THE EDITOR, Sir:
THE FAIR Trading Commission is misguided. For years the Commission has been playing a role which mirrors that of Santa Claus, coming out once a year to give the gift of protection to consumers from misprinted advertisement. I think we will all agree that the consumer must be protected, but by whom?
The Consumer Affairs Commission should be the agency that does battle on behalf of the consumer. The Fair Trading Commission must think big! Business to Business, let the benefits to the consumer be realised through the fair operating business environment created by the Commission.
It seems that the Commission and the enactors of the Fair Trading Act are suffering from simplicity of the mind. They are prime examples of people who have never run a business and often understand nothing about business or regulating business operations. Why is it necessary for the Commission to be headed by lawyers? Do most lawyers understand the complexities of the business and economic environment that the commission regulates?
The recent debate on the Fair Trading Act by the Senate about "reasonable amount" of goods prior to advertisement of sale points to a fundamental flaw in the thinking of the thinkers. How will the consumer be protected by this reasonable amount act? If a customer arrives only to be told that the goods at the fabulous prices are finished will she be so distraught and heartbroken that she will spend her last dime on something else in the store? Goods are finite in numbers, goods will finish!
In order to test the reasonable amount theory let's consider the following scenarios. Suppose that a retail establishment has 10 remaining items of a slow-moving goods. The question is: is 10 a reasonable number for a sale? Maybe what is more prudent is for the establishment to purchase three hundred more of the slow-moving goods and then advertise them. Suppose that an establishment which has a five-month supply of a goods based on past sale figures advertised only to have its competitor buying off the entire stock, leaving 200 regular customers beating down the front door. Was five-month supply enough?
There is plenty of work for the Fair Trading Commission, like issues concerning Cable and Wireless, Digicel and the OUR; Carib Cement and Mainland; Superstores and local industries; and these are just a few areas. Yet the commission seems content in using lawyers and economists to advise customers on what to do when buying used cars. Someone needs to give these people a job description.
I am, etc.,
IKHALFANI SOLAN
E-mail:
solan@uwimona.edu.jm
U.W.I.
Via Go-Jamaica
