How well do you know Qatar’s consumer protection laws? Read on!

Have you ever felt you were overcharged while shopping in Doha? That you did not get the quality of service you paid for? That the behavior of staff was downright arrogant and abusive? If the answer is yes, then this post is for you.

Qatar takes consumer protection quite seriously. Quite a number of laws have been framed to safeguard the consumers’ interest. We’ll look at them here.

The Consumer Protection Law provides coverage for all products and services whether they are charged or given for free.

The law sets out a basic bill of rights for consumers. Some of them are:

* The right to health and safety in the ordinary use of products and services.

* The right to obtain correct information on products and services.

* The right to obtain all relevant product or service information in Arabic as well as other languages.

* The right to return, replace or repair the product free of charge, if a defect is found out or it doesn’t meet standard specifications or its purpose.

* The right to find all relevant product information including its type, nature, components etc.

* The right to find the price of the product clearly displayed.

* The right to obtain a dated invoice for the product purchased.

* The right to obtain all warranties relevant to the product offered by the producer or agent.

* The right to obtain another free product if the period of executing warranty terms exceeded 15 days until the warranties terms are fully honored.

* The right to take legal recourse on any breach or restriction of their consumer rights.

As a consumer, you are entitled to claim compensation for any damage to property caused as a result of buying or using a product or service.

Accordingly, the supplier is obligated to refund the value of the product or replace or repair it without charge if a defect is discovered in the product or the product does not meet standard specifications for its purpose.

The law is also quite clear when it comes to misleading marketing and advertising claims. Suppliers are forbidden from ‘describing, advertising or displaying products using false or misleading information.’

Labelling

Suppliers are obligated to display the following information clearly and legibly on all labels:

* The price of the product or service (or display the price prominently at the point of purchase).

* The type, nature and ingredients of the product.

Installment purchases

Are you planning to buy something in installments? The law protects you too. In these cases, the supplier must provide the following information:

* The total cost of the product or service.

* The total cost of the product or service when purchased by installment.

* The amount to be paid in advance (if applicable).

* The instalment period.

* The number of installments for each period and the amount owed on each installment.

Penalties for suppliers

Suppliers who breach any of the provisions of the law may face "detention for a term not exceeding two years and fine".

The fine has recently been increased from one of between QR5,000 and QR10,000 to one of between QR3,000 and QR1m. This penalty doubles if the supplier repeats the offence within five years of the original infringement.

Consumer Rights Action

The Law permits citizens to set up consumer rights societies and groups that help provide consumers with information, defend consumers’ interests, convey concerns and complaints to relevant authorities, and research and publish studies related to consumer protection.

Courtesy: gov.qa