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Government should support consumers
On July 1st, a new law regarding product quality came into force. Vu Vinh Phu, President of the Ha Noi Supermarket Association, spoke to Hai Quan (Customs) newspaper about consumer rights.
Under the new law, merchandise failing to meet national standards is banned from sale, and non-disclosure of potentially harmful information will be strictly punished. Many such products are already on shelves, how can we solve this contradiction?
Statistics from the Market Watch Department show the number of poor quality and fake goods increases every year.
Consumer rights protection is already covered by law, a UN Charter, the Viet Nam Food Hygiene and Safety Ordinance and the Ordinance on Protecting Consumer Rights are in place. How to enforce these laws in a real life situation remains a big question, as in reality most consumer rights are being violated. For example the right to product information, there is a well known case involving false information, relating to 3-MPCD (a substance known to cause cancer) found in many soybean products.
Overlapping management between Government agencies creates problems penalising violators. What do you think about this?
Government agencies only discuss problems when a serious violation is reported. In the case of food hygiene problems, three agencies are involved, the health department is in charge of food processing, while the commercial department is in charge of trading and the agricultural department oversees livestock production and slaughter.
In my opinion, Government agencies need to report problems to consumers, rather than just solve the issue on a departmental basis.
The line between a genuine and fraudulent trader is very fine. For a consumer, the market is very layered, only 10 per cent of consumers buy goods in supermarkets, the remainder buy goods in local markets, or from small retailers and street vendors.
The new law gives consumers the right to sue retailers/manufacturers when they are found to have violated the law. Does that mean plaintiffs will be compensated if they win?
Statistics from the Market Watch Department show the number of poor quality and fake goods increases every year.
In 2005, there were 60,000 cases. But in 2006, the figure jumped to 63,400 and in 2007 nearly 65,000 cases.
Only about 1,000 of these cases a year are brought to trial by consumers, some 800 of these cases were settled out of court, and 200 others were dismissed due to insufficient evidence. To win a court case, plaintiffs have to spend quite a lot of money to satisfy the requirements of the law. In other countries, when a consumer sues a manufacturer, the consumer doesn’t have to pay for testing samples and such, it is on the manufacturer. In addition, in some cases plaintiffs don’t have to pay court fees.
Should the Government stipulate each market and supermarket have a quality control test centre?
That’s what has been going on in markets in Thailand.
This is an indication of government concern for citizens, and manufactures’ responsibility to customers.
I mean, protecting consumers’ rights should not stop at the quality of the goods, but also encompass the attitude of retailers and warranty systems.
VNN
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