ICT minister Tassarajen Pillay Chedumbrum made it clear that importers should meet all standards required before entering the market. “It is not acceptable that anyone enters the market to sell fake products to the public. It will become mandatory for mobile importers to obtain a certificate from the parent company, which gives the authorisation to sell their products in Mauritius,” explained Chedumbrum.
He highlighted that importers should also ensure that guaranteed after sales services are provided to customers. “It is unacceptable that customers make sacrifices to buy a mobile which stops functioning properly after a few days and then they have to pay extra amount for repairs,” stated the minister. “Customers should get value for money,” he added.
According to statistics collected from the Consumer Protection Unit (CPU), over 50 per cent of complaints received in January concern defective products while in 2011, the defective products amounted to around 40 per cent. “Out of 258 complaints registered in January, 122 were related to defective products. Last year, 1,109 out of 2,699 complaints involved defective products,” stated a CPU officer. It has been reported that customers face the problem of buying cell phones with a damaged battery or no spare parts.
Chedumbrum said that he has already given directives to the concerned authorities to ensure that all importers possess the necessary authorisation certificate. “Excess of everything is bad. If a person spends too much time on mobile, it may have an impact on his health. Now, if the product itself is defective, the damage will be much more,” he stressed.