Make your submissions to the Consumer Protection Bill
EXCLUSIVE: The urgent deadline for submissions to the Government's new Consumer Protection Bill is Monday, 15 May 2006. The fledgling Marketing Association and Corporate Lawyers Association of South Africa have already made their submissions and are calling on all other interested parties to do so if they can. The deadline for submissions was moved by DTI from May 26 to May 15, 2006, without warning, according to marketers and the lawyers. On our site, exclusive for Bizcommunity.com readers, is The Marketing Association's submission. Anyone is free to download it, amend and use the content to send their own submission to the DTI.
The Bill seeks to address a variety of topics and forms of consumer practices, but does so in too much of a generalised sense. In addition, an uncertainty as to what amounts to "Goods" and "Services" under the Act has been raised and the existing definitions queried and criticized. Undoubtedly the Bill, if passed in its current form will result in many marketers, companies, small businesses, banks and the consumer, manufacturing and services industry at large, having to change their respective business practices, so as to ensure compliance with its many provisions. This will undoubtedly result in increased costs due to the additional administrative burdens which the Bill will create - and which ultimately will be passed onto the consumer.
The Marketing Association submission on the Consumer Protection Bill - download to send your own submission to the DTI, email , tel+27 (0)12 394 1526, fax +27 (0)12 394 2526.
Marketers reject new consumer bill as 'unworkable'
