FCCPC resolves 18,500 consumer complaints in South-West

The Zonal Coordinator, Dr Olubunmi Otti, disclosed this during an interaction with journalists at the Commission’s office in Ikeja, Lagos, attributing the high volume of complaints to Lagos State’s position as Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre.

She identified real estate transactions, online shopping, electricity distribution, digital money lending, aviation services and retail trade as some of the sectors generating significant consumer dissatisfaction.

Otti expressed particular concern over complaints involving property transactions, alleging that some developers collected millions of naira from prospective buyers using architectural designs and three-dimensional images that differed significantly from the properties eventually delivered.

She said some developers also failed to complete projects within agreed timelines but later demanded additional payments from buyers, even when the delays were caused by the developers themselves.

According to her, the situation had exposed property buyers to financial losses, with Nigerians living abroad particularly vulnerable because some commit funds to transactions without conducting adequate checks on developers and properties.

The zonal coordinator also identified online shopping as a growing source of complaints, citing cases in which customers paid for advertised products only to be blocked by vendors without receiving their goods or recovering their money.

She advised consumers to prioritise payment-on-delivery arrangements when shopping online and, where such options were unavailable, verify that vendors had identifiable physical addresses before making payments.

On electricity distribution, Otti said complaints against distribution companies included arbitrary billing, failure to provide prepaid meters, non-compliance with regulatory directives on estimated billing and net metering, as well as poor service delivery.

She also raised concerns over businesses that continue to display ‘No refund, No Return’ notices despite provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018, which protect consumers against defective products and misleading business practices.

Otti explained that consumers were entitled to seek redress when products were defective or failed to meet the specifications, quality and purpose represented by sellers.

She said the law placed obligations on manufacturers, producers, retailers and service providers, adding that businesses could be required to offer refunds, replacements or compensation, depending on the circumstances.

She urged businesses to familiarise themselves with the provisions of the Act rather than impose conditions designed to deny consumers their statutory rights.

To strengthen enforcement, Otti said the Commission was collaborating with state governments and other regulatory agencies to improve its reach and address complaints across different sectors.

She disclosed that the FCCPC had signed memoranda of understanding with the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).

Citing one of the collaborative interventions, she said the FCCPC and LASCOPA recently engaged supermarket operators over complaints that some customers were charged prices different from those displayed on product shelves.

Otti said the Commission reminded operators that where the price displayed on a product differed from the amount demanded at the checkout, consumers were entitled to pay the lower displayed price. The engagement also involved SON, which provided guidance on applicable product-labelling standards.

She said the Commission planned to tackle consumer rights violations sector by sector, noting that partnerships with other regulatory institutions would strengthen enforcement and promote compliance.

Otti also disclosed that the FCCPC had expanded its presence with the opening of offices in Ibadan and Plateau State, while efforts were ongoing to establish additional offices, including in Ebonyi and Kaduna states.

On electricity-related complaints, she said the Commission had taken its complaint-resolution activities to communities in Ikorodu and Lagos Island following appeals from residents over persistent power supply challenges.