ADVOCACY GROUP UNVEILS SCHOOLS FINACIAL SKILLS PROJECT

The Business Times Reporter

Friday; June 25th-July.1st.2010

A ONE-year project to raise the financial knowledge and capability for ten secondary schools in Ilala municipality in Dar-es-salaam was flagged off last month. The Tanzania Consumer Advocacy Society (TCAS), working in collaboration with Consumers International and Banked by the Anne Fransen Fund is undertaking that initiative to support teachers to be able to integrate consumer financial education in their teaching and outdoor activities to boost students’ ability to handle financial issues.
The picture above shows teachers following the session

The project is geared to impart teachers with the necessary consumer financial education topics and use this acquired skill by imparting it to students. That would make those leaving secondary school to be capable of handling matters, thus literate enough to participate in initiatives involving financial opportunities. They need to know where to go for help and to make informed choices, project officials said.

Bernard Kihiyo, executive director for TCAS, said in an interview last week that the project aims to improve students’ and teachers’ financial well being, by a better understanding and ability to manage risks, dealing with market complexity and increased credit sector competition. “That would help them to take part in building a sustainable finance sector in the country”, he said.

The project, ‘Teaching for financial education’, will encourage financial education in the selected school as entry point across the country, where it will also enable the recognition of well performing teachers, students and schools, he said.

The initiative challenges youth to take control of their financial future by learning more about personal finance, as well as teachers and schools to incorporate vital information and topics into day to day education activities. “The teaching kit describes key knowledge, understanding, skills and values in consumer and financial literacy that students can acquire through studies in commerce, bookkeeping, economics, and accounts”. The director noted that.

Those benefiting from the project are Al-Haramain secondary school, Azania secondary school, Benjamin Mkapa secondary school, Dar es salaam secondary school, Jangwani secondary school, Kisutu girls’ secondary school, Mchanganyiko secondary school, Mnazi Mmoja secondary school, Tambaza secondary school and Zanaki girls secondary school.

Kihiyo said that the initiatives is basically aimed at developing skills in financial education and build on consumer financial literacy which is still low in the country compared with other countries in the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern Africa Development Community(SADC).

The director, who heads Parasol Real Estate & Developer Agent Ltd, said that there is growing concern on violations of consumer rights, rising consumer debt, reduced household savings, lower Pension and retirement coverage.

There is also a problem of low levels of financial literacy and basic skills, negative charges in the marketing and delivery of financial services with increased reliance on alternative financial services under informal systems, he said.

Growing concern was also being registered on changes in the delivery of government services and benefits, he said, arguing that all these features show the rising importance of the provision of financial education. “This would help to increase the financial capability of consumers, in this case secondary school students”, he further noted.

On the left is a group picture of teachers participated on the two days training

THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH… IT SHOULDN’T RESULT TO PREDATORY GAME

By Jehovaness Zacharia- LLB (Hon) UDSM -TCAS Program Officer

Past years till 1980s, Tanzanians communicated through letters and messengers, almost every office had a messenger who was there to be sent from one office to another, staff collogues could communicate through short written messages known as memos. From memo we developed and start using desktop phones. Thanks to globalization which brought us development including cellular phones which has became the cheapest mean of communication that is easier and faster.

This has well developed business sectors whereby one can easily make communications wherever he is and move on the business. It has even go further to roaming service whereupon cross boarders businessmen who can move from Tanzania to other countries with the same chip card and recharge with the local vouchers.

Increase on the number of service providers in this sector has necessitated intensive competition amongst players resulting to decrease on tariff charges. But…there is a say that, there is no free lunch, that is to say when one gives you something freely, it is not free indeed, there must be the other way s/he is going to get back whatever he has spent on you. Practice shows that what s/he gets back is in most cases greater than what he had spent on you.

In capitalism and trade liberalization, “predatory pricing” is not a new phenomenon. And it has always been the duty of the government-Competition Commission, Service providers and Civil Societies to ensure that there are healthy checks and balances and fair competition not to amount to malpractices. The enactment of Fair Competition Act 2003 (FCA) which put in place Fair Competition Commission (FCC) put in place the checks and balances for Tanzania.

Currently, all telecommunication companies struggle to conquer the market share, we have witness amazing lower prices never experience before. It started from 30Tshs to 10Tshs, 6Tsh per sec to 3Tsh to 1Tsh per sec few days ago we heard 0.50Tsh per second, and now enjoying below 25cents per second.

We may all be happy with the astounding offers and forget to think of our future as consumers of these important services which might be at stake. One may view this in form of predatory pricing or cartel which is a form of anti-competitive arrangement that occurs when a group of firms or companies agree to fix prices, shape geographic markets between themselves or jointly determine other market experience.

But due to lack of experience in combating predatory and cartel activities in most of developing countries Tanzania being among them, most of predatory and cartel activities go un-noticed. Under these practices, one or few service providers may sacrifice to go below company’s overhead costs for a certain period whereby, during this time, the dominant firm will keep surviving while others will not and therefore withdraw themselves out of the market as they cannot sustain the predatory pricing war.

Similar situation was experienced by Namibians who in couple of years back were celebrating the lowest cement price in history. The cement market dominancy were between Holcim, a South African company and Cheetah a Brazilian which imported cement from Brazil with the intention of building cement industry in near future.

