In celebration of the 25th founding anniversary of the Vietnam Standards and Consumers Association (VINASTAS), the Advisory Office for Consumers Complaints Settlement recently coordinated with the Pro-consumer Trusted Business Club to organise a workshop on “consumer rights, corporate social responsibility and pro-consumer trusted business programme”. The event was an opportunity to raise consumer awareness and corporate social responsibility to consumers in Vietnam.
Delivering the opening speech, Mr Pham Van Tan, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations, affirmed that the Law on Consumer Protection came into effect on July 1, 2011. However, a lot of problems have arisen from law enforcement. Opponent advice and solution proposals as well as activities to bring the Law on Consumer Protection to life are major concerns that the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations and its members, including the Vietnam Standards and Consumers Association, have been carrying out.
Indeed, in recent times, the mass media have frequently reported that, to earn high profitability, manufacturers and suppliers are poisoning consumers with hazardous substances like untreated wastewater discharged into the environment; contaminated or expired milk; growth-stimulant meat and rotten meat; growth-stimulant vegetables. Besides, the mass media have also unearthed other consumer-violating cases like cheated petrol sale, dosage-short vaccination or expired vaccine injection. These evil deeds caused consumers to suffer economic, health and sentimental losses.
According to delegates, responsible personnel are too thin, sanctions are not enough and legal regulations are not strong enough to bring an end to this reality. Specifically, the responsible task force falls short of personnel, expertise and skills to take on all cases. Meanwhile, equipment is still sparse and insufficient.
Dr Doan Phuong, VINASTAS President, said VINASTAS has focused on popularising consumer protection laws to consumers in a bid to help them understand harms of trafficking, counterfeiting and trade fraudulence. In 2011, VINASTAS set up the Pro-consumer Trusted Business Club and launched a consumer protection programme with the purpose of enhancing civility, honesty and responsibility of enterprises and recommend consumers with trusted companies.
As regards consumer protection by supermarkets, the chairman of Hanoi Supermarkets Association said supermarkets are a guaranteed commercial channel of goods with diverse sources, quoted prices, guaranteed quality, clear origin and documented payment. Therefore, any claims about prices and quality of goods sold will be easily settled. In addition, the storage and preservation of goods in supermarkets are also totally different from open markets and retail stores. Without any doubt, goods sold by supermarkets are highly ensured.
However, he added that supermarkets cannot of course be free from problems. Consumers sometimes complain about quality, price, merchandise, and service attitude at supermarkets. Thus, he recommended that supermarkets should address their weaknesses to better serve customers and protect and develop their brand names in order to win the trust of consumers, particularly when there is a stiff competition between modern supermarkets and traditional distribution channels.
Remarking on consumer complaints, Ms Tran Thi Hien, Director of AMI Trading, Export Import Co., Ltd, said, consumers must be honest with their complaints. The complaints must be true and well-founded in order to help businesses to develop and bring better products and services for customers. To ensure consumers’ rights and build up their prestige, businesses are willing to cooperate with VINASTAS to resolve all complaints and questions about product quality. She recommended that to avoid wrong complaints aiming at asking money from companies, discrediting them and doing unfair competition, they should cooperate with VINASTAS to resolve and wrap up the cases with minimum effects.
Sharing the view, Ms Le Thi Thanh Lam, Deputy General Director of Saigon Food Joint Stock Company, said companies cannot avoid fault products no matter how strictly they manage their production and products. To this regard, consumers, authorities and mass media should empathize and understand enterprises and look the matter through the attitude of solving the problems and through the operating history of enterprises rather than bring to the public.
Delegates at the workshop said consumers not only need knowledge about products and services they intend to choose but also need to have knowledge about rights and interests of consumers stipulated in the Law on Consumer Protection. Each consumer must be aware and cautious when they purchase goods and services for themselves.
Thu Ha
Đăng ký: VietNam News
