Complaints received by the Department of Consumer Affairs from January to December 2022

The Department of Consumer Affairs received a total number of 206 complaints from January to December 2022.  Among these complaints, 22 cases for goods and 170 cases for service were successfully settled. There are also 14 cases not covered under the scope of the Consumer Protection Law of Myanmar (2019), which were transferred to relevant departments. The following three complaint cases were extracted from the above-mentioned cases (two cases for goods and one case for service) which have been successfully settled.

(1)     Complaint on automobile purchases

A consumer, who lives in Mandalay Region, Myanmar has made a complaint about the low quality of the car paint.  The car in question was a  saloon/sedan car paid for in installments from a car company on 9 March 2020.  Three months later, the paint of the car started to fall off and cracks began to appear on the front bumper.  Due to this, he informed the company and reported the issue and the company agreed to replace the bumper with a new one.

Three months later, a similar case occurred in which the company also agreed to replace the defective bumper.  In this case, however, the company failed to comply with the agreement, resulting in the consumer lodging a complaint to the Department of Consumer Affairs, Mandalay Region Head Office, to take further action.

Once the complaint has been received, the representatives from the Mandalay Region Head Office investigated the case and settled the complaints by means of mediation.  During the mediation, the company agreed to replace and install a new rear bumper. Moreover, the company offered additional services such as the replacement of engine oil, spare parts, or a black box and repainting the car body according to the company's Warranty Policies. 

 (2)     Complaints about Private School Services

Consumers, who reside in Nay Pyi Taw, made a complaint about a private school service. In this case, the parents paid the full course fees to the school in January and February 2020 for their sons and daughters, to attend a summer course taking place from 23 March 2020 to the end of May 2020. However, the course did not take place during these periods which resulted in the parents refunding the fees, which the school failed to do so.

As a result, the parents complained to the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Union Territory (Nay Pyi Taw ) on 11 June 2020. Once the complaint was received, the representatives from the Department of Consumer Affairs investigated the case, in which a mediation took place between the parents and the school on 19 and 25 June 2020.  During the mediation, the complainants requested the staff for a full refund.  Through several mediation proceedings, the complainants received a full refund by September 2020.

(3)     Complaints about the sale of substandard Personal Protect Equipment (PPE) Suits

A consumer, who lives in Mandalay Region, made a complaint about a company that sold Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) suits that appear to be sub-standard.  In addition, the company did not receive the proper business license issued by the Department of Food and Drugs Administration, and the Ministry of Health and Sports. The complainant filed the case at the Department of Consumer Affairs, Mandalay Region Head Office to take necessary actions.

Once the complaint was received, representatives from the Mandalay Region Head Office investigated the case. During the investigation, it was found that the products manufactured and sold by the company did not provide clear and correct information to the consumers. This misconduct was found to be violated Section 21, Subsection (a), Chapter 10 (Warranty of goods or services) of the Consumer Protection Law 2019. Therefore, the Mandalay Region Head Office issued a warning order to the company by means of imposing administrative penalties. The Head office also informed the company that the products sold in the market should mention the labeling requirements to enable the consumers clearly understand the labeling descriptions of the products according to the Consumer Protection Law and the products should be manufactured and sold in accordance with the relevant existing laws. The complainant was satisfied with the settlement and the case was successfully settled.

Visit www.doca.gov.mm/ to learn more about Myanmar's consumer protection regimes.