When Cheetah got into market the price of 50kg cement bag was US8$, soon it went down to US4.5$per 50kg bag, in 2006, it went down to US3.5$per 50kg bag. At the end of the same year Cheetah could not sustain its activities in Namibia and ended its operation whereas Holcim become the sole cement provider whereby they later made an extraordinary change of price from USD 3.5 to US9.5$ per 50kg bag. Therefore Tanzania Consumers and all other key stakeholders including TCRA and FCC need to be on alert as this shouldn’t be the case on telecommunication industry, since not all what glitters is gold.

With the ongoing so called “promotions” by some of the telecommunication companies in Tanzania, a thorough immediate check on is required to ensure that they do not amount to go below recovering their overhead cost or ending up with anti-competitive practices. TCAS therefore calls upon professionals, academicians and relevant government organs to check on this and ensure service provider survival and consumer protection guaranteed.

Tanzania Consumer Advocacy Society (TCAS) wouldn’t wish to see incumbent operators with dominant market position are pushing other mobile phone companies out of the market and later the hunter (consumer) turns to be the hunted. The more the players in the market the better as it gives consumers a wide range of choices.

World Economic Forum for Africa : any real, long-term gains for Africa, Tanzania?

Friday, 07 May 2010 08:46
BY ERIC TOROKA
TODAY, May 7, 2010, one of the more important events in Tanzania's post-Independence history comes to a close in the nation's de facto capital and commercial metropolis Dar es Salaam. For three days beginning May 5, Tanzania was the cynosure of world attention as the capital bustled with activity generated by the 20th World Economic Forum for Africa (WEF-Africa), the first to be staged in the region.

Most of the past 19 events were staged in the Republic of South Africa. This latest event brought together about 1,000 participants from 85 different countries of the world to the scenic Mlimani City Business Complex on the outskirts of sprawling Dar es Salaam where they deliberated upon, and rethought, Africa's social and economic growth strategy.

The Forum was graced by a myriad dignitaries who included a goodly dozen Heads of State and/or Government, as well as scores of public officials and world business leaders of considerable renown.

The event was organised by WEF, a task in which it was ably partnered by – among others – ABB, CITI, ArcelorMittal, CISCO, Dow's, KPMG, Ernst & Young, Microsoft, HP and UNILEVER.

It is still very much early days yet to know with much certitude what impact the Forum will have upon Africa and its nearly-one-billion people – or upon Tanzania and its 44 million population...

But, activists are already saying that the country will not particularly benefit from this Forum – or, indeed any other for a in the foreseeable future, citing a number of reasons for that gloomy view.

For starters, they glumly note that, more than 40 years after the 'Mother WEF' was launched in Davos, Switzerland – and 20 years after the African Edition of the event was introduced – Tanzania is yet to make its mark upon the WEF Map!

Not a single company from Tanzania is among the 300 or so leading companies from over 50 countries which have been formally admitted into the WEF fold as 'family' of the first water!

The selection criteria for WEF membership are yet to be attained by any company in Tanzania. For instance, to be eligible for consideration, a company must register – and be seen to register – an “annual growth rate exceeding industry-and-regional average by 15 per cent; minimum turnover of between US$100 million and US$5 billion (depending on the industry); demonstrated growth potential, capacity and intent to build a global business; as well as exemplary executive leadership.”

WEF membership 'earns' a company the right to enjoy the following opportunities and benefits... “New business opportunities across industries and regions from weak and dependent economies such as Tanzania; networking with the world’s leading business and policy experts; peer-to-peer collaboration and experience exchange, as well as industry-specific and cross-industry knowledge sharing.”

Commenting on the matter, the chairman of the Tanzania Consumer Advocacy Society (TCAS), Daimon Mwakyembe, wondered “how many Tanzanian firms can be classified into the above criteria – especially with regard to turnover?

“How well-prepared are Tanzanian companies to use the world market potentials that are available...? Or, how vulnerable is Tanzania to being used by other global industries with maximum quest to expand? How prepared are Tanzanians, and Tanzanian firms, in this? Are there any deliberate efforts to empower them?”

Mwakyembe said “there must be deliberate efforts in ten-twenty years to come to have self-made Tanzanian billionaires in US dollars, so as to enable them enter into joint ventures in Tanzania and all over the world... This is what WEF is all about!”

Noting that “deliberate moves must be made to have a stable middle class with a lifestyle, education levels and social etiquette with strong ethical consumerism in mind,” Mwakyembe said “this culture – if it can adopted – could improve the quality of our people, build our brand and have our billionaires in USD who can drive the world economy as per 'World Economic Forum' visionary principals... But, as of now, Tanzania is here only to provide new business opportunities for the existing WEF members!”

But, this is not for lack of natural endowments, the Chairman stated...

“Tanzania has quite a unique number of strong assets to be taken as comparative advantage vis-a-vis other countries in Africa and the world,” Mwakyembe says.

“Tanzania is said to have peace and stability; abundant natural resources; stable macroeconomic performance; a good fiscal regime – and, lately, improved infrastructure facilities connecting all parts of Tanzania...

“The three major ports of Dar es Salaam, Tanga and Mtwara function as hubs for traffic emanating from, and destined to, the landlocked neighbouring countries of Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Zambia, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),” he said.

Moreover, “Tanzania is not a unique investment destination without its own resources... How best can these resources be tapped and used for the benefit of Tanzanians – and investors in general?

