The handling of consumer fraud remains inadequate.

Consumers are being harmed by other consumers.

On the morning of May 26th, continuing the agenda of the 5th session, the National Assembly discussed several remaining points of disagreement in the draft Law on Consumer Rights Protection (amended).

Representative Nguyen Van Canh (Binh Dinh delegation) argued that this revised law needs to focus on protecting consumer rights when they are violated by other consumers…

Representative Canh emphasized that Vietnam is striving to become a civilized country. Achieving this requires many factors, including cultural resources, human resources, and laws.

According to the delegates, the two laws that have the most direct impact in promoting Vietnam's development into a civilized country are the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety and the Law on Consumer Rights Protection. This is because in daily life, travel and business activities such as buying, selling, eating, and entertainment are the most frequently performed activities.

Dialogue - Addressing consumer deception remains inadequate. — National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Van Canh believes that attention should be paid to protecting consumer rights when they are violated by other consumers.

In civilized Western countries, they highly respect individual rights. In Japan, they consider not bothering others as a distinctive cultural trait.

Vietnamese products, goods, and services are increasingly being provided better by businesses and individuals. However, delegates pointed out that one factor contributing to the decline in quality of goods and services, especially in the trade and service sector, is the jostling and pushing among consumers when purchasing goods.

Or, using the service through inappropriate behavior, words, gestures, clothing, use of personal devices, or bringing pets that violate regulations, are inappropriate for the time and place, or violate customs and traditions, and do not ensure the safety and rights of other consumers—something that almost everyone has encountered many times, regardless of gender, age, education level, position, or economic status. Many consumers believe that businesses and individuals should treat them as if they were gods.

However, according to the delegates, people need to be able to buy goods and products, use services in appropriate spaces and times, and be guaranteed safety as well as other rights.

Specify the methods for resolving disputes.

Speaking at the session, delegate Tran Thi Thu Phuoc ( Kon Tum delegation) stated that, in order to protect consumers from deceptive practices, the draft law clearly stipulates the responsibilities of organizations and individuals doing business in goods and services to provide transparent, accurate, and complete information about goods and services to consumers, as well as measures for compensation and handling for consumers in case of incidents or defective products.

Dialogue - Addressing consumer deception remains inadequate (Figure 2). — Representative Tran Thi Thu Phuoc pointed out that the handling of acts of deceiving consumers is still inadequate.

However, in practice, the handling of consumer deception remains inadequate. Representatives suggested that the draft law should specify criteria for evaluating whether the actions of businesses or individuals constitute consumer deception, based on the awareness and identification capabilities of ordinary consumers.

Specifically, it is necessary to clearly define the method of determination based on the time and method of providing information to consumers, the degree of inaccuracy or omission of information compared to reality, and the extent to which inaccurate or incomplete information influences consumer decisions.

Meanwhile, commenting on the content of dispute resolution between consumers and business organizations and individuals, delegate Tran Nhat Minh (Nghe An delegation) stated that the method of dispute resolution between consumers and business organizations is stipulated in Article 54 of the draft law.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade's report summarizing the implementation of the Law on Consumer Protection regarding the receipt and resolution of consumer complaints, arbitration and court proceedings are not chosen by many consumers due to complex procedures, long resolution times, and high costs, while the value of cases violating consumer rights is low.

In addition to the reasons mentioned above, delegates believe another reason is that the dispute resolution methods in current law are too general and not specific enough. They only state the methods for resolving disputes but do not clearly define the mechanisms for resolving disputes between the parties involved.

However, Clause 1, Article 54 of the draft law has not yet addressed this shortcoming, therefore the representative suggested that the drafting agency study and amend Clause 1, Article 54 to be more specific, understandable, and easy to apply.

Specifically, when disputes arise, consumers and businesses can resolve them themselves through negotiation and mediation. If they cannot resolve the dispute through negotiation or mediation, or do not wish to do so, they can choose one of two methods of dispute resolution: arbitration or court proceedings.

Representative Tran Nhat Minh also suggested that the drafting agency should study and amend the provisions on the right of consumers to choose arbitration or the Court to resolve disputes in the draft law .

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