DOHA: Opinion among businessmen on the government’s recent action against some car showrooms for allegedly violating consumer protection rules remains divided.
While a section feels that only the court should have the authority to shut a business in punitive action, others have welcomed the move. “The closure of some car showrooms for allegedly taking consumers for a ride has enhanced the credibility of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce,” said a businessman.
Shaheen Al Mohannadi told local Arabic daily Al Arab in remarks published on Thursday that some firms were taking undue advantage of customers’ ignorance.
“It is not justified for a company to pass on a damaged car after repair and painting to a buyer as brand new,” he said.
Another businessman, Jaber Al Mansouri, said the showroom closure move was laudable and shows there is justice and transparency.
According to another prominent member of the trade and industry, Yusuf Al Kuwari, the Qatari market is small and monopolies have created exclusive agencies.
“So they exploit customers in terms of pricing and after-sales servicing, so punitive action will make them deal with customers properly.”
A former bureaucrat and prominent businessman, Ali Hassan Al Khalaf, however, said crucial decisions like punishing a big company for breaching rules should not be left for execution to inspectors armed with judicial powers.
The government has right to implement the consumer protection law as every country in the world has one, but when it comes to punishing a company for violating its provisions, the matter should be decided by court, not government inspectors, he said.
“Ordering closure of a showroom, that too, of a big company, is not a matter that can be decided by a public servant,” he said. The ministry should have a department to supervise its inspectors, said Al Khalaf who was director of commercial affairs at the ministry years ago.
For a big company, its reputation is more important than making profit, so decision like closing their showrooms should not be taken in a hurry, he added.
The Peninsula