“This is purely a policy issue. I do advise our Government to make a provision for investors to partner with Tanzanians – both individuals and companies – in joint ventures. The Government and private sector companies need to mobilize their own internal resources to stimulate short- and long-term development of our resources,” he stressed.

For his part, the executive director of the Consumer Society (TCAS), Bernard Kihiyo, said “Tanzania beyond WEF should be changing its mindset regarding the responsibility and ownership of our own development.

“The situation we have adopted for now will not get us anywhere. Lack of self-confidence is apparently one of the greatest problems facing Tanzanians today. A survey conducted upon one thousand students from five Tanzanian Universities sought to establish their most difficult personal problem.

“Eighty five per cent listed 'lack of confidence' as the greatest stumbling block for them. It can safely be assumed that the case is the same for an equally large proportion of the general population,” Kihiyo stated.

“Everywhere you go, you encounter people – be they politicians, workers, farmers, men and women – who are inwardly afraid; who shrink from life; who suffer from a deep sense of inadequacy and insecurity; who doubt their own powers and capacity. Deep within themselves, they mistrust their ability to meet responsibilities – or to grasp opportunities!”

An economist by profession, Kihiyo said “Tanzanians are always beset by the vague and sinister fear that something is not going to be quite right. They don’t believe they have it in them to be what they what to be – and, so, they try to make themselves content with something less than that of which they are capable... And in most cases, such frustration of powerlessness is unnecessary.”

According to Kihiyo, “Tanzania’s entire education system, as well as Government institutions, civil societies and politicians, should work toward building confidence in Tanzanians. The Government should stop preaching the 'dependence approach' so as to remove the growing dependency attitude, overcome the inadequacy attitude, avoid superficial solutions, and work on speed and quantitative expansion while ignoring quality!

“To that end, the government will have to work with strategic partners such as WEF – but only for stronger reasons i.e. technology transfer, cross-industry knowledge sharing and the like.

“We have to seriously work on promoting intellectual engagement and innovation, to catalyze links between industry and universities which intend to help expand industry through creative innovation, to support all self-groomed talents and innovation...

“This is so as to provide a soul of the nation’s advancement and the everlasting driving power of national prosperity. We don’t have this for now; it might sound childish... But it is very important for Tanzania in order to be competitive,” he concluded

Source; http://www.businesstimes.co.tz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=93:world-economic-forum-for-africa-any-real-long-term-&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

How Care-free Attitude is Source of Consumer Woes

Speak no evil, How unquestioning attitude of Tanzania consumers is source of shoddy services
By Sharifa Kalokola

When Nicodemus Masanji, 50, discovered that he had bought a fake pesticide for his crops, he felt hopeless. For weeks, he watched helplessly as his once fertile three-acre cotton field in Geita District was reduced to worthless grassland.

“I don’t understand what really happened because it was the same pesticide that I have been using for years, except that this time it worked against me,” says Masanji. A month before he bought the pesticide at a local dealership last year, he had a promising cotton yield.

But all was gone in a flash. “The pesticide was fake, but there was nothing I could do about it,” notes the former farmer, who is now selling second hand clothes and Chinese sandals he orders from Kariakoo.

Masanji is disillusioned with the process of seeking recourse against the trader for the losses he incurred. Like the majority of Tanzanian consumers, he sees his case as something “that happens”. He argues: “Even if I were to complain, who would listen to me? Going to court will waste your time and money.”

A recent study conducted by the Tanzania Consumer Advocacy society (TCAS) shows that over 90 per cent of Tanzanians are not aware of their consumer rights.

The majority of the victims cited in the study did not know they had the legal right to demand compensation for market abuses.

And according to the study that was conducted in five regions - Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, Coast, Arusha and Mwanza – most of the affected are women.

“Many people do not know when their consumer rights are violated, and the few who seem to understand do not file complaints against their service providers with relevant authorities,” Bernard Kihiyo the Executive Director of TCAS says.

The study is part of a baseline survey aimed at assessing the extent of the problem, he adds, noting that there are plans to establish a non-governmental organisation to protect consumers from shoddy services, as well as fake and risky products.

Uncritical “We have a lot of work to do to convince local consumers to know their rights, and seek recourse with relevant authorities when their rights have been violated,” he says.

Generally, the idea of complaining against shoddy services or when one discovers that they have bought a fake or dangerous product is not common among local consumers.

“A lot of people tend to be uncritical when it comes to what kind of service or product they get from a supplier,” says Kihiyo. The problem is rampant in the hospitality sector, where most hotels tend to take advantage of ‘uncomplaining customers’ to get away with shoddy services.

“It begins with the belief among too many people that they are at the mercy of providers of services – ironically, here the supplier is given the status of benefactor, or a boss who is supposed to be feared,” observes Andrew Chove, a Dar es Salaam hotel manager.

Several cases of people who are hospitalised after consuming toxic foods or buying fake or expired drugs remain with the victims.

In January this year, over 40 people from two families were admitted to Maweni hospital in Kigoma Region after eating poisoned food. They told the police that they started feeling unwell after having ‘ugali’ for lunch.

Both families had earlier bought maize flour from the same shop. The incident brought back memories of the tragedy that struck Kagunga Village in the same region 10 years ago when 10 people died after eating ugali prepared from poisonous cassava flour. ‘Talking to deaf ears’

There are more similar cases that go unreported. Ms Blandina Ilas, a chef with a Dar es Salaam hotel, says she is still recovering from the side effects of a prescribed malaria drug she bought from a local hospital pharmacy but was not told it contained sulphur, which she is allergic to.

