Binh Duong Consumer Right Protection Association: Where faith spreads

Protecting the legitimate interests of consumers in trades and services is also an act to protect the legitimate interests of genuine production, business and services, contributing to protecting the sustainable development of society. Therefore, in recent years, Provincial Consumer Right Protection Association (CRPA) has had carried out many effective activities, strengthening trust and attachment of consumers.

Thanks to timely, proper, lawful reconciliation, provincial CRPA attracts a large number of members. In photo: Nguyen Van Ban, Chairman of the provincial CRPA, directly addresses consumer complaints.  

Spreading faith

According to experts, deep international economic integration creates many opportunities to access abundant goods sources, diversified models, and competitive prices. Besides, the integration also has many implicit problems affecting consumer rights, such as the penetration of many smuggled goods, poor-quality goods, and goods without origin... making it difficult for consumers to distinguish. Therefore, the protection of consumers' interests is getting more and more attention, not only from state management agencies but also businesses and social communities. In Binh Duong, in recent years, with responsibilities of guiding, helping and consulting consumers when required, especially the role as a bridge to connect and solve problems and complaints of consumers in Binh Duong about producers, distributors, many consumers have come to provincial CRPA for settlement and intervention. At the end, complaints of consumers were quickly resolved, achieved good results and strengthen consumer loyalty.

Nguyen Van Ly, in Lai Uyen commune, Bau Bang district, said that by the end of 2018, he had bought a television in a local electronics shop, but a few months after, it got a screen error. He contacted this shop, but they denied implementing warranty. After he reported this to provincial CRPA, it was resolved. Before that, the complaint of Do Thi Hoang Oanh (Ward 7, Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City) was also properly resolved by provincial CRPA. The story began after she bought an air cooler from a supermarket in the province. But it did not work after she brought it to her house. She went to provincial CRPA to contact the manufacturer. Thanks to the intervention of the association, T.M. Company paid back all the money. Ms. Oanh was please and said that her complaint letter had been quickly resolved by the association, helping her to shorten settlement time for her complaint.

These above were two of many consumer’s complaint about enterprises, because they had to buy low-quality products, were received by CRPA branches at districts, towns and city. In 2018, CRPA branches received and handled 50 cases involving many categories of goods and services, and successfully reconciled, returned fairness to consumers.

It can be said that, over many years, the rate of successful settlement and consultancy of complaints received by provincial CRPA accounted for 100% total case, thereby protecting the legitimate interests of consumers as well as improving the awareness and sense of responsibility of businesses. Besides, manufacturing and trading enterprises also made good moves in protecting consumer's interests; The sense of self-protection of consumers' rights in society has been increasingly enhanced.

Lively forms of communication

According to Nguyen Van Ban, Chairman of provincial CRPA, in order to contribute to the fight against violations of trade, consumer protection, CRPA has collaborated with other units to open training classes. At the same time, the propagation and consumer advisory activities were diversified with various forms, vivid and rich visual contents, such as seminars, training, displaying of real products - fake products, how to identify real products - fake products. Not only equipping consumers with knowledge and skills, the association focused on communication about responsibilities of organizations and individuals dealing in goods and services; methods of dispute resolution, consumer recommendation; Warning consumers about poor-quality products or illegal products. The association also incorporates activities related to the campaign "Vietnamese people prioritize using Vietnamese goods" into promoting production and consumption of domestic goods.

Provincial CRPA also cooperated with the authorities to inspect and supervise the quality of goods, trade frauds, food safety and hygiene, quality measurement ... to report to authorities for handling timely mistakes in order to protect legitimate rights and interests of consumers, contributing to promoting production and business development of enterprises and localities. In general, propagation contents were well prepared by the association through competitions of knowledge, poetry, and skits, creating positive reactions from the people.

Nguyen Thi Thu Van, in An Thanh Ward, Thuan An town, assessed propagation sessions on consumer protection at her locality, many women in the ward enthusiastically listened to propagation contents, exchanged information, raise questions to provincial CRPA. “I find these topics were very close, practical and useful in daily life. In the past, I didn't know consumers had so many rights. Sometimes when I had problems in goods consumption, I only talked to sellers, and did not know what to do if they did not accept it. Now I know that there are regulations, an agency to protect consumers, so I am more confident when having problems in consumption”, said Ms. Van. Similarly, Ms. Tu, a resident of An Thanh ward, expressed her wish that provincial CRPA would continue to organize many communication campaigns, at the same time distribute leaflets, publish photos of comparison of real and fake goods at markets for small businesses and people could easily identify and avoid buying fake goods.

In recent years, in addition to program-based trainings, provincial CRPA has also consulted consumers in various forms through newspapers and radio programs; every year, collaborated with departments, agencies, unions to print and issue thousands of document related to business law and Law on Consumer Protection. The association also provided a lot of information on units making counterfeit goods, trade frauds, measurement and goods quality violations so that the authorities could examine and handle them.

Reported by Thanh Hong – Translated by Ngoc Huynh