Representatives of the National Public Association “Consumer Protection” said that for 15 years their organization has investigated and reported irregularities and cases of violation of consumer rights and, as a result, hundreds of millions of lei reached the state budget. Despite its honest intentions, the association was never supported by the authorities. Moreover, by an application submitted recently by the governmental Agency for Consumer Protection to the Prosecutor General’s Office, attempts are being made to liquidate the public organization.
In a news conference at IPN, Piotr Guțul, president of the National Public Association “Consumer Protection”, said the application to the PGO was filed after a person who bought a TV set from a shop in Chisinau complained to the association that the TV set broke down, while at the service center where he went to have this repaired, he was accused of damaging the TV set himself. Representatives of the association went to the shop and identified a series of consumer rights violations there. They reported these to the Agency for Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance. As no reaction followed, they filed a complaint to the National Anticorruption Center, asking that the agency’s administration should be prosecuted for not fulfilling their duties.
Piotr Guțul noted that sources in the National Anticorruption Center told him unofficially that they cannot take legal action as they risk losing their job. Later the agency submitted an application to the PGO, complaining that the association’s representatives abuse the agency’s powers and damage its reputation by incorrect attitude, misleading both business entities and consumers and creating the impression that they are the inspection body.
According to Piotr Guțul, attempts are being made to liquidate the association that honestly defends the rights of consumers and reveals cases of embezzlement and other violations. The authorities, having no interest in protecting the consumers, this way try to protect those who commit violations.
In another development, the representatives of the association said that Parliament recently amended the Civil Procedure Code so that the public associations can no longer represent consumers in court. The Association’s jurist Valeriu Melnic said the changes made to Article 75 provide that in a civil lawsuit the private individuals can defend their interests through a lawyer or a lawyer on probation or through the wife or husband, parents, children, brothers, sisters, grandchildren and grandparents if these are bachelors of law and have a power of attorney authenticated by a notary. This way, the consumers cannot be represented by a public association.
The members of the National Public Association “Consumer Protection” also said that the state does not care about the interests and rights of consumers, while the Agency for Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance does not fulfil its duties.
