Consumer Protection

by Rick Lowe

The current debate over the 'Consumer Protection Act' is interesting to say the least.

Obvoiously no sensible business person thinks the best way to help a client is to rip them off as government operative after government operative suggests is happening.

However, their solution is what is most intriguing:

1. Add another layer of government bureaucracy.
2. Make the average transaction time take longer with their regulations as a result of reading owners manauals to consumers and valuing items before they can be left for repair etc.
3. Write the law so that a lender cannot act on the power of their chattel.
4. Instead of providing the courts with the necessary funding and man power to speed up the process, they initially hand the authority of the courts over to a 'Consumer Commission' and then tie the Courts hands with mandatory sentencing should they eventually get involved in the process. And
5. Government Agencies, Corporations, Ministeries and Departments that provide services are left out of the Act.

During the recent discussions at the office of the Minister of Consumer Affairs on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce and other private sector organisations one of the bureacrats insisted to the Minister that he had to give consideration to the constituents in relation to them not being able to read a manual for themselves. Of course this view was challenged on the grounds that government runs the Ministry of Education so that needs to be dealt with by them. Not add more red tape to the day to day running of a business.

It is disappointing that in the 21st Century, Bahamian leaders still think we are stupid and need them to 'help' us spend our own money.

Politicians say in private that Bahamians need to be more self reliant, yet continue to make us wards of the state with legislation like this?

Go figure!