Quite often we as consumers go to a business place, especially places of commerce, and the first sign that greets you is one that says “no refund or exchange”. We do not often see a sign saying “Welcome”, and we are often greeted by staff with sour faces as if we are disturbing them or coming to beg. What’s more, very few ever say thank you for coming or for doing business with us.

I went into a restaurant recently, and the first sign that greeted me was one that told customers that, owing to the ban on styrofoam packaging, prices have been increased. On checking, the increase was higher than the cost of the packaging for the meal.

After-sales servicing is often poor and warranties are often not honoured as some flimsy excuses are presented. Many service organizations are no different in this practice.

The Jamaican consumer, however, does have some rights which they can exercise, starting with the boycott and buying from the competitor instead. Internationally, consumers in the free world are influenced by eight basic rights which came into being, starting in the 1960s, when US President John F Kennedy, in his state of the nation address to the American people in 1962, declared four basic rights; namely, the right to be heard, the right to choose, the right to safety and the right to be informed.

The United Nations (UN) in 1982 added four more rights which, in summary, are the right to basic needs, the right to redress, the right to consumer education and the right to a healthy environment. Following on that, the UN also designated March 15, 1983 to be the date when these rights would become effective, and also that the date should be remembered each year as World Consumer Rights Day.

March 15 is therefore celebrated worldwide by well over 200 consumer protection organisations and in Jamaica. This is spearheaded by the National Consumers League (NCL) and the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC), which are members of an umbrella organisation Consumer International (CI) situated in London.

Each year, the Sunday closest to World Consumer Rights Day consumers and consumer organisations usually participate in a church service, which this year will be at the New Beulah Moravian Church in Mandeville, Manchester, starting at 10:00 am. The theme chosen this year is ‘The Sustainable Consumer’, which is very relevant as it focuses not only on rights but some of the social and economic conditions of consumers worldwide and how climate change will impact on these conditions.

Jamaican consumers should be aware that many pieces of legislation are, in fact, related to the eight rights outlined above and some may even have preceded the formalisation of those rights. These include weights and measures, public health, and, more recently, Fair Trading Commission, Bureau of Standards Jamaica, Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), Sale of Goods Act, to name a few, and to assist consumers directly are CAC, the NCL, OUR and the regular justice system.

There are some organisations which have properly established customer services departments which assist in maintaining those rights, such as addressing complaints, facilities such as washrooms and other conveniences, but unfortunately these are not too common.

The NCL and CAC hope that all consumers will pay attention to the information about coronavirus disease COVID-19 and all other health-related information from the Ministry of Health and other reliable sources, and not to be misled by information from unreliable sources.

Trevor Samuels is the acting public relations officer or the National Consumers League. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or tasamuels@cwjamaica.com.