Emerging regulatory challenges in consumer protection, credit reporting and use of customer transactional data. Consumer protection in kenya theory, law and practice. Together, we drive change in the global marketplace on a scale that cannot be achieved at a national level alone, to ensure consumers are treated safely, fairly and honestly. Keeping this in mind and to address the new set of challenges faced by consumers in the digital age, the indian parliament, on 6 august 2019, passed the landmark consumer protection bill, 2019 which aims to provide the timely and effective administration and settlement of consumer disputes. The consumer protection act hereinafter to be referred to as cpa affects different sectors of the kenyan economy including real estate, ecommerce, manufacturing, agriculture, banking and finance, aviation, among many others. The law in theory and practice this paper sets out to analyse the state of consumer protection in uganda and the legislations that underpin it. Prior to the enactment of the act, kenya did not have a specific law that governs consumer protection. A consumer segmentation section in the report breaks down the kenyas consumers by specific age groups, ranging from babies and infants to pensioners. The consumer protection act, 2012 genesis to the act was article 46 of the constitution of kenya, 2010 competition act, 2010 consumer protection act, 2012 sets out consumers rights and obligations with respect to a product or service makes provision for the promotion and enforcement of consumer rights empowers consumers to seek redress for. Consumers have various rights that are granted to them by the provisions of our consumer protection laws. In kenya we have the consumer federation of kenya cofek, an independent, selffunded, multisectoral. In december 2012, parliament passed the consumer protection act 2012 the act into law. Consumer lifestyles in kenya market research report.
Cak will on a periodic basis assess its relationship with consumer bodies and also assess the active involvement of the consumer bodies in protection of consumer rights. An act of parliament to provide for the protection of the consumer prevent unfair trade practices in consumer transactions and to provide for matters connected with and incidental thereto. The consumer protection act 2012 that was later assented into law on 14 march 20, has been deemed as a turning point for customers country wide, considering that it is the first of its kind to formally document the rights of consumers, and to provide guidelines on various consumer supplier interactions. The authority shall profile consumer bodies for recognition monitoring and evaluation 14. The consumer must also fully understand their contract. Chapter 2 the united nations guidelines for consumer protection. I subject to the following provisions of this section, there is a meaning of. Information necessary to enable consumers gain full benefit from goods and services. It is important to monitor transparency and consumer protection in the digital credit marketplace. Implementation in kenya of the united nations guidelines for consumer protection. Dec 22, 2019 a consumer protection act is piece of legislation that is passed with regard to the provision and administration of protecting the rights of consumers within a country or nation. Such laws are intended to prevent businesses from engaging in fraud or specified unfair practices in order to gain an advantage over competitors or to mislead consumers. Consumer protection in relation to quality of service in the telecommunications sector in nigeria abstract consumer protection seeks to promote a fair, accessible and sustainable market. Unctad united nations guidelines on consumer protection.
Article 46 of the constitution of kenya provides for the following consumer rights. Within the spectrum of both commercial law and consumer law, there exist a variety of roles which are undertaken by participatory individuals and groups operating. The african journal of information and communication ajic, 17. View notes consumer protection standards act and challenges of kebs. This contribution seeks to examine the consumer protection law and policy in kenya with a view to understand how consumer issues, such as product safety and product liability, are addressed as well as the remedies for defective goods.
Enacted by the parliament of kenya as follows part i preliminary short title and. Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. The united nations guidelines for consumer protection ungcp are a valuable set of principles for setting out the main characteristics of effective consumer protection legislation, enforcement institutions and redress systems and for assisting interested member states in formulating and enforcing domestic and regional laws, rules and regulations that are suitable to their own economic and. The perception that the kenyan customer is at the mercy of the supplier is rife and is only now slowly turning around. The authority shall profile consumer bodies for recognition monitoring and evaluation. Digital credit and consumer protection experiments since 2014, cgap has partnered with diverse providers to identify key consumer protection issues raised by digital delivery of small loans and to test potential solutions. This guideline covers false and misleading representations, unconscionable conduct, product safety standards and unsafe goods. The consumer protection act 2012 that was later assented into law on 14 march 20, has been deemed as a turning point for customers country wide, considering that it is the first of its kind to formally document the rights of consumers, and to provide guidelines on various consumersupplier interactions. Manual on consumer protection corrigendum chapter xv, section b replace section b with the text below. Purchase the consumer lifestyles in kenya consumer lifestyle report as part of our economies and consumers market research for may 2017. The act was later assented to by the president and came into force on 14 march 20.
