Extravagance: A negative culture of consumption

The consumer must rationalise his/her spending by ensuring that the products and services he/she purchases do not exceed his/her need.

The culture of consumption plays a salient role in measuring the progress of the society. A consumer armed with an enlightened culture of consumption will see it reflect positively in the socio-economic aspects of his/her life.

Complaints & Responses

Phones found fake: A man lodged a complaint against a cellphone shop. He claimed that he bought as many as 30 iPhones. Later, he found out that the phones were fake. When he went to the shop to return the phones, the latter refused to do accept them or refund the money. The Consumer Complaints Section contacted both the complainant and the shop and examined the mobile phones in question and found them to be fake. The shop was ordered to refund Dh59,150 which the consumer had paid for the phones.

Inspection ordered: A consumer filed a complaint against a sales outlet claiming that he had noticed differences in the prices of commodities on the shelves and in the price list displayed at the cash counters. The complaint has been referred to the Field Inspection and Control Section to verify it and take necessary action.

Poor-quality diamond: 
A woman bought a diamond ring worth Dh15,000 from a jewellery shop. The woman said that she discovered later that the ring was inlaid with diamond stones of poorer quality than that she had ordered for. The Consumer Complaints Section ordered the jewellery shop to refund

the ring’s price to the woman after the section examined the quality of the diamond stones.

(Compiled by Salah Al Deberky)

The culture of consumption dates back to the emergence of the modern industrial communities; those that emerged after the contemporary industry. The formation of this culture was influenced by external factors like globalisation, media, and social and cultural factors, and internal factors like income, family, and religious and personal beliefs.

On an economic level, it is subject to the size of spending in the Gross Local Product (GLP). The size of consumptive spending is more than 50 per cent of the GLP.

This relatively high spending requires us to ponder over and review what we spend on. The fields on which these spends occur need to be analysed. Extravagance and impulsive spending is a negative aspect of the culture of consumption, which calls for a change. This change can be brought about only when the consumer understands his/her awareness level of the products and services he/she purchases. He/she should ensure that he/she does not fall prey to the many temptations trade establishments promote.

In addition, the consumer must rationalise his/her spending by ensuring that the products and services he/she purchases do not exceed his/her need. He must understand that he/she is the first and last decision-maker in each and every purchase he/she makes.

Practicing positive consumption is a need that is based on rationalising consumption by not purchasing unnecessary items and sticking to the essential items.

The requirements of daily life vary from primary items to secondary ones. These secondary items can be done away with, thus alleviating the need to borrow. Borrowing can lead to devastating results to the consumer’s budget, and can soon turn into serious crises. It not only affects the bank balance of the consumer, but also his/her living and social life.

There are no laws in the world that prevent an individual from random consumption, but there are many awareness mechanisms which could establish a new consumption culture based on what an the individual has, not on what he could have. Currently, these mechanisms do not exist, and if they do, they are not very well-known and are poorly implemented.

The Department of Economic Development, represented by the Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection Division, not only protects the consumer in terms of prices and disparities, but also in raising their awareness levels in personal spending.

The need of the hour, then, is to create a positive consumption culture in the UAE. We are in a dire need to change our culture of consumption; we need to understand our basic requirements before opting for secondary ones.

Khaleej Times runs the ‘Consumer Forum’ series in collaboration with the Department of 
Economic Development in Dubai. Readers can email their complaints and suggestions to news@khaleejtimes.com with the subject line ‘Consumer Forum’ or raise them directly 
with the DED on phone number 600 545 555