“What I fail to understand is that I bought this from a pharmacy in the same hospital that I had been admitted, and these people could not read the prescription or medical report to see what allergies I have,” says the 32-year-old.

However, she didn’t report the case or file a complaint, even after she was readmitted to the same institution and paid extra costs.

“I don’t believe complaining would have changed much because in most cases you will be talking to deaf ears, and they usually do nothing,” she says.

But consumer rights group, TCAS, says the problem is not simply with providers of services. “When a case is presented to us we fight for the consumer, but we have noted that people don’t complain even in worst-case situations,” notes Mr Kihiyo.

In addition, the TCAS boss blames widespread complacency among Tanzanian consumers on socialism.

According to him, nobody would dare complain against shoddy services during the era of socialism because the government was the sole supplier and distributors of most goods and services.

“Everything was under state control, and it was inconceivable for an ordinary person to complain against a government service provider; apparently, the majority Tanzanians are yet to shed this culture in this free market economy.”

But Dr Semboja Haji, an economic researcher at the University of Dar es Salaam, does not see it that way. He blames the complacency on lack of competition in several sectors. “The problem of consumers fearing to speak out and demanding their rights is not just in Tanzania, but also in many poor nations,” he says, adding:

“We still have fewer service providers in many areas compared to the high number of consumers, who are mostly uneducated.” Corroborating, Dr Fortunatus Sunghwa, a laboratory scientist who lived in Japan for two years, says in the developed world where competition is high “the consumer’s voice is heard.”

“The services there are almost perfect, except that sometimes you encounter long queues on two open counters instead of, say, five available.” A programme officer with TCAS, Jehovaness Zacharia, attributes the “see no evil, say no evil” attitude among most local consumers to their “quest for cheap products and services.”

“Most people want to buy the cheapest thing they can lay their hands on, and at the end it doesn’t come that cheap,” she notes. However, she says the consumer body will use this year’s World Consumer Rights Day tomorrow (March 15), to highlight the rights of consumers; lobby support for those rights to be respected and protected and provides a forum for exposing the market abuses and social
injustices, which undermine those rights.

“This year, our theme is: 'Our Money, Our Rights', and the message we want people to get is that they have both the right to go for cheaper items and to bring up any form of market abuse that undermines their rights,” she says.

http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/sunday-citizen/38-sunday-magazine/715-how-carefree-attitude-is-source-of-consumer-woes

Consumer Rights Directive might not feature UK right to reject, says Reding

OUT-LAW News, 15/03/2010
The European Commissioner's consumer law chief has promised a 'breakthrough' on plans for a new Europe-wide consumer law but has said that existing UK rights cannot be safeguarded.

The Commission's proposed Consumer Rights Directive faced opposition in the UK because the process of harmonising law across the EU actually reduced UK consumers' rights to reject goods.

Vivian Reding, EU Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, who is responsible for consumer law, said that she plans to resurrect the Directive.

"This legislation needs to be the cornerstone for consumer protection in the Single Market in the coming years," she said. "It is therefore my priority to work with the European Parliament and Member State governments to make a breakthrough on this important legislation. The proposed law must balance businesses' need for legal certainty with a guarantee for the highest level of consumer protection."

eding said that while she would address the problem of an erosion of consumer rights in some countries, such as the UK, it may not be possible to protect existing rights, and that the remedies for defective goods that UK consumers are guaranteed might not form a part of an eventual EU-wide law.

"The relationship between the consumer remedies and the national contract law remedies is not always clear," she said. "In the UK, there is a right to reject a product. In France, consumers can have a guarantee for hidden defects in a product. These are typical examples. I do not yet know whether the prospect of achieving full harmonisation of all the remedies for defective products is realistic."

"Full harmonisation of these cross-border rights means that EU countries may have to adjust some national rules that go further than the proposal," she said. "This has led to concerns among Member States, consumer organisations and European Parliament members that the level of protection would decline and that consumers would be worse off. There are also concerns that full harmonisation makes consumer protection inflexible and curtails the national legislators' ability to react quickly and appropriately to new market developments."

"These are legitimate concerns, and I will address them. In my view, consistently basing the proposal on the most stringent rules that already exist in the 27 Member States is not necessarily the most proportionate way to help consumers," she said.
Reding said that one way to address the complex issues would be to introduce two-tier regulation, differentiating between different kinds of consumer sales.

"I am … going to look at whether the harmonisation in the Commission's 2008 proposal is sufficiently targeted towards those issues that have the most benefit from a Single Market point of view," she said. "A possibility could be to go for fully harmonised rules on distance contracts and allow diverging national rules for face-to-face contracts. Workable fully harmonised rules for the online world could then pave the way for more harmonisation for off-line contracts at a later stage."

The Directive which Reding wants to put back on the political negotiating table was controversial in the UK and is still opposed by UK consumer rights body Consumer Focus.

"Hopefully it won’t progress in anything like its current form," Lola Bello, senior policy advocate at Consumer Focus, said last month. "Along with other nations with strong consumer rights, the UK has been lobbying hard for changes to this Directive."

Government legal reform bodies the Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission were asked to examine the issue last year and advised the Government to oppose the abolition of the right to reject.

UK Market Abuse “Unacceptably High”, Says Financial Watchdog Chief

Jennifer Thompson
Hector Sants, chief executive of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), has said that market abuse in the financial services sector is at an “unacceptably high level.”

