Dubai Economy receives 59,130 consumer complaints in 2020

A total of 59,130 consumer complaints were received by Dubai Economy’s Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector during 2020.

The complaints marked a 51 per cent increase compared to 39,113 received in 2019.

The increase follows efforts by Dubai Economy to protect consumer rights, improve consumer awareness, and promote transparent between merchants and consumers, official news agency WAM reported. 

The total number of consumer issues handled by CCCP during 2020 reached 65,153, of which 4,052 were observations, and 1,971 were enquiries. A staggering 85 per cent of the complaints, 42 per cent of inquiries and 9 per cent of observations were registered through smart channels (Dubai Consumer app and the Consumerrights.ae website), while the remaining came through the call centre.

Mohammed Ali Rashed Lootah, CEO of CCCP, said: “The growth in number of consumer complaints is also due to Covid-19 and the restricted consumer-merchant communication during the National Sterilisation Programme. We have been keen to activate communication channels with consumers, and encourage them to report any violation or challenge they faced in protecting their rights or having a pleasant shopping experience in Dubai during the pandemic crisis. We always strive to reach amicable solution to consumer complaints, and strengthen relations between merchants and consumers through awareness programmes that clarify the rights and duties of both parties and enhance transparency in transactions.”

The largest share of complaints (31.58 per cent) was about services, followed by electronics (14 per cent), e-commerce (13.71 per cent), furniture (8.16 per cent), ready-made garments and accessories (7.95 per cent), freight (5.4 per cent), car rental (5 per cent), automobiles (4.91 per cent), textiles and personal items (3.7 per cent), decoration and building maintenance (2.56 per cent), car workshops (2.08 per cent), and hair salons (0.93 per cent).

Refunds led the type of complaints (25.88 per cent), followed by non-compliance with the terms of agreement (18.57 per cent,) damage or defect in the product (13.13 per cent), commercial fraud (9.93 per cent), non-compliance with after-sales service (6.62 per cent), and additional charges for the service or product (6.39 per cent).

The remaining complaints were related to varied issues, such as: replacement, non-commitment to commercial activity, price hikes, shop policy incompatible with the law, non-compliance with warranty terms, refusal to repair a device, non-compliance to terms of promotional offers, price list mismatches, value-added tax, and fraudulent purchase of gold and diamonds.

Emiratis accounted for 28 per cent of the consumer complaints received, followed by Indians (12 per cent), Egyptians (11 per cent), Saudis (6 per cent), and Jordanians (5 per cent), and others.