Trying to savemoney by buying cheap products can sometimes turn out to be costly and evendangerous. Safety and quality should be a priority when purchasing items foroneself and one's home. Unfortunately, there are various levels of productsavailable in the markets of Kuwait. Some have high qualities and standards ofsafety and others are poorly made and potential harmful.
Various accidentshave taken place in Kuwait and other countries, including fires in homes due tocheap electronics, children hospitalized for swallowing magnetic toys,hoverboards that spontaneously catch fire and hundreds of other harmfulproducts.
Consumers whohave faced such situations and accidents told Kuwait Times they have learnedfrom their experiences and decided to always seek quality before consideringthe price. "I bought an unbranded power bank at a cheap price, but itdidn't last long. Not only did it stop working but it spoiled my mobile, whichI had to fix for triple the power bank's cost. This was a lesson for me to onlybuy good quality electronics from well-known stores," 30-year-old Jamalsaid.
"I willnever buy any electronics of an unknown brand, as I have heard about even moreserious cases than just a damaged mobile phone. Numerous fires have broken outin many homes due to electrical short circuits caused by charging with cheapand fake chargers," he added.
Rabab only buysfrom agents of brands or well-known stores that she trusts. "I have heardabout many cases of damage and harm caused to consumers who bought cheapproducts. Also, twice I bought cheap electronics and they didn't last for long.So it's better to buy good quality products and pay more to enjoy using themfor years instead of months," she noted.
Some products maybe bad even if they are not cheap. "Once I bought a homemade face creamfrom a woman selling it online. I was encouraged by various ads I saw on socialmedia. But it was bad and I got an allergic reaction after using it. I doubt itwas approved by the ministry of health. I will never buy such unknown products.Also, I earlier bought slimming cream of an unknown brand sold at a stall at anexhibition and it didn't work," Sameera told Kuwait Times.
Quality comesfirst. "I never buy products from an unknown source. I care about qualityfirst, even if I have to pay more. If I'm not aware of a product, I educatemyself through the Internet. I haven't experienced any adverse situation, but Ihave heard from my friends about cheap products and their poor quality. So Ialways look for quality, especially for my children's stuff, as it is relatedto their health, such as shoes or water bottles," stressed Ahmed.
Consumers canprotect themselves by buying well known branded products or checking thequality of items before purchase. They can also report products that areproblematic to the commerce ministry and consumer protection hotline #135.
According toKuwait's consumer protection law, consumers have the following rights:
Article 9 liststhe rights granted to consumers under the law as follows:
1. The right tosafety - this means that consumers should be able to assume that the productsthey buy are reasonably safe.
2. The right toquality - this means consumers should be assured of satisfactory quality ofproducts which can be used for their intended purpose.
3. The right tobe informed - this means that consumers should be provided with sufficientinformation to make an informed choice and to be protected against false andmisleading advertising and labelling practices;
4. The right toredress - this means that consumers have the right to receive a fair settlementof just claims, including compensation for misrepresentation, shoddy goods orunsatisfactory services.
5. The rights setout in Article 9 of the Consumer Protection Law are based on the rights grantedby the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection (UNGCP). Theseguidelines were adopted by the UN in 1985 and the UNGCP are intended to act asan international reference point of the consumer movement. Kuwait, through theintroduction of the Consumer Protection Law, has become a part of this movementin the interests of progress and modernity.
Article 10 allowsa consumer to replace or return a defected product within 14 days of purchase(provided that it is not a rapidly perishable good) and further states thatvendors and suppliers are jointly liable in such respect. Article 10 applies ininstances where a consumer receives a defective or incomplete service inaccordance with the nature of such service, contract conditions or prevailingcommercial custom. In this case, the service provider shall refund the value ofthe service or the value of the product or re-provide the service to theconsumer.
By NawaraFattahova