Although he said that there was no evidence abuse was worse in the UK than in other major financial centres, he called for more action in tackling the problems of insider dealing and other examples of malpractice.

"Our benchmark should seek to have a market that participants really believe to be clean and fair," Mr Sants told the Sunday Telegraph. "I think that if you were to ask the market participants, they would share my view that there is too much market abuse," the former investment banker added.

The FSA is set to increase its workforce with an extra 460 members of staff, taking the total number to 3,700. The increase in employees, whose roles are expected to be elaborated on in an FSA strategy paper later this week, underlines the more proactive role the organization wishes to play in regulating the UK financial services industry.

Last week it announced the successful prosecution of a former employee at stockbroker Cazenove who was found guilty of insider dealing. An investment banker and his wife were today charged with insider dealing with the FSA currently seeking the extradition of a third suspect in the French overseas territory of Mayotte.

Source; - http://www.newstatesman.com/...and.../financial-services-market - United Kingdom

Know Your Consumer Rights: 10 Top Tips

Posted by Ally Seleman Goronya
1st.March.2010
The following are 10 top tips when shopping
1. Not my style: You might be surprised to learn that, if you buy something in a shop, you do not have the right to a refund if you later decide you do not like it.

2. Six month rule: It’s worth being aware that if you make a claim for the repair or replacement of faulty goods within six months of purchasing them, it is actually up to the retailer to prove the item was not faulty when it was originally sold to you.

3. No receipt required: Contrary to popular belief, you do not actually need a receipt to obtain a refund for faulty goods. What you are likely to need is proof of purchase – but a bank statement, cheque stub or credit card slip should be sufficient.

4. Online is fine: If you buy goods over the internet, you have the right to a seven-day ‘cooling off period’ from the date they are received. You can send your items back in return for a full refund, no matter why you have rejected them – and even if it’s because you have simply changed your mind.

5. Returning items to a retailer: When you buy something, your ‘contract’ is always with the retailer, not the manufacturer. Therefore, you should always take a faulty item back to the shop where you originally purchased it.

6. Fit for purpose: Any goods you buy from a retailer should be fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality. If they are not, you are legally entitled to claim for a refund, repair or replacement.
7. Act quickly: If your goods are faulty and you wish to claim a full refund, you must return them to the retailer within a reasonable period of time.

8. Smarter sales shopping: You are not entitled to a refund on sale goods if you were made aware by the retailer that the goods were faulty or if the fault you are concerned about was obvious at the time of purchase. Also, if you decide you no longer like the goods, you are not entitled to a refund.

9. Nearly new: If you buy ‘nearly new’ second hand items, your rights to a refund, repair or replacement are similar to those you would have for new goods. However, the law will not expect second hand goods to be of the same quality as brand new ones.

10. Stick up for your rights: If a retailer is failing to acknowledge or respond to your consumer rights and you live in England or Wales, you can file a claim against with the small claims court (provided your claim is for under £5,000).

Source;
http://www.which.co.uk/news/2010/03/10-crucial-consumer-rights-facts--204877Consumer rights guides

It's National Consumer Protection Week in USA

March 7-13 is National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) 2010. It's a week the government will devote to providing free resources and information to better inform consumers how and where to spend their money.

President Obama's "Presidential Proclamation" in a March 5 White House Press Release explained that NCPW "gives all Americans an opportunity to become better-informed consumers."

From the president's proclamation:
"I call upon government officials, industry leaders, and consumer advocates across our Nation to share information about consumer protection; and I encourage all Americans to learn more about marketing and business, whether they are shopping at their local store or in the global online marketplace."

Obama said his administration is committed to protecting American consumers. Because of that, he signed into law the CARD Act, which went into effect last month, and he also recently established the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability, "which is looking for new ways to help individuals make informed financial decisions," according to the press release.

CONSUMERS ''UNAWARE'' OF RIGHTS TO RETURN ONLINE GOODS

Despite online purchases accounting for 10% of total retail sales, UK consumers are unaware of their right to return goods, a government survey shows. Consumers are unaware of additional online shopping rights.
UK consumers may be the biggest online shoppers in Europe, but we are less inclined to return goods bought via the internet than those purchased on the high street, research reveals today.

A survey for the government found that more than 60% of shoppers were less likely to take back goods purchased online, compared with items purchased direct from shops.

Tellingly, consumers also showed their ignorance and confusion about their legal rights for both types of purchase when it comes to refunds. Many did not realise, for example, that those buying online had the extra right of a seven-day cooling-off period.

UK consumers are ranked as Europe's biggest online shoppers, having spent £38bn last year, which accounts for 10% of total UK retail sales.
The research was carried out by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills for a Know Your Rights campaign run by the government-funded Consumer Direct.

It found that three-quarters (77%) of UK consumers did not know there were differences between online and high street consumer rights, while more than one in 10 (13%) admitted to not being sure of their consumer rights when making online purchases.

The consumer minister, Kevin Brennan, said: "It is important we all know that most online goods can be returned with no questions asked within seven days. We want confident consumers who can assert their rights and get a good deal."

The survey revealed that consumers were just as confused when shopping on the high street. Two-fifths thought that retailers always had a right to refuse a refund if they didn't have a receipt, and one in 10 believed goods could not be returned once they have left the store.

