The National Institute for the Protection of Consumer Rights (Pro Consumidor) agreed to take a series of measures aimed at protecting consumers who purchase goods and services through e-commerce, after holding a meeting with representatives of different companies in this commercial sector.
The executive director of Pro Consumidor, Eddy Alcántara, explained that the institution he heads established a working group with a view to promoting and adopting measures to make online commerce safer and more reliable in the Dominican Republic, in view of the number of complaints and denunciations from many consumers who have been swindled and deceived through this type of business.
In the meeting, which was attended by the secretary general of the Ombudsman, Harold Modesto, representing the constitutional body whose mission is to ensure good public administration and who will act as overseer of the aforementioned working group, participated, virtually, international representatives of several companies engaged in e-commerce, such as Uber, PedidosYa and other digital platforms.
The head of Pro Consumidor said that what is sought with this meeting is that no type of inconvenience occurs between the supplier and the consumer or user. “We would not want to have a single case that could affect consumers,” he added.
Alcántara explained that when he arrived at Pro Consumidor many of these companies had not been constituted and had no physical location in the country, so they were required to have legal facilities “to respond for any type of claims made by consumers, and most of them have already complied with this requirement”.
“We are going to emphasize that the companies that operate through the Internet must have their domicile established and that they also handle themselves with transparency”, said the head of the entity that defends the rights of the consumers.
He also pointed out that it is necessary that intermediaries and owners of businesses that sell through digital platforms “create firm contracts that can serve to guarantee the rights of consumers at the time of filing a complaint.
Secretary of the Ombudsman speaks
For his part, the secretary general of the Ombudsman, Harold Modesto, who participated on behalf of the head of that institution, Pablo Ulloa, said that solutions must be sought to the complaints of citizens who buy or purchase services through digital platforms.
“It is important to emphasize that the role of us, as an institution dedicated to the protection of the fundamental rights of people, is to contribute to the dialogue and seek solutions that guarantee the rights of all,” Modesto stressed.
At the meeting, Alcántara and Modesto also pointed out that it is necessary to take measures in this direction, taking into account that more and more Dominicans are using electronic commerce because of the convenience it represents and the variety of articles they can find on the web.
Finally, both officials agreed to promote the intervention of the Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (Indotel), to ensure that the commercial operation of any company complies with what has been established by Pro Consumidor as guarantor of the rights of consumers and users.
Source: Eldinero.com.do
