Starbucks shut down for violating ministry standards
The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) announced yesterday in its official twitter account that it has closed down a branch of an international chain of coffee shops for “non-compliance with the price list”.
The coffee shop, which has been identified as the popular Starbucks branch in Landmark Mall by Doha News, has been charging higher than the advertised prices.
The ministry officials tweeted about the closure saying that the coffee shop will be shut down for a week.
The Peninsula reports that the inspectors from the ministry “fined the shop and ordered its closure for a week according to Article No. 10 of Law No. 8 of 2008 concerning consumer protection, as amended by Decree-Law No. 14 of 2011.”
While details on the violation have not been provided by the ministry, the law prohibits sellers from concealing any goods or refraining from selling with the intent of controlling market prices or charging higher prices than advertised.
Furthermore, the ministry said it is determined to protect consumer rights and will intensify inspection campaigns to crack down on all violations of the consumer protection law.
It also has urged consumers to report any violations they find to its Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud department and send complaints and suggestions through call centre 16001; email: [email protected]; and Twitter account MEC_QATAR.
صور من الإغلاق الإداري الذي نفذته الوزارة لمقهى عالمي بأحد المجمعات التجارية. #قطر pic.twitter.com/Mml5bztEOA
— الاقتصاد والتجارة (@MEC_QATAR) April 9, 2016
Well done! If the ministry can look into the inflated prices of accommodation it will be a great gesture too
Qatar Ministry have too much power, this can be done in different part of Qatar
This is very good move in the interest of people by the Ministry. Hope this continues rapidly in all the different outlets and scrutinize the malpractices.
Well done to the ministry - Their prices are obscene anyway...