Consumer and Trade Rights

Basic Consumer Rights:

Basic consumer rights are secured under provisions of Law No (8) 2008 with respect to consumer protection. The law bans any person to sign, conclude and practice any activity that would compromise or undermine these rights, in particular the following rights:

•	The right to health and safety when normally using the goods and services.
•	The right to access to information and correct data about the goods and services purchased by, used by or provided to it.
•	The right to free choice of goods and services which meet the quality requirements.
•	The right to respect religious values, customs and traditions.
•	The right to access to knowledge on the protection of legitimate rights and interests.
•	The right to participate in associations, private institutions, boards and commissions related to the protection of the consumer.
•	The right to file lawsuits for anything that might compromise or undermine the consumer’s rights or damage or restrict them. This is without prejudice to the international conventions to which the State is a signatory.

Besides, Law No. (8) of 2008 with respect to consumer protection stipulates a number of rights that a consumer must be aware of:

•	The right to return, replace or repair the product free of charge, if a defect is found out or it doesn’t meet standard specifications or its purpose.
•	The right to obtain high quality product that is not forfeited.
•	The right to find all relevant product information including its type, nature, components …etc.
•	The right to be clearly warned if using the product involves any danger or hazards.
•	The right to not promote, describe or advertise products using misleading or deceiving information.
•	The right to find the price of the product clearly displayed.
•	The right to obtain a dated invoice for the product it purchased.
•	The right to obtain all warranties relevant to the product offered by the producer or agent. The right to obtain another free product if the period of executing warranty terms exceeded 15 days until the warranties terms are fully honored.
•	The right to know all characteristics of the service offered to it in advance including, its characteristics, benefits, price, performance and refund in case of not performing well.
•	The right to be warned in case of discovering any defect in the product or service that may harm the consumer when using the product or service.
•	The right to obtain all relevant product or service information in Arabic language as well as other different languages.
•	The right to find spare parts of durable goods available within a specified period of time.
•	Where payment is to be made by installments, the supplier should provide the consumer with the following information:
	1. The cash price for the product or service;
	2. The sale price where payment is to be made by installment;
	3. The possible installment periods;
	4. The number of installments for each period and the amount of each installment;
	5. The total cost for the sale by installment; and
	6. The amount of any advance payment, if available.

Supplier Obligations:

Law No. (8) of 2008 with respect to consumer protection has contemplated a number of basic obligations upon supplier and trader, in addition to penalties in case of violation. Suppliers shall be committed: (attachment: “Definition of supplier”)

•	To refund or replace commodities that are faulty or not compatible with standard specifications or not useable for the purpose of contract
•	To announce price of commodity or service
•	To make disclosures related to type, nature and components of the commodity/product
•	To notify/announce hazards related to using the commodities/products
•	To hand the consumer an appropriate invoice of the commodity that it bought and not to force it buy additional quantities of no use to the consumer, or buy other commodity or to ask it pay a higher price than announced.
•	To make details related to commodity or its maintenance in Arabic language
•	To notify Consumer Protection Department and consumers of any case related to finding manufacturing defect or any other defect that may cause damage or endanger consumers. It shall also be committed to recall all faulty commodities and to announce so immediately.
•	To repair, maintain and provide good after sale services to the consumer on all bought commodities
•	To provide consumer with clear details on service it will obtain including any benefits, features and related costs
•	To honor all terms and conditions including guarantees/warranties documents provided by the producer or the appointed agent. It also provides spare parts to long serving commodities within a definite period of time.