Delivering the Authority’s annual report overview last week, CCA CEO, Tebelelo Pule said consumers in the country are at risk of unfair business practices that emanate from practices that are not in line with fair business. This, according to Pule, has placed consumers in a red zone, as they face ever increasing pressures of unfair business practices.
“Of the cases reported we have found out that businesses in Botswana engage in unfair business practices such as misleading advertising and failure to disclose key information about products or services offered,” she said. Pule further said the Authority through its routine inspections of certain retail stores in the country, has discovered various malpractices. These include prices at shelves being different from prices at tills. “As an Authority we are empowered to carry out inspections on different outlets at any time,” she said.
“During these routine checks, we often discover a lot of irregularities. “Sometimes pricing on the shelf does not match the price at the till. “We have also found products without expiry dates or products which have long expired but are still on the shelf,” she added.
The CCA is responsible for the prevention of, and redress of anti-competitive practices in the economy, as well as the removal of constraints on the free play of competition in the market. The Authority is also the lead agency for the protection of consumer rights by means of investigation, prohibition and control of unfair business practices. A report published by the Authority on its annual operations revealed that motor vehicle complaints topped the list of complaints comprising 27% of all complaints.
Coming in second were complaints involving mobile phone complaints which made up 17% of total complaints. Commenting on these findings, Pule said that motor vehicle complaints were worrying as Batswana continue to purchase vehicles without carrying out due diligence on the condition of vehicles and the trustworthiness of sellers. She revealed that many Batswana continue to be duped of their hard earned money by individuals purporting to be selling motor vehicles.
