saw a drop of 55 percent in reports.