Hefty fines for car contract violators

The set fine was put in place by the Ministry of Economy on April 1, after launching the unified contract initiative on commodities and services in October 2011.

The Ministry granted car agents a three-month grace period to implement the rule on a trial basis, and then made it mandatory from January 1 last year.

According to the Consumer Protection Law and its executive regulations, the unified contract for commodity services calls for the consumer to be well aware of the service price before buying, and requires a signature on the service bill to confirm he or she has agreed on the price and quality of service.

The consumer, as per the contract, must also be well aware of the different aspects of the service.

This was underlined by the Ministry of Economy’s Consumer Protection Department Director Dr Hashim Al Nuaimi.

“After it came out with positive effects since enforcement in motor vehicle markets last year, the Ministry of Economy had made new amendments in the unified cars contract with the aim of rising the standards of consumer protection rights”, he said.

Elaborating, he added: “These include explaining the safety standards pertaining to the use of speed control system (SCS), how to properly switch it on and off, its forms in motor vehicles to avert any problems which might harm the consumers as a result of not knowing how to use it perfectly, especially after receiving remarks from consumers on these services.”

Under the new amendments, motor vehicles must have new tyres matching the car manufacturing date or the next year of manufacturing, he said, noting that, this will avoid complaints lodged by consumers regarding the purchase of new cars with old tyres.

Moreover, the contract also contains additional amendments including the necessity of mentioning the actual date of manufacture, as per the small board fixed on its interior, and not as per the year the car was sold.

“The Ministry of Economy is closely following up the implementation of the unified cars contract in the processes of providing the auto spare parts, in accordance with the spans of times included in the contract, and ensure making available the maintenance services of the sold cars”, he said.

He stressed that the rights of the consumer to get warranties in fixing spare parts and repair, also include foreign car repair workshops, which must submit warranty documents for repair, including the fixing of spare parts.

salah@khaleejtimes.com