THE CONSUMER PROTECTION AGENCY HELPS KAZAKHSTANIS TO DEFEND THEIR RIGHTS

Illegally raised the price

Since the beginning of the year, in 8 months, the Consumer Protection Committee has received more than 17 thousand appeals, the growth of which compared to last year was about 192%. The regional departments receive daily complaints from the population regarding unscrupulous entrepreneurs. So it turns out that the buyer in trade transactions often turns out to be a vulnerable party.

According to statistics, most of the complaints are addressed to retail, consumer services, and e-commerce.

If businessmen in the process of buying and selling do not want to fulfill the obligations prescribed by law, people call for help to the state body.

In 2022, more than 1,000 consumers filed a complaint with the Remote Control Center of Kostanay region against a local LLP that illegally increased the tariff for services for the removal of solid household waste. The amount of the tariff was approved without a session of the maslikhat and amounted to 340 tenge per person per month. The Department sent a corresponding claim to the court, where it acted as the 3rd person.

In August, by the decision of the regional specialized interdistrict economic court, the plaintiffs' claims were satisfied, and the tariff was reduced to 250 tenge.

They didn't want to return the money

In the West Kazakhstan region, the local department defended the rights of 35 applicants who asked to return money for massage capes in one of the stores. Employees of the state agency prepared and sent a claim to the seller and a statement of claim to the court. But people were returned their money in the amount of more than 23 million tenge in a pre-trial order.

Similar cases took place in Nur-Sultan. Two citizens purchased massage chairs for a total amount of over 1.5 million tenge. The product turned out to be of poor quality, and customers decided to make a refund. The Department provided legal support to the applicants, which resulted in the returned funds.

Another resident of the capital bought a fur coat in the salon in the amount of 505 thousand tenge, and it turned out to be of inadequate quality. They didn't want to give the money back to the customer. The case went to court, where the Department took an active part. As a result, the woman was refunded the entire cost of the fur coat.

Defective transport

A man bought a new car of a foreign brand for 11 million tenge at a car dealership in Shymkent. After 2 months, he found that the wing and the right door of the car were painted. The salon refused to exchange for another car, and the car owner complained to the ZPP. Thanks to the legal protection of the state agency, the applicant was exchanged for a new car.

In Uralsk, the case of a local resident who bought a defective moped in a store was considered in court. The Department provided the man with all possible assistance in resolving the dispute. At the end of August, the court ruled in favor of the consumer, who will be refunded the cost of the goods in the amount of 460 thousand tenge.

Online trading didn't work out

In Akmola region, 7 cases of citizens' appeals to the department were registered. They asked to deal with the situation of refusal to refund money by the online store. The goods that were purchased there turned out to be of poor quality.

The Department prepared claims against the online store, explained the rights of customers and the obligations of the seller. In the end, the latter paid all 7 consumers their finances for a total of 145 thousand tenge.

Where's my furniture?

Often citizens are outraged by the service for the manufacture and repair of furniture. But it also happens that the results of this service can not be seen at all if decisive measures are not taken in time.

A resident of Shymkent ordered a kitchen set for the master, made an advance payment under the contract – 1.6 million tenge. The contractor undertook to deliver the product within 10-15 days, but due to negligence delayed this period for 6 months. To help the woman, the city remote control station came, and soon the manufacturer fully fulfilled its contractual obligations.

A similar fact occurred in the city of Uralsk. Residents gave money for new furniture, but received nothing in return. They asked the manufacturer to return the fee paid to them, but to no avail. The Department took part in this situation and brought it to court. The court decision fully satisfied the plaintiff: to recover 1.1 million tenge from the defendant in favor of the consumer (the cost of the goods) and to compensate moral damage in 500 thousand tenge.

The amount of refunds has increased

There are many such examples of consumer rights violations. They happen all over the country. Phones, laptops, mattresses, refrigerators, sports equipment, other goods and services of inadequate quality become a problem in the interaction of buyers and sellers.

In 8 months, the authorized body sent 63 claims to the court. But in most cases, the disputed points are limited and safely resolved at the stage of pre-trial proceedings.

The amount of funds returned to consumers for 8 months of this year has already amounted to 496.2 million tenge, last year for the same period this figure amounted to 258.8 million tenge, the growth rate was 191.7%. This suggests that the system of consumer protection is being improved, and the legal literacy of Kazakhstanis is growing.