Efforts to protect consumer rights

Always ensuring the safety and quality of goods, clearly listing prices, paying special attention to after-sales service and product origin... are solutions that functional forces and businesses in the province have been actively implementing to protect the rights of consumers in the area.

People buy goods at GO! Ha Long Supermarket.

Currently, the situation of smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods in the province, although not prominent, still has potential complex and unpredictable factors. In particular, the use of e-commerce sites, electronic applications, social networking sites to livestream sales via Facebook, Zalo, Shopee, TikTok... with business locations being houses in residential areas, apartments in apartment buildings or from other provinces... makes it very difficult for authorities to determine business locations. Trading and transporting smuggled and prohibited goods still takes place with consumer goods such as: Fireworks, children's toys, phone components, cigarettes, foreign alcohol, candy, cosmetics of all kinds... into the province or transported through the province, to neighboring provinces for consumption.

Implementing the direction of the Prime Minister, the National Steering Committee against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods (referred to as Steering Committee 389), the Provincial Party Committee, People's Council and People's Committee in the work of combating smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods, the Provincial Steering Committee 389 has deployed many drastic and effective measures, ensuring the balance of supply and demand of goods and services, and stabilizing market prices. Member sectors and Steering Committee 389 at all levels regularly coordinate with relevant forces to organize inspections, checks and controls of key areas and goods, which have a great impact on the socio -economy, production and business of enterprises and consumer rights. Units and localities include the task of propagating and disseminating the law in their work programs and consider this an important and regular task.

Typically, the Department of Industry and Trade has actively coordinated with the Consumer Protection Association of Quang Ninh province and the Market Management Force... to deploy all activities related to consumers such as: Special consumer stimulus programs "National Concentrated Promotion Month"; "Online Shopping Day - Friday"; organizing propaganda and dissemination of laws on consumer protection; coordinating the organization of inspection and supervision teams on food safety, detecting counterfeit, fake and poor quality goods; strengthening strict management of multi-level marketing enterprises...

The Department of Industry and Trade also promotes the implementation of legal regulations on contracts with consumers, standard contracts, and general transaction conditions. From 2011 to present, the Department of Industry and Trade has received and processed over 20 sets of application files for standard contracts, 100% of which were processed on time or before the prescribed settlement deadline; reviewed, detected, and requested amendments and cancellations of contents that violate or do not ensure consumer rights in contracts drafted by organizations and enterprises to enter into with consumers. Thereby, contributing to gradually ensuring fairness, equality, and transparency in transactions between enterprises and consumers, creating a healthy business and consumption environment, protecting the rights and legitimate interests of the parties.

On August 6, the Department of Industry and Trade coordinated with the National Competition Commission ( Ministry of Industry and Trade ) to organize a conference to deploy and train on the Law on Consumer Protection. This is a law passed by the National Assembly at the 5th Session on June 20, 2023, effective from July 1, 2024. Through the conference, it helped businesses better understand the rights and obligations of consumers; responsibilities of business organizations and individuals in specific transactions; prohibited acts; State management of consumer rights protection; consumer rights protection activities of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and social organizations in the new situation.

Producing melons in a greenhouse at Hoa Phong High Quality Agricultural Service Cooperative. Photo: Hoa Phong. — Producing melons in a greenhouse at Hoa Phong High Quality Agricultural Service Cooperative. Photo: Viet Hoa

Up to now, through the promotion of programs and activities, the work of protecting consumer rights in the province has had a strong change. Ms. Le Thi Tha, Director of Hoa Phong High-Quality Agricultural Service Cooperative, shared: The Cooperative always focuses on doing healthy business and ensuring the health of consumers in each product. In production, we always pay attention to thoroughly educating workers and households participating in production linkages to strictly follow the technical process of cultivation instructions, not to use growth stimulants during the production process. The Cooperative also regularly inspects and supervises the vegetable production process and takes vegetable samples to test for pesticide residues in order to provide the market with the safest vegetables, tubers and fruits.

According to statistics, from 2011 to present, the Department of Industry and Trade has coordinated with the Association for Protection of Consumer Rights and the Provincial Market Management Department to receive and resolve over 300 petitions and complaints from consumers in the area about the quality of goods, with a success rate of resolving cases reaching over 95%.

Mr. Le Hong Giang, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade, said: In the coming time, to ensure consumer rights, the Department will coordinate with departments, branches, sectors and localities to proactively coordinate in managing and supervising compliance with the law by organizations and individuals in production and business, creating favorable conditions for organizations and individuals to proactively participate in protecting consumer rights. Strictly handle violations affecting consumer rights. Strengthen propaganda and dissemination of consumer knowledge and laws to people and organizations and individuals in production and business providing goods and services in the province, in order to improve business culture, respect rights and listen to consumers' opinions.

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