JEDDAH, 11 December 2005 — When the price is wrong, city officials want to know.
To this end, a special committee consisting of representatives of the Ministry of Commerce and the Jeddah Municipality has set up a hotline for the public to report any unauthorized increase in the prices of consumer products.
Dr. Dhia Al-Othmani, director of markets at the municipality, said the special committee would conduct random inspections to ensure that retailers comply with pricing regulations.
He said consumers could call the toll-free number 800-124-1616 to report any violations.
The committee will immediately look into complaints and take prompt punitive action in cases where retailers were found guilty of price gouging.
Abdullah Al-Hamoudi of the Ministry of Commerce said the ministry’s officials were monitoring the markets around the clock. He said cases of violations of the pricing regulations would be transferred to the Ministry of Interior for action.
Abu Talal, a shopper, said he was happy to hear about the decision, but said he wishes the city had done something about this a long time ago. He suggested that the municipality publicize the phone number by displaying it in public places across the city.
Ahmed Abul Kalam, a sales clerk at a small shop, said they do not hike prices normally, but customers may perhaps notice a difference of half a riyal on a particular item if they compared with prices in big supermarkets.
