The theme for World Consumer Rights Day 2020, 15 March 2020, will be ‘The Sustainable Consumer’. The campaign will discuss the need for sustainable consumption globally, as well as highlighting the important role that consumer rights and protection can play.

In order to protect the planet and provide fair social conditions for current and future generations, we need to think about the way we produce and consume goods and services. The aim of sustainable consumption is to increase resource efficiency and fair trade, while helping to alleviate poverty and enable everyone to enjoy a good quality of life with access to food, water, energy, medicine and more.

Demand for sustainable products is increasing – particularly amongst younger consumers. A global study found that 81% of respondents felt strongly that companies should help improve the environment. Generally, sustainability is not the easy choice for consumers and requires effort on their part to research or identify the right purchase, changing behavior or requires paying more.

However, there are early signals of a narrowing of this intention-action gap and it is vital that we push forward towards a tipping point. We need to make sustainable consumption the easy option for consumers.

The attitude of replacing old with new because repair costs are too high or because spare parts are not available, is unsustainable. Furthermore, consumers need to be adequately informed about the quality and durability of the products they are interested in buying.

CONSUMER RIGHTS IN QATAR

Under the law, a consumer is defined as any person or legal entity who:

  • Obtains a product or service for personal needs or the needs of others.
  • Is dealt with or contracted for such product or service.
  • The scope of protection covers products and services that are free of charge.

The law also places an obligation on suppliers to play fair, provide certain information about their products and services, and to reimburse and/or compensate the consumer for poor service or faulty goods.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

The law sets out a basic bill of rights for consumers, some of which are:

  • The right to health and safety in the ordinary use of products and services.
  • The right to obtain correct information on products and services.
  • The right to obtain all relevant product or service information in Arabic as well as other languages.
  • The right to return, replace or repair the product free of charge, if a defect is found out or it doesn’t meet standard specifications or its purpose.
  • The right to find all relevant product information including its type, nature, components etc.
  • The right to find the price of the product clearly displayed.
  • The right to obtain a dated invoice for the product purchased.
  • The right to obtain all warranties relevant to the product offered by the producer or agent.
  • The right to obtain another free product if the period of executing warranty terms exceeded 15 days until the warranties terms are fully honored.
  • The right to take legal recourse on any breach or restriction of their consumer rights.
  • As a consumer you are entitled to claim compensation for any damage to property caused as a result of buying or using a product or service.

To know more of the rights that you’re entitled to Click Here.

For further clarifications you may contact the tollfree hotline number 8005000.

Source https://portal.www.gov.qa/wps/portal/topics/Business+and+Finance/consumerrightsandprotection

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