prijava
SARAJEVO, September 23 (FENA) - In the last six months, during the coronavirus pandemic, the Ombudsman Institution for Consumer Protection has received more than 400 various complaints and grievances. Initially, BiH citizens mostly complained about rising prices and the lack of certain items in stores, and later about unfair services in the telecommunications, banking sector and the like, the BiH Ombudsman for Consumer Protection in BiH Saša Marić told reporters ahead of the consultative meeting of consumer associations and the Ombudsman Institution on the preliminary draft of the medium-term working plan for 2021-2023 and the preliminary draft work program of that institution for 2021.
As part of individual measures, the Ombudspersons responded to complaints and directed citizens to trade inspectors or problems were resolved with traders directly, and as part of collective measures, recommendations were given for various sectors, Marić told reporters.
When asked what to do next to protect consumers, he answered that the goal is to include the media in the whole problem because citizens have the right to know their legal rights, as well as to contact the Ombudsman Institution to react to irregularities. So far, consumers have not been sufficiently familiarized with their own rights, moreover, with the fact that they have them at all.
According to Marić, the work of the ombudsman in this area has produced results because disputes are mostly resolved in favor of consumers, although some cases cannot be resolved because there is no will of traders and service providers or the complaint is not fully valid.
"One state institution, several entity ones, cannot do all the work. This requires the greatest possible involvement of the non-governmental sector in order to reach every local community, every city; for as many consumers as possible to be involved," said Marić.
Danijel Malić, on behalf of the implementer of the project "Contribution of civil society organizations in consumer protection in accordance with EU standards", told reporters that the basic task of the project addresses collective consumer protection, by establishing consumer protection councils in local communities and commissions at public utility companies that should work on resolving the complaints.
The existing consumer protection policy in BiH lacks consistent implementation of regulations.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it turned out, but even when there was no pandemic, that the most common violators of consumer rights were precisely the utility companies, noted Malić.
(FENA) S. R.
