SEDD conducts intensive inspection campaigns on markets

This will be done by conducting intensive inspection campaigns that SEDD carried out on all food service establishments, retail sales, associations, men's and women's salons, and gold markets, in addition to all other economic establishments which activity is related to the Eid season.

These campaigns come within SEDD’s concerns to protect consumers and ensure the safety of Sharjah’s markets. Also, it falls within the Department’s strategic objectives to contribute to achieving and leading comprehensive economic development in the emirate. Also, SEDD is keen to ensure that all economic establishments operating in the Emirate adhere to all applicable regulations and provisions, provide the best services to the consumer, and ensure that goods that do not meet their terms and conditions are not promoted and sold. The inspection campaigns organized by the Department included the various cities and regions in Sharjah, in an effort to ensure the safety of all economic practices in the markets, coinciding with Eid Al Fitr.

Commenting on that, Salim Al Suwaidi, Deputy Director of Commercial Control and Protection Department at SEDD, illustrated that the Commercial Officers in the Department have intensified their field visits and inspection campaigns on Sharjah’s markets, which included a number of major markets and commercial centers. This was done to ensure the importance of placing a list of the prices and to give the needed advice and guidance of adhering to laws and ensuring that the consumer knows the value of consumer goods. He intensified that it is crucial to adhere to clarifying the price to the consumer before purchasing to prevent any abuses in the selling process. Also, Al Suwaidi added that the Department intensified its efforts through inspection campaigns to barbershops and beauty centers, stressing that these tours will continue during the three days of Eid, in order to ensure that they apply all approved standards.

In addition, Al Suwaidi stressed that SEDD is committed to work with merchants and consumers to create a fair relationship between the two parties. Likely, he pointed out that the Department communicates through all possible means with consumers in the markets, to educate them and introduce them to their basic rights, which were provided through platforms, websites and continuous field visits for this purpose, in addition to communicating with the merchants themselves and making them aware of their rights and duties. He added that the Department’s role is not limited to protecting consumers and investors only, but also goes beyond that to familiarize merchants with the systems and procedures adopted to avoid disputes or complaints against them, and even implement inspection campaigns to ensure the safety of all economic practices in the emirate's markets. Additionally, he clarified that the complaints index during the first quarter of this year reflects the extent to which consumers respond to awareness campaigns and initiatives that are organised continuously and varied.

On the other hand, Ali Fadil, Head of Commercial Protection Section at SEDD, emphasized that the Department deals with many different cases of consumer complaints, and each of them is dealt with in cooperation with all concerned parties, to reach a solution that satisfies everyone and preserves their rights. Also, he stressed that educating consumers about their rights is one of the mechanisms for providing them with protection, as knowing rights and duties is the most important way to build organized and modern markets, as the culture of consumer rights is spread and consolidated in local markets, whether among shoppers or economic establishments in various sectors. Likewise, he added that awareness campaigns are spread in an interactive and innovative way on a large scale in various commercial facilities, starting from shopping centers, up to traditional commercial markets.

Furthermore, Ali indicated that the Department handled 3,169 complaints it received during the first quarter of the current year 2023. These complaints were distributed, with consumer protection complaints forming the largest share with 2,805 complaints, followed by service agent complaints with 210 complaints, and then commercial fraud complaints with 154 complaints.

From his side, Rashid Al Hosani, Deputy Head of Commercial Control Section, said that the total number of inspection campaigns carried out by the Department on the emirate’s markets during the first quarter of this year amounted to 56,643 ones, compared to the number of inspection campaigns during the first quarter of last year, with a growth of 36%. He pointed out that the Department organized a campaign on gold stores and shops in the emirate to ensure the accuracy of the scales used in them and ensure their conformity with the specifications and standards approved in the country. This comes within SEDD’s supervisory role on the markets in the emirate and out of its keenness to enhance confidence in the markets. It is worth mentioning that according to the data issued by SEDD during the first quarter of this year, the total number of commercial scales and gold scales that have been calibrated reached 1268 scales, and the percentage of compatible scales and conforming to the standards reached 98%.

Moreover, SEDD noted the vital role of consumers in controlling illegal commercial practices and helping to control any cases of commercial manipulation or fraud. This is done by reporting any violation cases that they may face by communicating with the Department through the call center 80080000 or by visiting the website www.sedd.ae as part of the active participation in monitoring the markets.