A call centre dedicated to providing support and counselling for consumers regarding their rights received good responses in its first month of launching.
The Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) opened the call centre on October 31 and it received a total of 324 complaints from customers throughout November.
According to data available with the CAB, the centre received 227 telephone calls and 87 e-mails seeking redress for violations of consumers' rights.
Also, 10 consumers visited the call centre office in the city's Panthapath area in person.
As a newly launched service, the rate of response from general consumers is satisfactory, said CAB President Ghulam Rahman.
But many consumers still do not have any idea about the existence of such a call centre.
"Many common people even don't know about their rights as consumers, let alone the CAB's call centre," said Mr Rahman, also a former chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Underscoring the need for raising awareness about the consumers' rights, he said: "We (CAB), as a voluntary organisation, cannot afford to invest enough money to promote the call centre."
Consumers are now becoming aware of the service through word-of-mouth publicity, he said. He suggested that the media can play a crucial role in raising awareness through highlighting reports on consumer rights issues.
In response to a query, Mr Rahman said such call centres should be set up in other districts as well to help protect customers' rights.
Presently, a consumer can seek support from this call centre, from the CAB office or from the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) in the city's Karwanbazar area.
A customer from any part of the country can call at two moblie phone numbers -- 01977008071 and 01977008072 - of the call centre. They can also write e-mail to [email protected] or visit the CAB office located in Concord Tower at Panthapath in Dhaka for counselling.
The service remains accessible from 8:00am to 8:00pm every day, except Fridays and public holidays.
Looking into various aspects of any grievance of a consumer, the call centre staffs suggest ways to redress wrongs.
According to the CAB data, the call centre forwarded 37 complaints to the DNCRP for settlement of the issues in November.
So far, the call centre received various complaints against e-commerce sites, app-based ride-hailing services and electronic home appliance sellers, such as substandard services or products.
The DNCRP usually settle a complaint within two weeks. The government agency also provides supports to the CAB call centre.
DNCRP Director General (DG) Md Shafiqul Islam Laskar told the FE that the response received by the call centre from consumers so far is quite good.
More such facilities should be in place across the country so that consumers can easily file their complaints and know about their rights, he said.
The DG also underscored the need for more initiatives from rights groups, alongside the government agencies, to raise awareness and help consumers ensure their rights.
