Consumers have been warned against unscrupulous business activities perpetrated by Mogoditshane car dealers whose business entities are currently the main cause of complaints reaching the Competition and Consumer Authority (CCA).

Assistant Minister of Trade and Industry, Beauty Manake recently revealed that the CCA continues to be swamped with complaints from consumers who are subjected to unfair business practices mostly emanating from fraudulent businesses selling pre-owned motor vehicles mainly around the Mogoditshane area.

Last year, the CCA handled 168 cases from car dealers followed by 55 cell-phone cases, and other electronics in third place with 44 cases.

Manake highlighted that most violations against consumers have been observed in the Motor Vehicle, Cell-phones and Electronics sectors.

“The majority of complaints were on used imported motor vehicles. They deceived consumers into paying large sums of money and ultimately the motor vehicles were either not supplied, or if supplied, with major defects.”

Manake said ongoing efforts are being made by relevant stakeholders to protect the rights of consumers. Government, through the Ministry of Trade and Industry has provided an enabling environment through passage of the Consumer Protection Act and the Regulations.

Following the complaints, the CCA was unable to locate the fraudsters because they do not have legitimate documents to trade, and do not even have places of operation. However, the Authority issued a public alert against such fraudsters urging consumers to take certain precautions.

These include always requesting for proof of trade documents before committing to buying used imported motor vehicles; requesting proof of existence of the motor vehicle in question, such as registration papers; refraining from carrying large amounts of cash for motor vehicle transactions and using bank transfers as the preferred mode of payment.

CCA Chief Executive Officer, Tebelelo Pule stated that consumer complaints increased by 7.4 percent to a total of 1251 last year. Out of these cases, 83 percent were resolved, while the rest were still under investigations. She cited one of the key initiatives that the CCA employs to protect consumers against unfair business practices as compliance inspection, which is done independently, or in collaboration with other sector regulators.

“The CCA urges consumers to familiarise themselves with the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act so that they exercise their rights and take the necessary action to defend themselves against unfair business practices.

“This can be done by reporting any violations of their rights to the CCA for redress, forming or participating in consumer advocacy groups, and by supporting businesses that respect consumer rights.”