Consumers’ awareness is awakening
Consumers’ complaints against retailers and suppliers of good and services have risen steadily in recent years. Last year they numbered 24,000. Is that because businesses are doing a worse job than before or because consumers are standing up for themselves more often? The intensification of controls and the publicity given to the names of errant businesses and the consumer hotline (1520) appear to be making their mark. The official initiatives undertaken, most recently with the draft bill on the protection of consumers’ interests, are coming to provide a modern and, it is believed, effective base where, until only a few years ago, there was a sorry lack of structure and mechanisms. Greek consumer associations – with substantial strength in other countries – are now bolstering their organization and, armed with the new weapons provided by law, coming to play a more energetic role with a greater potential for intervention. Additionally, the energizing of the Competition Commission toward the markets directly related to the everyday life of citizens – as well as the «revitalization» of inspection mechanisms – are sending clear signals to the business world. But that said, are laws, inspections, sanctions and regulations regarding consumer protection sufficient for the efficient functioning of the market? Surely not, if consumers don’t get off the soft cushions of the living room couch. The first signs of the effort may be encouraging but the truth is, as representatives of consumer organizations say, that the consumer is essentially activated only when facing a personal problem – «only then will they come to enroll as members.» If we wished things to change noticeably, we would have to be active watchers of our consumer rights 365 days a year, irrespective of whether problems arise or not. «Competition cannot exist without consumer awareness,» the commission’s president, Spyros Zisimopoulos, said recently.