Michele Shambrook, operations manager for Consumer Direct, said: "We want consumers to be more confident when shopping on the high street or online. People who are knowledgeable about their rights are more likely to get a fair deal, save money and resolve problems when things go wrong."

Consumer rights: top tips
1. If you buy goods on the internet you have the same rights as if you were shopping on the high street. In addition, you have the right to a seven-day cooling-off period from the date you receive the goods, with the right to a full refund regardless of the reason for return. However, this doesn't apply in some situations, for example if the goods were personalised for you, were perishable, or are not in the same condition as when they were delivered.

2. When you buy goods your contract is with the retailer not the manufacturer, and you should always go back to the retailer in the first instance to request an exchange or refund. If you have a manufacturer's warranty you can contact them as well as the retailer. And don't delay – act as soon as you discover the fault.

3. You do not need a receipt to obtain a refund for faulty goods. However, you may be required to show proof of purchase with a credit card slip or bank or credit card statement.

4. Although you do not have the legal right to take back goods bought on the high street just because you have changed your mind, many stores do offer a "no questions asked" refund or exchange policy. Check the store policy when you buy.

SOURCE; Telegraph.co.uk

ONLINE BANK FRAUD DOUBLES IN TWO YEARS IN UK

By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Editor
Published: 7:30AM GMT 10 Mar 2010
Online banking fraud has doubled in the last two years, with customers losing £60 million from criminals last year. Official figures from the trade body UK Payments Association indicated that online banking fraud increased to £59.7 million last year. This was an 18 per cent increase on the year before and more than a doubling since 2007 when there were £22.6 million of losses.

As more and more consumers are persuaded to go online by their banks, criminals have followed them. Most of the fraud has happened by criminals – usually based overseas – attacking consumers' computers without their knowledge.

The most common technique is for criminals to install malware into a consumers' computer – a piece of software that can sense a users' keystrokes. This means that a criminal, despite sitting on the other side of the world, can tell the password and account number of an online bank account that a customer is typing in.

Malware is installed invariably without the consumers' knowledge when they click on a link to a website or an attachment to an email.
Graham Cluley, a leading expert on internet fraud at Sophos, a security firm, said: "Every day we see 50,000 new pieces of malware from around the world coming into our labs. The criminals are always creating new, ever more sophisticated ways of attacking people's computers."

The figures were published alongside data indicating that credit card fraud fell significantly last year, thanks to chip and pin technology and more secure retail websites. The padlock system and "verified by Visa" scheme, which requires shoppers to tap in a password when paying for items on a website, helped overall card fraud fall from £610 million to £440 million.

Despite the fall, this still equates to £10 for every adult in the country. The UK Payments Association said it remained concerned about the increase in online banking fraud. As bank branches close, banks are persuading consumers to opt for online banking, which costs less for the banks to operate. The number of customers that use online bank accounts has increased from 15 million in 2005 to 22 million last year.

David Cooper, chairman of the fraud control steering group, the payment industry’s leading fraud prevention group, said: "The industry remains committed to containing and reducing all areas of fraud. To this end, we will continue our partnership approach – working with law enforcement, retailers, consumers and the Home Office – to tackle fraud head-on.”

Source; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/banking/7405586/Online-bank-fraud-doubles-in-two-years.html?utm_source=tmg&utm_medium=TD_fraud&utm_campaign=pf1003pm

Calls for regulation on traditional Chinese medicines - UK

UK PRESS
An Old Bailey judge has called for new regulation on traditional Chinese medicines as a "doctor" who sold cancer-causing pills walked free from court. Ying "Susan" Wu sold the tiny brown "Xie Gan Wan" tablets to Patricia Booth for more than five years from a shop in Chelmsford, Essex. Mrs Booth, 58, began taking the pills three times a day to treat a skin condition but they ended up destroying her kidneys and giving her cancer.

But Judge Jeremy Roberts ruled that, as the sale of traditional Chinese medicines was totally unregulated, there was no evidence that Wu knew of the potential harm.

The judge threw out a charge of "administering a noxious substance" against the 48-year-old, of Holland-on-Sea, Essex, and she pleaded guilty to five lesser counts and was given a two-year conditional discharge.

Giving his ruling he said: "It is an unfortunate fact that there is no system in this country to regulate Chinese herbal medicine retailers like Ms Wu by requiring them to be registered with an appropriate professional body or trade association.

"Somebody like Ms Wu is entitled to set up shop as a herbal medicine retailer and to operate entirely unsupervised.There may be a gap in our law here which the Government might wish to address."

The court heard that Mrs Booth took the medicine, which she bought from the Chinese Herbal Medical Centre in Chelmsford, from February 1997 to November 2002. She said she believed it was a "safe and natural alternative" to the antibiotics she had previously been taking for her skin condition - and which she feared could damage her long-term health.A months after she stopped taking the Chinese pills, she was taken seriously ill and had to undergo an urgent blood transfusion.

An analysis of the pills showed they contained a banned substance, aristolochic acid. Her health deteriorated to such an extent that her kidneys were "destroyed" and she had to have them removed, she contracted urinary tract cancer, and she later suffered a heart attack.

The Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine, which represents more than 450 practitioners, said the case highlighted "the urgent need for the statutory regulation of herbal medicine in the UK".

