By Dickson Pat
Some consumers have commended the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission ,FCCPC, for resolving more than 9,091 complaints received in the past six months from 20 sectors of the economy.
The consumers who made their feelings known via the commission’s official X handle on Friday, also commended FCCPC for recovering more than N10 billion wrongly taken from various transactions done by consumers.
They said that there was need for the commission to build and improve on the successes recorded and urged the commission to intensify efforts toward handling other unresolved customers-related complaints.
A consumer referred as @Chidi_nka on X said that the steps of FCCPC in the recent months were in the right direction.
“The FCCPC finally awakened to complaints of ordinary Nigerians over breach of data privacy by loan sharks.
“’Digital money lending is novel in Nigeria and should be properly regulated to avoid undue exploitations”, he said.
Another consumer referred to Onodi Ugo @halifaxme commended the commission for their efforts and urged them to continue to beam more light on those he referred to as “crooks who defraud unsuspecting Nigerians in the name of digital money lending”.
Another consumer, Ibrahim Lawani @Omaforsnr, gave a thumb up to the commission, saying ”Great Job to FCCPC in the past months”.
However, some other consumers appealed to the commission to promptly resolve their own complaints for better results.
A consumer known as CornerStone , said ”Dear FCCPC, @gtbank @gtbank_help has deducted my money illegally since July 8 which I laid complain immediately.
“N190,000 was deducted from the money I borrowed to do business, till now, I have not been balanced and my money has not been recovered it is over 50 days, pls help me”, he said.
For Abdullahi Turawa@ bababah, he said ”Good afternoon @fccpcnigeria, i have filed a complaint and I’m yet to receive a response. Kindly look into it as it is urgent. Thank you”, he said.
A consumer referred to as In the Saviors Hands @ ElMannyEl, urged the commission to look into the fraud in cooking gas sales.
“N7, 000 gas does not last more than two weeks unlike before.
“A kilo of gas could last for one month before but no more”, the consumer said.
A consumer referred to as Isaac Ogoyombo, said that the commission had refused to combine efforts with @officialEFCC to deal with the matter of DELUX VIRTUAL SERVICES financial issue brought to you.
He claimed that the company is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, saying that this is very discouraging”, he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria ,NAN, recalls that the FCCPC had in a release signed by its Director, Corporate Affairs, Mr Ondaje Ijagwu said that banking related complaints topped its consumer complaints ‘ list between March and August.
Ondaje said that the commission received 3,173 banking-related complaints, followed by 1,543 complaints relating to Fast Moving Consumer Good ,FMCG, and 1,442 fintech-related issues.
Others are 458 electricity-related complaints, e-commerce, 412, telecommunications, 409, retail/wholesale/shopping, 329, aviation, 243, Information Technology, 131 and road transport and logistics, 114.
He said that the data covered consumer grievances ranging from unfair charges, service failure, unauthorised deductions, deceptive marketing, poor disclosure of terms, product defects and failure to provide redress within acceptable timelines.
Ondaje said that the total number of complaints resolved during the six months window were 9,091, while total recoveries for consumers exceeded N10 billion.
He said that the amount reflected both the scale of harm experienced and the financial burden bore by consumers in the absence of effective redress.
Reacting to the development, the Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC, Mr Tunji Bello said that the commission was determined to hold businesses accountable, ensure compliance with the FCCPC Act and promote fair market practices that protect the welfare of all consumers.
“Banking is the dominant source of consumer complaints, both in volume and financial exposure, highlighting recurring issues in loan deductions, account charges and transaction disputes.
“Banking and fintech dominated the financial impact, showing consumer vulnerability where services are both essential and high value, signalling an urgent need for stronger joint regulation with the Central Bank of Nigeria ,CBN”, Bello said.
