Cama asks consumers to demand receipt
Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) has called on consumers to demand a receipt on any purchase they make.
Cama executive director John Kapito said this on Wednesday when launching Demand a Receipt Campaign in Blantyre where he also partnered the media in the drive.
He said the launch of the campaign aims at promoting rights of consumers by providing them with necessary information on how they exercise their powers as consumers.
“This is a response to the many challenges that consumers are facing in the country. This is also one way of promoting the consumer protection law,” he said.
Kapito said since the law was enacted in 2003, it has not been brought forward to the people, adding that traders have taken advantage of the ignorance; hence, abusing rights of consumers.
“It has come to our attention that most traders are deceiving consumers that if they do not demand a receipt then they will be entitled to a discount, which is not true considering the many challenges they face after every purchase,” he said.
Kapito said the problem can be resolved if consumers demand a receipt to claim their money back in case of a faulty item that needs to be returned.
In an interview, Game Store Blantyre sales manager Griffin Chavula emphasised the importance of the receipt, saying it gives consumer a say in an event where a consumer buys an item that is faulty.
“We emphasise issuing warranties and guarantees to consumers as one way of adding value to their money and proof of purchase in our store,” he said.
Chavula said a receipt is important for a consumer, especially in an event where the purchased item is faulty.
“Language can be a barrier sometimes and we ensure that our salespeople send the message to our customers to keep the receipt after purchase as evidence that they bought the product from us,” he said.
This is important. The problem is that some of us consumers are tax invaders. As such any promise for a discount for not demanding a receipt is taken easily. We (customers) need to be patriotic by paying tax and report those shops that request us not to in exchange of a discount. Actually, even after the said discount, the price remains high. It is time that consumers should put the country first.
This would be supported by the availability of the MRA machines in almost all shops. The names of shops that do not have these machines could also be published as a way of informing the consumers which shops to partner.