You should keep the receipt when purchasing.

(Baonghean)Recently, there have been continuous violations of the law in commercial business in many sophisticated forms, such as: cutting corners in measurement, food safety and hygiene, counterfeit goods, poor quality goods, many shortcomings in service sectors... causing serious damage to consumer rights.

It is worth mentioning that even though the Consumer Protection Law is in place, the authorities are very active in inspecting and controlling the market, but the number of violations is still increasing. And in cases of rights violations, consumers are often at a disadvantage, due to the lack of legal protection, especially when consumers do not have the habit of keeping purchase invoices, so that when necessary, they have evidence to file a lawsuit...



Consumers should keep their purchase receipts as evidence of complaints when their rights are violated.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Dung (in Mau Don hamlet, Hung Loc commune) bought a PoliGreen blood pressure monitor at the Medical Equipment and Supplies Store on Nguyen Phong Sac Street - Vinh City. When he got home and found that the machine was not standard, he asked the store to exchange it for another one, but the store owner did not accept. "I bought it and used it for less than a month, but the numbers kept showing up erratically, sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn't. When I brought it to exchange, the store owner said that there was only one left, and if I wanted to get another brand, I would have to pay more... It was also a mistake when I bought the product that I did not ask for an invoice, because I thought they would ask for a higher price, so now I don't know who to complain to" - Mr. Dung said indignantly.

Or the case of Ms. Nguyen Thi An - a teacher at Hoa Hong Kindergarten, who had to "swallow her anger" and ignore it, losing money for 2 taels of 9999 gold when the shop owner only calculated the value of the necklace at 96% (from 4 taels to 3.8 taels), because she did not keep the sales invoice as "evidence" that she had only bought it for 1 week and had never worn it... These are just a few of the disadvantages that consumers have to bear due to lack of consumer skills.

The Law on Consumer Protection with 8 basic rights (Right to safety; Right to information; Right to choice; Right to be heard; Right to participate in building policies and laws on consumer protection; Right to compensation; Right to complain and Right to consumer knowledge consultation) effective from July 1, 2011 is expected to be the most effective "shield" to protect consumers. And the Association for Standards and Consumer Protection is the designated agency that will promptly intervene, guide and resolve consumer rights. However, in reality, consumers still do not have a firm grasp of the law; when their rights are violated, they are afraid of conflicts, afraid of complicated and time-consuming procedures, and do not dare to speak up to protect their legitimate rights.

Faced with the situation of a series of motorbikes and cars catching fire and exploding, causing damage to people's lives and property, possibly due to the quality of gasoline and oil, but determining the source of fuel is very difficult, the initiative of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City, from June 1, 8 gas stations in the city were selected to pilot the installation of equipment to print documents and issue invoices to customers. After paying, consumers will receive an invoice confirming the refueling at the store.

With specific information about location, time of sale, type of gasoline, quantity and amount... This invoice will be the basis for verification and handling of the most effective case when consumers complain about doubts about gasoline quality. After a 3-month trial period, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee will summarize the experience, replicate it in the entire retail system in the area and will be proposed as one of the necessary conditions for granting a license for a gas station to operate...

The initiative of Ho Chi Minh City needs to receive the response and support of petrol and oil dealers and especially consumers. Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung, Head of the Department of Standards, Metrology and Quality - Vice President of Nghe An Association for Standards and Consumer Protection, said: In order for the complaint to be successful and the consumer rights to be guaranteed, the information provided by consumers must be accurate.

When purchasing any product from a manufacturer, in addition to checking the full information before choosing, consumers must request the seller to provide and retain full invoices and documents to serve as a "record" of certification when an incident occurs. To make a complaint, consumers only need to send a petition to the Association stating full personal information, transaction time, value of goods, place of purchase and sale, and transaction invoice. According to the provisions of the Law on Protection of Consumer Rights, the complained unit must be responsible for responding to the consumer within 7 days...

Ngoc Anh