Perfecting the legal framework to protect consumer rights

The draft Law on Consumer Rights Protection (amended) with many new contents added and replacing current regulations is expected to contribute to changing and further improving this work.

The amendment of the Law on Consumer Protection is expected to further improve the legal framework in this work.

According to Ms. Le Thi Thanh Lam, Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation, one of the notable new provisions of the draft Law on Consumer Rights Protection (amended) is that there are many specific provisions on protecting consumer rights for transactions between consumers and organizations and individuals doing business in cyberspace.

Protecting Consumers in Cyberspace

Specifically, Article 39 of the draft stipulates the responsibility of organizations and individuals doing business with consumers in transactions on cyberspace to provide consumers with accurate and complete information about goods such as price, quality, origin, delivery costs, complaint handling and reception procedures, etc.

Particularly for organizations that establish and operate intermediary digital platforms, they must be responsible for designating and publicly announcing contact points and authorized representatives to coordinate with state management agencies in resolving issues related to consumer rights protection. At the same time, they must allow consumers to give feedback and evaluations about business organizations and individuals, and display the results of those feedback and evaluations.

Notably, the draft clearly stipulates the responsibility to warn consumers in transactions on the internet. Accordingly, competent authorities have the right to publish a list of organizations and individuals doing business on the internet that violate the rights and legitimate interests of consumers and will be handled according to regulations.

In addition, the list of organizations and individuals doing business on cyberspace that violate the law on consumer rights is handled by competent foreign agencies and affects the rights of Vietnamese consumers.

Mr. Dong Viet Phuong, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Justice, said that currently, the trend of shopping on the internet is increasing. Therefore, the draft law supplementing and perfecting many mechanisms will better protect the rights of consumers on the internet. This will force individuals and organizations doing business online to comply with regulations and take measures to handle establishments and businesses doing business online that are not reputable and defraud customers.

“Regarding online shopping, I also propose to add a prohibited act in Article 10 for individuals and business organizations, which is “not allowing consumers to view or check the goods before receiving them”. Because in reality, many customers who buy online are not allowed to check the goods, leading to fraud, selling fake and poor quality goods”, Mr. Phuong emphasized.

Vulnerable people will be protected

Article 8 of the draft law also provides for the protection of vulnerable consumer rights. According to the assessment, this is a completely new provision compared to the current law.

Mr. Nguyen Van Quan, Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, said that vulnerable consumers listed in the draft include the following groups: the elderly, people with disabilities, children, ethnic minorities, pregnant women or women with children under 12 months old, people with serious illnesses, members of poor households, etc.

Therefore, according to Mr. Quan, the draft's provision of a specific, clear, and detailed provision on the protection of vulnerable consumers, as well as the provision of consumer protection principles in Article 6 of the draft, is a new step forward. That will help these groups of people not be disadvantaged when participating in transactions.

Agreeing with the protection of vulnerable groups, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Manh, Vice Chairman of the Provincial Lawyers Association, said: “Vulnerable consumers are vulnerable groups, so in my opinion, the draft must clearly stipulate specific policies, specifically when their rights are violated, which agency or organization they need to contact, and the responsibility of that agency or organization in supporting these groups must be clearly stated.”

The draft Law on Consumer Rights Protection (amended) has 12 chapters and 79 articles. Compared to the current law, the draft adds 6 chapters and 28 articles, amends 49 articles, aiming to complete the legal framework, better ensure policies and legal regulations to protect consumer rights.

Article and photos: D.B

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