Asserting your right as Christmas shopper

Not only is the customer always right. He also has the right to return or exchange the item he bought.

That’s one of the basic tenets of the Consumer Act. Yet few shoppers know it. Fewer still are shop owners who do. Section 2, Rule VI of the implementing rules and regulations of R.A. 7394 reads:

"Prohibition of the Words: "No Return, No Exchange." – The words "no return, no exchange," or any other words to such effect, shall not appear on any label or literature of a consumer product or on any receipt for the purchase of such product."

In the Christmas rush, shoppers are bound to make mistakes, like picking up the wrong item or going over budget. If this happens he can exchange the item for the right one, or return it for a refund. More so if the item has a hidden defect or the service is shoddy. Sellers who refuse face penalties: fine of P500 to P20,000 and/or imprisonment of three months to two years. They cannot insist that it is store policy. No store policy can be higher than the law. Otherwise, we’d have a situation where sellers can impose their own silly rules like, "once you touch it, you have to buy it" or "we shall not be responsible if this product explodes and burns your pretty little face."

There are few exceptions to the rule, like books being returned or exchanged several days after purchase. Bookstores need protection against naughty speed-readers. The store may refuse an exchange or return if the buyer tampered with the product or damaged it.

Some stores try to get around the rule by telling the shopper he can get another item or a refund alright, but only after two weeks. That is not allowed too. The DTI is aware that some shoppers are from out of town, and may not be able to come back on the appointed day. There is no hard and fast rule, but the guiding principle is reasonableness of both the seller and the shopper. Report any violation to the nearest Department of Trade and Industry office.

Speaking of fires, the DTI warns shoppers against substandard Christmas lights that can short and raze your house. Buy only the ones with the "PS" or "ICC" mark. Such marks mean that the DTI has tested the products for safety and durability.

Christmas lights are DTI-regulated products. Under the product certification scheme, the DTI’s Bureau of Product Standards requires manufacturers and importers to submit samples of their wares to the BPS Testing Center or any of its accredited laboratories. When the product passes the set of rules, it is given the Philippine Standard (PS) License if locally made, or Import Commodity Certification (ICC) if from abroad.

As of late Nov., the DTI gave the PS mark to only three local makers of Christmas lights: Frankwell Trading Manufacturing Phils. Inc. (brand name, Iluminada), Fuh Maw General Enterprises Inc. (Super Bright), and Wexford International Sales (Diamond Bright). Dozens of other brands-all from China-also got the ICC, but only upon testing of each shipment.

DTI also warns shoppers against rackets during the Christmas rush. Unscrupulous sellers mislabel products with false claims, or pass off defective items as good and new. Some pad purchases, whether cash or card. And there are those who pass off fake peso bills.

Always check the item carefully for defects. Or test it if in running condition, especially for electrical appliances or electronic gadgets. Ask for an official receipt. The law states that all items over P20 must be receipted. You’ll need it in case of return or exchange, or for VAT offsetting payments; the government needs it to collect sales taxes. Review the items being listed in the receipt for the correct tag price. And check if that crumpled or crispy peso change is the real thing.

The DTI admits that Christmas bazaars, baratillos and tianggês are tricky to regulate. These are transient and moveable. Some sellers, because they’re doing it only for the season or for charity, do not have official receipts from the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Those who sell foodstuffs may have no clearance from the Bureau of Food and Drugs. If possible, buy only from your friends. Or else, buy at your own risk.

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Christmas bazaars have sprouted in shopping malls, town squares, street corners. Sellers offer everything from trinkets to television sets, SIM cards to subdivision lots. Shoppers jostle for bargain prices. Sponsors vie for attention with à go-go dancers, raffle promos, Santa treats. Yuletide spending is in full swing everywhere-except in the one tianggê organized by no less than the Office of the President.

At the corner of EDSA and East Avenue, Quezon City, the GMArket Baratillo Fair is poorly lit, sullen and hardly visited. More than 300 stall occupants have each paid P2,500 reservation, plus monthly fee of the same amount and tent rental of P3,000 since Oct. (Gotcha, 26 Nov. 2003). But the fair has yet to be formally opened. Inauguration has been postponed four times.

Mostly sidewalk vendors driven off by Metro Manila authorities, the sellers were enticed into the GMArket by the prestige of the Office of the President. But the OP’s Office of the Presidential Assistant for Poverty Alleviation bungled up the job. In documents where Presidential Adviser Victor Domingo’s signature supposedly was forged, the OPAPA tapped a private firm to fix up the place with no public bidding and collect the fees with no official receipt.

Investigators reportedly have referred the case to the Malacañang legal office. But the stall occupants are wondering if, after borrowing capital for a supposed six-month fair, they were taken for a ride at the GMA tianggê.

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