War on trade fraud intensified

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has approved the creation of 600 new jobs of inspectors at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to strengthen its fight against trade fraud and illegal practices.
“The creation of new jobs will help the ministry intensify its inspection of markets across the Kingdom to prevent foul play and unhealthy practices,” said Commerce and Industry Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah on Wednesday.
Al-Rabiah said 500 Saudis would be employed to inspect markets and 100 others to inspect companies. “The new jobs will strengthen the ministry’s monitoring regime and ensure a just business atmosphere,” he explained.
King Abdullah approved the appointment of 500 inspectors at the ministry three years ago, Al-Rabiah said, adding that it improved customer satisfaction over the ministry’s performance from 25 to 89 percent.
He said consumers were happy over the response of ministry inspectors toward their complaints and actions taken against illicit commercial practices. “There was a substantial increase in customer interaction with our monitoring system,” he pointed out.
Al-Rabiah said the number of complaints received by the ministry from customers rose by 33 percent this year compared to previous years. “The number of complaints we receive a single day is now more than those received in a month three years ago,” he added.
The ministry has intensified its market monitoring activities on the king’s directives to protect the interests of citizens and residents. “We impose stiff punishments on violators, whoever they may be.”
He said the ministry interacts directly with the public through the social media and toll-free number 920000667. “We have introduced a number of smart phone applications to help the public lodge their complaints quickly.”
The ministry has organized a number of campaigns to enlighten the public, organize the market and inform consumers about their rights.
They include the campaign against paying service fees at restaurants, forcing supermarkets to keep enough coins to pay changes of less than one riyal, and actions taken against those writing bad checks as well as campaigns against lottery and misleading advertisements.