The Consumer Protection Association (CPA) has noticed some variations in the prices of services provided by women’s workshops during Ramadan.

“A rise of more than 50 percent was recorded at tailoring workshops for dresses,” Nasser Al-Toam, chief executive of CPA, stated.

“The association has noticed some disparity as well in the price of men’s tailoring fabrics although the fabric itself is brought by the consumer and not provided by same shop,” he said, adding that other shops have refused tailoring fabrics brought from outside the shop.”

The association is addressing the shops familiar to it to inquire about the rise in prices. “They say this is because of the increase of workers’ wages. Shops also charge the consumer with high costs of the imported fabrics to yield extra revenues,” Al-Toam said.

He urged the Ministry of Commerce to conduct a thorough study on the men’s tailoring sector with a view to regulating and organizing it, and fix prices for fabrics and tailoring. “Shops must clearly list the prices for the benefit of consumers,” he stressed.

He explained that the coinciding of Eid Al-Fitr with the engagement and wedding season possibly caused the price increase. Nonetheless, the sector must be regulated with the cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce and the municipalities,” Al-Toam said.

“For the time being, the whole situation is left to the whims and fancies of merchants and their means to exploit consumers during such seasons,” he said.

According to him, the association received about 400 complaints from citizens against shops during the holy month. The current board of directors received 74,000 complaints, of which about 70 percent were amicably resolved.

He said the association spotted some fraudulent practices in terms of the replacement and refund policies. He added that some shops refuse to refund the low-priced items, and give the consumer a coupon with the same value instead.

“We are still facing this trend in our societies where people extensively shop for Eid all around the same time. This gives the opportunity to shops to take advantage of the situation and raise the prices of consumer goods,” Al-Toam said.

He explained that people have choices and alternatives to buy smartly and compare the prices.

Commenting on the agreement to fix prices, which the association signed with major stores before Ramadan, Al-Toam said: “This agreement helped in stabilizing the prices of the majority of goods and items, even in reducing the prices of some of them. Almost all the parties that signed the agreement were committed to it.”

He said the agreement had allowed for further competition among the shops, but nonetheless the prices of more than 30 items increased significantly.