What is Consumer Protection?
Consumer protection is the safeguarding of consumers from exploitation by businesses, as production becomes more complex. It covers all measures taken by government and non-governmental organisations to protect consumers from producer exploitation.
Reasons for Consumer Protection
- Exploitation through indiscriminate price increases, controlled by a price control act.
- Deceptive weights and measures: addressed by weights and measures legislation.
- Sale of harmful drugs and food: addressed by food and drink acts.
- Unclear credit purchase agreements: addressed by hire purchase acts.
- Misleading advertisements: addressed by trade description acts.
- Demanding payment for unsolicited goods: addressed by unsolicited goods and services legislation.
- Selling goods of non-merchantable quality or without legal title: addressed by sale of goods legislation.
- Protecting consumers from expired or poor-quality goods, artificial scarcity (hoarding), and overcharging.
Legislation for Consumer Protection
- Sale of Goods Act (1893): states implied terms when goods are sold, protecting buyers from wrong measures and weights.
- Hire Purchase Acts (1938, 1964): require the seller to clearly show the cash price and hire purchase price; once a third of the price is paid, the good can only be recovered through court action.
- Trade Description Act (1968): makes it a criminal offence to inaccurately describe goods or services.
- Consumers Credit Act (1974): regulates all sales made on credit terms.
Government Bodies for Consumer Protection in Cameroon
- The Department of Sanitary Protection and Veterinary Health, which inspects slaughtered meat before sale.
- The Department of Price Control, Weights and Measures (under the Ministry of Commerce), which helps fix market prices.
- The Ministry of Town Planning and Housing, ensuring quality house construction.
- SETRACAUCAM (Cameroon national syndicate of bus transporters), protecting bus passengers from overloading and high fares.
- The Department of Forestry, controlling the sale of timber domestically and abroad.
- The Department of Preventive Medicine and Rural Hygiene, controlling water supply and environmental sanitation.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages: ensures goods sold are of good quality, prevents wrong measures or weights, prevents misleading advertisements, ensures goods match samples shown, and stops producers from dictating unfair prices.
Disadvantages: it is a significant cost burden for the government, and it can reduce producers’ profit margins.