Source; http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hxjPS1wJu0UH_xzBY-IsioYSt9og

Ouestion to Ask ourselves
What is the current situation regarding the above in Tanzania ? kindly discuss

Millions of Britons Losing Money on Savings

The Telegraph-UK
Millions of savers are losing money by putting their cash into a savings account due to poor investment returns and the increasing cost of living, it has been disclosed. Savers are suffering despite Barclays, Britain third-largest bank, reporting profits of £11.6 billion for 2009.

Rising inflation is eroding the spending power of savers’ cash and, combined with historically low interest rates, is leaving them with less money than when they started. Savers have already been badly hit by shrinking rates of return following Bank of England interest rates dropping to 0.5 per cent.

But the jump in inflation to 3.5 per cent, released in official figures yesterday, came as a fresh blow to hard-pressed pensioners and those trying to live off their savings. Politicians and financial experts said it will leave millions of savers "devastated".

With the consumer prices index rising to 3.5 per cent, basic rate taxpayers now need to earn a rate of 4.38 per cent on their savings before they begin to see a real return, while higher rate tax payers need to earn 5.83 per cent.

But with typical rates on a no notice savings account dropping to 0.02 per cent to 0.73 per cent in the past month, it means basic rate taxpayers are losing the equivalent of 2.92 per cent a year, with higher rate tax payers losing 3.06 per cent, according to the figures from personal finance statisticians Moneyfacts.

Just two accounts out of a total of 1,101 savings accounts produce a real rate of return for higher tax payers once tax and inflation are taken into account. However, these accounts are only for regular savers and not for those with a lump sum to invest, according to the data produced exclusively for The Daily Telegraph. And total of only 52 accounts produce a real return for basic rate taxpayers.
S
avers are suffering despite Barclays, Britain’s third-largest bank, reporting profits of £11.6 billion for 2009 and speculation that the excessive bonus culture is returning to the City. Vince Cable of the Liberal Democrats, said: “Negative real interest rates are a killer for savers.

“It will not make it possible for Britain to switch from being a nation that is excessively in debt to a society based on prudent saving.” Darren Cook, a spokesman for Moneyfacts said: “Each month, inflation is cutting deeper into people’s spending power and lower savings interest rates are creating an even bitterer pill to swallow.

“Those who are relying on their savings pot to subsidise other income are seeing their savings being eroded. “Savers are hoping that this is just a short spike in inflation, but will lead to further aggravating issues if inflation does not fall as quickly as it is going up.”

David Black, a banking expert at personal finance researchers Defaqto, said: “Those reliant on savings interest to supplement inadequate income will be devastated by this double whammy of rising inflation and low interest rates.” The Consumer Prices Index, the Government’s preferred measure of inflation, jumped to a 14-month high of 3.5 per cent last month, the Office for National Statistics disclosed.

The rise was blamed on the return of Value Added Tax to 17.5 per cent. The Government had previously reduced VAT to 15 per cent on a temporary basis until last month to try to boost consumer spending and ease the recession. The Retail Prices Index – which includes the cost of mortgages and housing - also rose sharply in January to 3.7 per cent.

Economists said the rise in inflation increases the prospect that the Bank of England will maintain the Bank Rate its current level. Howard Archer, an economist at Global Insight said: “When interest rates finally do start to rise the increases are likely to be gradual.”

Individual Savings Accounts offer an additional small glimmer of hope for basic rate taxpayers, but there is nothing available to higher rate taxpayers. National Savings & Investments offer three and five year Index Linked Certificates that are tax free and pay 1 per cent above RPI inflation.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

UK Government invests £4.3m in crackdown on Cyber Crime

By Warwick Ashford
Monday 15 February 2010
The government is to invest £4.3m to fight criminals who use e-mails and websites to con UK consumers out of £3.5bn a year. Some 73% of adults in the UK received a scam e-mail and three million consumers were victims of online scams in the past year, according to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

The money will be invested over three years in an OFT specialist cyber enforcement team to fight online crime and restore consumer confidence in online shopping. Some of the money will also be used to provide funding for Trading Standards.

The government's Digital Britain Report published in June 2009 highlighted the need to ensure consumers are protected and confident when shopping online."Our investment will help the OFT and Trading Standards to put in place new specialist teams, training and technology to take the fight to these criminals," said consumer minister Kevin Brennan. The OFT team has begun training with an international expert, working in a new laboratory with specialist equipment to support the OFT's enforcement work.

The government initiative will also see new highly trained Trading Standards enforcers with specialist equipment in England, Scotland and Wales. Enforcers will focus on fake products and traders, counterfeit ticket sales and scam websites aimed at duping consumers into paying for

"The enforcement team will be looking at the activities of a wide range of commercial websites and taking action in cases where consumer rights are abused," said Heather Clayton, senior director for the OFT. The OFT will coordinate which enforcer is best placed to take action on a particular issue and will focus on the most serious cyber scams.

Where appropriate, cases will be passed on to the Police Central eCrime Unit and the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, as well as the Companies Investigations Branch of the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS).

Source; http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2010/02/15/240299/Government-invests-1634.3m-in-crackdown-on-cybercrime.htm

Tanzania: financial reforms fail on consumer protection

From the Business Times issue of Friday, 27 November 2009 11:51
By MNAKU MBANI & ERIC TOROKA

ALTHOUGH Tanzania has taken major efforts to reform the banking and financial institutions sector over the last two decades, the issue of consumer protection has remained virtually untouched by the 'reforms.'

This situation has led to increasing abuse of good business practices by many of the financial institutions and banks, as well as a singular lack of fairness and transparency in dealing with customers.

