Consumers left high and dry

FRIDAY, FEB. 24: Scores of islanders are being left out of pocket when businesses close their doors without providing proper notice.

The Department of Consumer Affairs has been inundated in the last six months by complaints from disgruntled islanders who have lost thousands of dollars.

Officials have vowed to “up the ante“ to tackle rogue traders who shut up shop without following the rules.

Karen Marshall, executive officer of Consumer Affairs: “We are very concerned about the closure of businesses and the lack of notification given to consumers.

“Closing your doors is your right but you have to do it responsibly. To be deceiving the consumer by giving out gift certificates and store credits when you know you are going to go out of business is a criminal offence.

“This practice is more prevalent now than it has ever been, and it is not only big businesses that do it, but small businesses, too.

“They just close their doors and consumers are left thousands of dollars out of pocket.

“Most close their doors without warning which deprives the consumer of redress for money spent on goods and services.

“The financial side of it is enough to cause concern but some of these people often skip the island and just disappear.”

Consumer Affairs has received more than 60 complaints since the fall of 2010 related to businesses closing either permanently or temporarily and then reopening under new management.

More than half of the complaints have been lodged in the last six months.

While 75 per cent of them were about gift certificates that were purchased prior to the businesses closing and were not redeemable.

Ms Marshall told the Sun that Consumer Affairs would be cracking down on repeat offenders in 2012.

She said: : “We have done all the education we can, now we are going to do more enforcement.

“It is not going to be minor enforcement it is going to be major.

“We have always tried to be sensitive and find a balance with the people that are going out of business, but there is a correct way in which consumers have to be informed and if this is not done then a criminal offence has been committed.

“It is important to realize that the numbers of complaints we are seeing is probably just the tip of the iceberg.

“There are probably a lot more people out there that have been affected but have just not made a formal complaint to us.

“We often say that at least 30 to 40 per cent of people do not lodge a complaint with Consumer Affairs.”