DED asks retailers to set up consumer protection counters

The Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector in the Department of Economic Development (DED) has announced an initiative to establish Consumer Protection Counters within hypermarkets, car showrooms, electronics shops and department stores across Dubai.

The counter will serve as the first point of contact for consumers who wish to register complaints regarding their purchases. Mohammed Ali Rashed Lootah, CEO of CCCP, says the initiative is part of the efforts to improve the overall customer experience provided by retail outlets in Dubai, enhance consumer awareness and strengthen competitiveness in Dubai.

“The Consumer Protection Counter will serve as a dedicated point of information and service for consumers seeking to have their complaints resolved. It will provide added value and efficiency to the existing mechanisms for resolving consumer complaints while also strengthening relations between retailers and their customers,” adds Lootah.

“Transparent and efficient consumer complaint resolution protocols represent a robust retailing environment. We have chosen retail outlets that account for the largest share of consumers and consumer requests to open the Customer Service Counters. The counters will thus be beneficial to a large number of residents and tourists alike, and help reinforce Dubai’s reputation as a competitive and attractive shopping destination,” he says.

Retailers have been given time till early 2017 to establish the Consumer Protection Counter and DED has prepared clear guidelines for retailers to follow in establishing the dedicated facility. The counter should be in a prominent location within the outlet. Bilingual staff should be available to receive complaints and the counter should maintain a record of all complaints and the action taken on each of them.

“All complaints, whether resolved or unresolved, should be properly documented and the counter should display our consumer rights logo as well as the guidelines for consumers to register a complaint. It should also display the Ahlan Dubai number, 600 4 55 55, for consumers who wish to contact DED,” asserts Lootah.

Complainants not satisfied with the response received from the Consumer Protection Counter can directly contact DED on the Ahlan Dubai number, through the smart phone application Sallety, Twitter handle Dubai_consumers or on the Dubai Consumer channel on Blackberry phones.