"The providers of financial services in Tanzania need to understand that, as long as they continue to gain unfairly from their customers.... they are nonetheless sowing the seeds of their own destruction...," said Daimon Mwakyembe, chairman of the Tanzania Consumer Advocacy Society (TCAS).

Presenting a paper recently on 'The Quality of Financial Services: a Critique From Consumers' Perspective,' Mwakyembe cited as an example of bad practice the banks and financial institutions which “have continued to overcharge consumers in terms of fees, interest rates and commissions – while others reject low income consumers out of hand as 'unbankable.'”

The occasion was a forum organized by the Government Controller & Auditor-General (CAG) in the nation's commercial capital, Dar es Salaam.

TCAS is a private, voluntary nongovernmental, non-partisan and nonprofit making organization that was registered as a company limited by guarantee in July 2007 under the Companies Act of 2002 (Chapter 212 of the Laws of Tanzania).

The Society’s mission is to provide an advocacy platform that would make consumers' voices heard, raise consumers' awareness of their rights, build consumers' ability to claim their rights, as well as make markets accountable and more responsive to consumers' needs and interests.

Observers say most of the banks and financial institutions operating in Tanzania siphon billions of shillings off their customers as a matter of course. This is partly because
of the latter's ignorance of their rights and dues, and partly because the reforms and extant legislation are silent on the matter.

Mwakyembe – who is a former director-general of the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) – said despite the reforms, fairness and transparency in the treatment of customers is not always ensured... And lack of capability on the part of customers is still being exploited negatively.

As a result, there is no mechanisms on how to curb abusive business practices by financial institutions at the national and international levels, and which adversely affect consumers.

Mwakyembe suggested that the (central) Bank of Tanzania and other relevant authorities need to urgently review the extant financial regulatory policies and legislation. The main objective this time should be to ensure that they – among things – reflect a wide view of consumer protection on ensuring proper business conduct.

It is noted that the Bank of Tanzania, which has the mandate to supervise the banking and financial industry as a whole, has no straightforward consumer protection guidelines.

He said this situation will not favour the survival of financial institutions in the long run.

"Good quality service is a product of right consumer protection and is, thus, the new paradigm that is defining – and, indeed, influencing – the entire economic sector and economic relations," he said.

The International Monetary Fund's review of regulatory systems in 2004 did (among other things) advise on “stipulation and clear identification of common regulatory themes for consumer rights promotion and protection,” Mwakyembe noted.

"Despite efforts in addressing the competitiveness of the financial sector, consumer abuse and rights violation are on the rise, and are directly affecting the economic welfare of many consumers," he stressed.

Noting that gthe main part of poor services in Tanzania's financial market is contributed to mainly by lack of consumers' awareness on their rights when making choices,h Mwakyembe stressed that "inadequate consumer awareness on their rights and obligations is the main stumbling block for realization of good services...

"Yet, if there is one area that the financial sector could use to address its economic malaise and ensure its sustainable future, it is through the provision of financial education to consumers.h

This would be in line with the implementation of the United Nations Consumer Protection Guidelines of 1999 which encourage Governments and institutions to work out clear, fair, guidelines that protect the interest of consumers.h

A research conducted in 2007 by the Finscope Group showed that, gin order to strengthen financial institutions in any country (including Tanzania), there is a need to promote financial capability to consumers.h

This includes gempowering people to be capable of managing their financial assets and liabilities, to understand their rights and responsibilities vis-a-vis financial institutions.h

Mwakyembe: "in my view, financial education to consumers should focus on building financial discipline, managing their incomes, boosting their saving behaviour and the promotion of risk mitigation," he concluded.

In another development, auditor-general of Sweden, Eva Lindstrom, commended the National Audit Office of Tanzania for taking the initiative to organise the forum which, she said, was پgrelevant and timely.پh

In these times of financial crisis, Lindstrom said, “Supreme Audit Institutions in many countries are challenged to properly address the audit of financial supervisory agencies that are aiming at consumer protection and mitigating the risks that large sums of taxpayers' money will have to be used for the rescue of the financial system.”

Noting that gthe events of the past year have highlighted the significance of financial supervision,h she said that financial markets and their institutions must operate in a highly competitive environment – and there will always be efforts made to circumvent the regulations.

gA strong, independently-organized financial supervisory authority is, therefore, of the highest importance for the stability of the economy and taxpayers.”

The global financial crisis also pointed to the importance of supervision of not only separate financial institutions, but also of the entire financial system.

Moreover, the Swede said, new regulations on financial markets will need to be introduced in the years to come, globally.

Supervision of cross-border banks will have to be improved – which will most certainly mean more cooperation between financial supervisory agencies in different countries.

Lindstrom observed that central banks failed to foresee the effects of the deterioration of markets that led to liquidity problems. To that effect, monetary policies need to take into account financial stability... And it is within the mandate of central bank to monitor and handle monetary conditions.

“The Supreme Audit Institutions have an important role to play in monitoring the operations of the financial supervisory agencies. Those agencies make up a vital part of the financial infrastructure, and when that infrastructure fails, the costs of that failure are most often transferred to the taxpayers,” she elaborated.

gThus we, as auditors, must make sure that we have the knowledge and competence required to audit these agencies.h

According to her, gauditing will create confidence in the system, an asset which is vital in promoting effective financial markets and stable economic growth.h