CONSUMERS have been advised to take immediate action if they are not entirely happy with a service provided or the quality of goods purchased, a leading watchdog said yesterday.
The Consumer Association’s Service Officer explained: “If for example somebody is not satisfied with the standard of their hotel room, they should contact management on the spot.”
The advice is part of an ongoing educational campaign with the slogan: ‘If you are a consumer, you have rights. You should know them and make them part of your daily life.’
The campaign aims to encourage all Cypriots to become better informed and more assertive consumers. Cypriots need to know their rights and where to turn to for further information and advice.
Egli Hadjipaschali said that it is imperative for consumers to check and keep all receipts, as this will provide them with immediate and future protection.
“If, after making their complaint, there is still not what the consumer deems an adequate response, they must then file a written complaint to the association, which we are obliged to look into.”
To achieve these objectives and to empower the consumer, a 12-page information guide has been circulated to the public, dealing with the subjects of: package travel, e-commerce, consumer credit, sales and guarantees, product safety, financial services (cross-border payments), telecommunications, air passenger rights, misleading advertising, passenger rights and food labelling.
The guide is available from the offices of the Consumers Association.
“EU laws have given consumers rights, but making laws is only one step towards empowering consumers,” Meglena Kuneva, European Consumer Commissioner said at the campaign’s launch.
“To make these rights work for you in practice, Cypriots need to know their rights, need to be reminded of them regularly and need to know where to turn to for further information and advice.”
Kuneva, the first EU Commissioner with a specific portfolio on consumer affairs, added that the primary aim of the campaign is to raise awareness of key consumer rights.
“This campaign wants to encourage all Cypriots to become more assertive consumers.
Experience in all EU countries, and in particular in those countries that joined the EU more recently, shows that there is a constant need for information and that the EU can help and reinforce national efforts.”
The campaign will run until June 2008, and further includes publication of fact sheets and activities involving the general public, the business community and the media.
“Their challenge will be to reach out, to become a point of reference and guidance for many, and a driving force, in consumer protection issues in Cypriot society,” Kuneva said.
Hadjipaschali declared that the campaign provides the Association with a great opportunity to familiarise consumers with their rights and encourage them to exercise these.
“This is a very important project as we were in the past given indications that there was concrete interest in the subject, with consumers wanting to learn more about their rights,” she said.
According to an EU survey conducted on the island in April, almost 50 per cent of Cypriot consumers between 25 and 45 years of age did not know their rights when they take out credit to buy a car or a washing machine.
More than 50 per cent don’t know what to do in case of problems with their holiday package and more than 70 per cent say they don’t know their rights when they are shopping online.
Above all, around 90 per cent would like to know more about their consumer rights.
n To receive the guide and other useful information you can contact the Consumers Organisation at 22- 516 112 or visit the official website at www.cyprusconsumers.org.cy
