A recent survey by the EU in a number of its Member States has revealed – well, exposed – that seven out of 10 commercial Maltese websites give misleading information regarding customer rights, conditions of sale and return of goods.
Could the cause of this deception be the traders’ naivete’? If so, a strange creature indeed: one that is naïve and deceiving at the same time. One would have been tempted to say “rare”, were it not for such an overwhelming majority of 70%.
A few days ago we were told that the government has ordered these traders to get their act together and step in line, or else it will “name and shame” them.
So now, many of us know that it is in our interest to steer clear of 70% of Maltese commercial websites, without ever knowing who the other 30% websites are: the other 30% which genuinely deserve out custom.
Shouldn’t a list be published indicating who these 30% are? The government’s action seems ill-advised, given that it has the consumer’s interests in mind, if not at heart.
What it did has not discouraged traders not to cheat, and nor has it encouraged them to play fair.
Shouldn’t the customer know who these 30% are, so that he is able to return the consideration that they, off their own bat, without coercion from above, so truly gave him?
OK, the other 70% will now have to play ball. But no thanks to them.
OK, it’s no big deal that the 30% played fair. If they were in Germany, Austria or Scandinavia. But in this fair land of ours, yes, it is a big deal for a customer to get a fair deal. It is a big deal for a customer not to get short shrift at the hands of many, many traders.
To ask for the 70% to be named and shamed would probably be construed as gloating. But that is not what is being asked for.
As for gloating, one final thought. The cover on the VAT Department scam was blown from without. Pretty much the same happened here with these websites. The tax-paying patsy here has toothless watchdogs blind as bats.
And all the glib gab from our politicos about customer protection is nothing but hot air adding to WWW – World Wide Warming.
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