Such statutes prohibit and regulate deceptive or unconscionable advertising and sales practices, product quality, credit financing and reporting, debt collection, leases, and other aspects of consumer transactions. Consumer protection laws are a form of government regulation, but can also be asserted via non government organizations and individuals as consumer activism. Government gazette 32186, government notice 467 subject. It is anticipated that this study would mark a step towards operationalization of a consumer protection regime in the untry and fasttrack the process of developing the consumer protection law in kenya. Criteria for orgeniza tions pur porting to provide ser. Jun 30, 2017 the consumer protection act, 2012 genesis to the act was article 46 of the constitution of kenya, 2010 competition act, 2010 consumer protection act, 2012 sets out consumers rights and obligations with respect to a product or service makes provision for the promotion and enforcement of consumer rights empowers consumers to seek redress for. In addition, customers may not be clear on the information they. This act may be cited as the consumer protection act. This will be done through a critical assessment of the consumer protection instruments currently relied upon and the limitations that these instruments have in ensuring consumers of mobile payments are. The nature of utilities provision the conventionally defined utility industries, i. Prior to the promulgation of the constitution in the year 2010, there was no specific law dealing with consumer protection in kenya. The united nations guidelines for consumer protection ungcp are a valuable set of principles for setting out the main characteristics of effective consumer protection legislation, enforcement institutions and redress systems and for assisting interested member states in formulating and enforcing domestic and regional laws, rules and. Consumer protection acts the consumer protection act 9 or zoos, lst june, 2005. A consumer protection act is piece of legislation that is passed with regard to the provision and administration of protecting the rights of consumers within a country or nation.
Use the consumer lifestyle in kenya report to answer questions including. Indeed the increased consumer protection has seen the formation of the consumer federation of kenya cofek which was registered on 26th march, 2010 and whose mandate is. Consumer rights and responsibilities communications authority. Important terms under the consumer protection act 5. An examination of the adequacy of the consumer protection act in. Consumer protection act, 2019 key highlights consumer. Equity bank reported the disbursement of ksh 57 billion since 2014. The demonstrations identified costeffective, winwin practices that can influence. These guidelines shall be known as the consumer protection guidelines. Consumer protection laws are federal and state statutes governing sales and credit practices involving consumer goods. Assessment of the challenges of company incorporation in nigeria. Determination of tribunal in respect of mergers 74.
Pdf consumer protection notes zaiba official academia. The difference between bank products, services and channels is often misunderstood. The consumer protection act in kenya biashara leo digital. Consumer protection legal definition of consumer protection. The supply of digital credit in kenya market overview. Rather, it was covered piecemeal in various pieces of legislation including the banking act cap 488 of the laws of kenya. Euromonitor international is the leading provider of strategic market research reports. The consumer protection act, 1986, is one of the examples that is to be treated as a milestone in the history of socioeconomic legislation to protect the interests of the consumers in india. Authorisation this guideline is issued under section 334 of the banking act, which empowers the central bank of kenya to issue guidelines to be adhered to by institutions in order to maintain a. Under this law, separate consumer dispute redress forums have been set up throughout india in each and every district in which a consumer can file his complaint on a simple paper with nominal court fees and his complaint will be decided by the presiding officer of the district level. Consumer protection act,1986 in order to provide for better protection of the interests of the consumer the consumer protection bill. The competition authority of kenya the authority is a state corporation established by section 7 of the competition act no. Keywords mobile credit, mobile financial services, regulatory challenges, consumer protection, credit reporting, customer transactional data, kenya, tanzania doi.
In india, consumer protection is specified in the consumer protection act, 2019. Consumer protection in kenya theory, law and practice mr. However, some aspects of consumer protection were covered in various pieces of legislation including the trade descriptions act, standards act, weights and measures act, restrictive trade practices, monopolies and price control act now known as the competition. Consumer protection in the financial services sector in kenya. This article is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4. This exploratory research was conducted at relatively low cost. The aim of the dissemination workshop was to launch the report as well as engage key stakeholders to chart the way forward for evolving a consumer protection regime in kenya. Financial consumer protection policy for lowincome consumers in many developing countries, regulation to protect financial consumers from unfair products and. Central bank of kenya cbk prudential guidelines 20 guidelines on consumer protection source.
The passage of the consumer protection act 2012 cpa 2012 has been heralded as a new dawn. Consumer protection, therefore, refers to laws and other forms of government regulation designed to protect the rights of consumers. Nov 21, 20 consumer protection act,1986 in order to provide for better protection of the interests of the consumer the consumer protection bill. Docile although the act has been in place for four years now, consumers in the country seem unaware of it and of the rights enshrined in it to protect them. The consumer protection act, 2019 new act received. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Consumer protection act 68 of 2008 south african government. Consumer protection law in kenya linkedin slideshare. In exercise of the powers conferred by sections 27, 38, 39, 46k, 66 and 83r of the kenya information and communications act, 1998, the minister for information and communications, in consultation with the communications commission of kenya, makes the following regulations. The federal trade commission, or ftc, serves as our nations.
Establishment of competition and consumer protection tribunal 68. Consumer protection for mobile payments in kenya the paper will discuss the risks that consumers are exposed to as a result of these gaps. The competition authority of kenya revised december 2017. Incorporating consumer research into consumer protection. This paper will seek to look into how the act has provided for consumer protection in the country. The consumer protection act 1986 is a social welfare legislation which was enacted as a result of widespread consumer protection movement.
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