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Dubai Economy saw a 19% increase in consumer complaints during the first six months of 2019 following improving awareness on consumer rights and ease of access to consumer protection channels. The Consumer Protection section in Dubai Economy resolved 17,768 complaints during the first half of 2019, compared to 14,970 complaints during the same period of 2018, and 38% of the complaints came through the smart channels provided for consumer protection as part of the strategic efforts to enhance competitiveness in Dubai.
In addition to consumer complaints, Dubai Economy also received 1,661 suggestions and 1,266 enquiries from consumers during H1 2019. The rise in complaints and the overall consumer feedback received across diverse channels reflect an increasing confidence among shoppers in Dubai and emphasise the importance of service quality in the sustainable growth and competitiveness of the emirate’s flagship retail sector, said Mohammed Ali Rashid Lootah, CEO of the Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector in Dubai Economy.
“While 62% of the complaints came through our call centre, the remaining 38% were submitted on our smart channels, chiefly our website and the Dubai Consumer app we introduced to integrate artificial intelligence into consumer protection. The numbers validate our efforts to enhance merchant-consumer trust across all existing and emerging areas of retailing along with accelerating the smart transition of services in Dubai,” Lootah added.
Services still account for a majority of the consumer complaints but fast-growing sectors like eCommerce are close behind. Together, Services (28%), Electronics (16%) and eCommerce (14%) were responsible for 58% of the complaints received. Car Rental (9%), Automobiles (8%), Clothing & Accessories (7%), Shipping (5%), Furniture (4%), Auto Repair Workshops (3%), Textiles & Personal Items (3%), Decoration & Maintenance of Buildings (2%), and Salons (1%) came next.
“The Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection Sector not only ensures that best practices drive sustainable development of commercial activity in Dubai but also promote transparency across buying and selling. Enhancing consumer rights awareness, amongst merchants as well as consumers, and technology adoption are vital to reinforcing Dubai as an exemplary business environment and a preferred shopping destination,” Lootah said.
Non-compliance with the purchase agreement led to 27.3% of the consumer complaints in H1 2019 and refunds was next, at 19.36%. Defective products (18.48%), commercial fraud (11.15%), after-sales service (5.28%), non-compliance with warranty terms (4.28%), surcharges (3.77%), exchange (2.63%), additional charges on services/products (1.99%), non-compliance with promotional offer (1.91%), incompatibility of shop policy with existing laws (1.27%), non-adherence to declared business activity (1.27%), non-compliance with price list (0.90%), and VAT (0.28%) were the factors involved in the remaining complaints.
The nationality-wise breakdown of complaints shows Emiratis (25%) followed by Indians (16%), Egyptians (12%), Saudis (9%) and Jordanians (5%) as the top complainants.
Lootah called on all consumers to provide their feedback on the social media handles of CCCP or by downloading the Dubai Consumer app.
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