The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The government’s consumer watchdog lacks enforcement “teeth” because it has zero regulations to support its activities, its chairman adding that planned changes will “bring us into the 21st century”.

Philip Beneby, the Consumer Protection Commission’s (CPC) chairman, said it urgently wants to address the absence of regulations so that it can “enhance” its platform to “deal with matters that come to the CPC”.

Speaking at the Consumer Symposium 2020 held on Tuesday night, Mr Beneby said there were also 22 pending reforms designed to modernise the Consumer Protection Act that was passed in 2006.

“We have presented two Bills to the minister [of labour, Dion Foulkes] for consideration, and that is an amendment to the Act to help to bring the Act into the 21st century, and then regulations,” he explained.

“There are no regulations governing consumer protection. We hope we can get those out to Parliament in short order, so that we will have more administrative and workable documents with respect to our recommendations and others.”

Speaking to Tribune Business, Mr Beneby continued: “There are two Bills we have been working on for the last couple of years with respect to enhancing the consumer protection regime”, revealing that 22 amendments are planned to the Consumer Protection Act to “bring us into the 21st century”.

“Then the other Bill is the regulations, really to do with consumer rights,” Mr Beneby confirmed. “There were no regulations, and Section 52 of the Act empowers the minister to impose additional regulations.”

Both Bills are “currently with the Law Reform Commission, headed by Dame Anita Allen, but we hope by this year these Bills will come forward”.

Explaining how the Bills will enhance the consumer protection regime, Mr Beneby told Tribune Business: “It will enhance the ability of the CPC to have more teeth. There are some deficiencies now because we have no regulation.

“Take, for example, if we have a case and we bring the parties together and there is no resolution. We have to refer to the Attorney General’s office, and therefore that can take some time.”

Mr Beneby added: “We would like to see perhaps an arbitration unit, similar to that in Jamaica, where a panel of magistrates or retired magistrates adjudicate, or like in the US where you have the TV judges. The parties come together, the matter is adjudicated and end of story.

“So I think we can be more efficient in those kinds of things, but there is a number of things in the proposed Bills that will overall give consumers more rights and enhance our platform to be able to deal with matters that come to the CPC. “

Reminding Bahamians of the agency’s importance, Mr Beneby said: “The CPC, many of you may have heard, is an agency of the Government with its primary function being the protection of consumers within The Bahamas.

“We have the largest group; larger than the FNM, larger than the PLP, larger than the DNA and independents. We have about 400,000 persons in our group; you the consumer. So it is an important agency.”

Mr Beneby added: “The CPC was created by statute pursuant to the Consumer Protection Act 2006. This act provides for the formulation and implementation of standards in relation to consumer protection policy.

“Further the Act makes provision for any consumer who hags been adversely affected in respect to sales of goods or the provision of services to have proper recourse wherever they live in The Bahamas. In other words, the legislation seeks to provide remedy to consumers who are disadvantaged daily by exorbitant prices, substandard products and unscrupulous practices of merchants and service providers.”

Reiterating that an “educated consumer is the best customer”, Mr Beneby said “The CPC will hold two to three of these forums a year” with all of the relevant utility corporations so it can “ratchet up” consumer knowledge.