Consumers get their own ombudsman

The newly launched Consumer Goods and Services Ombud was set up by members of the consumer service industry and the regulatory body at a time when the National Consumer Commission was battling to address hundreds of thousands of complaints swamping its offices in Centurion. The office has just 70 staff members.

The Consumer Goods and Services Ombud will formalise the consumer complaints and set out to resolve these without resorting to legal processes.

At the launch, acting Commissioner of the National Consumer Commission, Ebrahim Mohamed welcomed the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud saying it would resolve complaints through an informal means of dispute resolution and enforce functions assigned to it by the Consumer Protection Act.

"This is a positive step because it (the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud) will be represented in all provinces‚" Mohamed said.

Executive director of the Aerosol and Manufacturers Association and former head of legal and regulatory affairs at the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa Nick Tselentis said the formation of the Ombud was a means of building on the guidelines of the Consumer Protection Act.

"The process needed full time assistance from the industry whose efforts varied in terms of service standards. In the case of disputes consumers find it frustrating when they do not get answers from retailers regarding a complaint‚" Tselentis said.

Tselentis said the next step would be for the Ombud to appoint a board and Ombudsman.