Defective goods, unclear warranty conditions, aggressive sales methods, unfair trade practices and fraudulent advertising are just some of the complaints that the Consumer Protection Center (CEZAP) receives on a daily basis, they told "Vijesta".
In 2024, this NGO received 1.147 consumer complaints, and most of them, as stated in the reply to the editors, related to faulty goods.
According to the answers provided by the competent inspections to "Vijesti", citizens sent them 2024 complaints in 473, and 252 were resolved in favor of consumers.
CEZAP specified that 821 complaints related to non-conformity of goods and services, and 267 to public services. 20 citizens complained about the banking sector to that NGO, while 20 complaints were received about the tourism sector.
When it comes to online shopping, CEZAP received 2024 complaints during 14, and nine regarding prices.
"Some of the shortcomings are the absence or inadequate labeling of prices and additional costs, incomplete labeling of products, i.e. lack of notices in the Montenegrin language, absence of instructions and warnings, lack of understanding of conformity and non-compliance with the legal deadline for conformity, such as a legal guarantee of two years, unclear guarantee conditions, unfair trade practices and fraudulent advertising, aggressive sales methods, insufficient involvement of consumers in solving cases, but also small fines for traders who work contrary to regulations", said CEZAP.
They remind that, according to data from the research of the Ministry of Economic Development, almost 30 percent of citizens are not aware of the existence of the Law on Consumer Protection.
"That is an extremely high percentage," they said.
According to that research, as they said from CEZAP, the largest percentage of respondents believe that consumers in Montenegro do not have enough knowledge about the protection of their rights, but neither do they have the habit of complaining to merchants.
"There is also a relatively high percentage of 42,6 percent of those who believe that the Law is mostly respected to a small extent," said CEZAP, adding that society's awareness of the importance of consumer protection is underdeveloped.
The NGO explains that the majority of consumers are not aware that, if they inform the trader about non-conformity within the first 90 days from the day of taking over the goods, i.e. in case of a defect in the goods, they have the freedom of choice - the right to request repair, replacement, price reduction or refund of the paid amount.
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When it comes to the provision of services, the most common cause for violation of consumer rights is the supply of electricity, mobile phone services, water supply services and banking services.
As they said from the NGO CEZAP, the Law on Consumer Protection is of high quality, but in order for its application to be more effective, it is necessary to strengthen the capacities of competent inspections.
"The key challenges are reflected in the insufficient information of consumers about their rights. A particular obstacle is the lack of a sufficient number of counseling centers for consumers, which would be the best mechanism for overcoming this challenge, since consumers are best informed when they are faced with a specific problem. Greater availability of competent counseling centers would make it easier for consumers to access accurate and timely information," said CEZAP, adding that more adequate penalties for traders who violate the law would "certainly motivate more complete consumer protection."
As they said, other shortcomings in that system relate to the resolution of consumer disputes:
"Consumers are disincentivized by a practice that is also the most common obstacle - excessive formalism, too long duration and excessive costs of the procedure, which can influence the consumer to give up filing a lawsuit in court, then the fact that the mechanisms for out-of-court dispute resolution do not fulfill their role and finally the fact that proceedings for the protection of the collective interests of consumers have not been brought before the judicial authorities."
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