Gas market is difficult to control
(Baonghean.vn)Recently, the gas business market has become increasingly vibrant. This is also a loophole for many establishments and agents to take advantage of profits and use many tricks to "pick the pockets" of consumers. Compared to filling establishments, gas agents have more tricks. To increase profits, these establishments often underfill gas. In addition, gas businesses also take advantage of consumers' lack of knowledge to swap and change to other gas brands that are cheaper and of lower quality.
Gas is a conditional business item. The regulations on the management and trading of this item are quite strict, such as cylinders must be periodically inspected; one gas company cannot be transferred into cylinders of another gas company; the means of transporting gas must comply with regulations and especially it is strictly forbidden to transfer gas when safety conditions are not ensured...
Consumers should be careful when using gas to avoid being "pickpocketed" and reduce the risk of fire and explosion.
However, in reality, the current management and punishment mechanisms are not strong enough to deter and lack regulations to prevent commercial fraud, making the gas market difficult to control. According to data from the Trade Management Department (Nghe An Department of Industry and Trade), there are currently about 456 establishments licensed to trade in gas products and 5 gas decanting establishments in the province. However, in reality, there are many illegal businesses that state agencies cannot control. These establishments are mainly concentrated in rural and mountainous areas.
Illegal gas cylinders are disguised in many forms, mainly with fake seals or no seals, all gas cylinders are printed with famous brands such as Petro, Thang Long gas, Saigon gas, etc. According to the "revelation" of many gas dealers, the price of illegally decanted gas is always 5% - 10% cheaper than gas bought from genuine sources. The reason is that illegal gas decanting places do not have to pay for sealing, do not have to invest in cylinders... and especially do not have to pay taxes and insurance. In the past, the Market Management force of Nghe An province has inspected gas dealers and stores but has not brought much results. Mr. Tran Van Dien, Head of the Technology Planning Department (Market Management Department), said: Currently, gas decanting is still very chaotic. Due to the limited expertise of our staff, we have encountered many difficulties in determining the quality and weight according to standards. Furthermore, the level of counterfeiting of labels by businesses is increasingly sophisticated, so since the beginning of the year we have not detected any violations.
Mr. Nguyen Cong Hoan, Chief Inspector of Nghe An Department of Science and Technology, said: "We have made many surprise inspections at gas filling facilities and discovered some cylinders with incorrect weight. In addition to filling facilities in the province, a quantity of gas is transported from other provinces such as Ha Tinh and Thanh Hoa, so it is very difficult to control." Usually, gas filling is done in two forms.
For gas supply stores, people transfer 45 kg cylinders into 12 kg cylinders or tourist cylinders. At gas filling stations, people transfer gas into cylinders that are not their own brand (because in the process of exchanging gas for customers, the agent of this gas company took the cylinder shell of another gas company; and because it is not their own cylinder shell, the gas supplier refuses to take it back, and of course, legitimate businesses refuse to transfer gas into cylinders that are not theirs). Meanwhile, the agents cannot throw away a gas cylinder shell worth 200,000 - 300,000 VND, so they illegally transfer gas to supply to customers.
The reality today is that consumers often do not care about the quality of gas and the safety of the cylinders when using them. Most people buy gas by calling the dealer, then leave everything to the dealer's staff to bring the gas and install it in the stove themselves. Attracted by high profits, some dealers do not hesitate to bring their customers illegally filled gas cylinders disguised with fake seals on the mouth of the cylinder. When the dealers come to deliver the gas, they themselves remove the seal and install the gas line and other operations, so customers rarely detect it. Moreover, very few consumers care about how the gas is filled, because every time the stove is turned on, the fire still burns...
Faced with the current situation of illegal gas filling and the lack of effective measures by the authorities to prevent it, there is no other way than for consumers to protect themselves. According to the recommendations of experts in the gas industry, to avoid buying illegal gas filling, consumers should be really careful by carefully checking the gas cylinder before buying. Absolutely do not buy gas cylinders with rusty shells, peeling paint, no seal or fake seal made of white nylon, the logo on the seal does not match the logo on the cylinder body.
In addition, customers can also ask the dealer to re-weigh the gas cylinder to check whether the amount of gas in the cylinder is in accordance with regulations or not... Consumers need to actively denounce when discovering illegal gas business and decanting locations. This action not only helps the authorities take early preventive measures, but also protects themselves, their families and people around them from the risk of explosion from "gas bombs".
Pham Bang
