About 30 complaints have been filed so far this year to the Agency for Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance about noncompliance of products bought online or late deliveries. The subject of safe purchases online was discussed in a workshop on October 25, IPN reports.
Petru Molcheanu, senior inspector at the Industrial Products and Services Control Division, said the buyers most often complain when the sellers do not respond to their complaints or refuse to remove the defects of products . “To gain consumers’ confidence, the business entities should offer more information about the product,” stated the inspector. For their part, the consumers should thoroughly analyze the information on the company’s website so as not to become victims.
The seller’s website must contain the name of the business entity, contact phone, description of the product and how it is used, contact data. The online shop must also have a webpage of consumer appraisals. When the ordered products are delivered, the buyer must be issued with a manual if these are domestic or electrical appliances. For domestic appliances and toys, the company must have a compliance declaration that can be presented to the consumer at request. By this declaration, the company confirms the products are safe and do not affect the life and health of people.
Every person that makes purchases online takes risks. “The law regulates the relations between a private individual and a legal entity. If it is a relationship between two private individuals, the police intervene,” said inspector Petru Molceanu. In case of foreign trade, a number of authorities become involved in solving disputes, such as the Customs Service, Moldova’s Post Office and the market surveillance and consumer protection regulators from the countries of origin of the sold products and services.
Raluca Costache, team chief at the project “Visibility and Communication for Actions Related to Association Agreement/Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement Implementation”, said the DCFTA envisions the legalization of trade and opens the way for safer products and products of a higher quality. “The consumers in Moldova have the right to enjoy products and services of a high quality as the other European consumers do,” she stated.
Dorin Mîndreanu, head of the Industrial Products and Services Control Division of the Agency for Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance, said the Agency during the next few months will carry out information activities in universities, lyceums and student dorms to raise awareness of safe online trading as part of the campaign “By sensibly and safely at home”. The young people were chosen the target group because they make purchases online most often. A guide intended for consumers and another one intended for the business community will be printed until this yearend.
