A consumer protection revolution

To enjoy the new benefits we have to inform ourselves of their scope and insist that they be implemented.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
shopping women 88 (photo credit: )
shopping women 88
(photo credit: )
Something of a consumers' rights revolution is taking place in Israel. The news is so good that it's almost hard to believe. And, yet, it's true. Still, there's a catch. To enjoy the new benefits - these "low hanging fruits" that will make our lives more pleasant - we have to inform ourselves of their scope and insist that they be implemented. What's happened is that existing law has been amended in a dramatically more favorable direction. For instance, suppliers of goods or services that are paid for in installments must make clear, verbally and in writing, that customers may abrogate a deal, under what conditions, and precisely how. This is no longer an option hinging on a merchant's goodwill but a clear-cut legal obligation. The change in existing legislation was set in motion by widespread complaints about the inability of customers to extricate themselves from extended or open-ended contracts: the purchase of big-ticket appliance items; medical care; gym membership; cable or satellite TV, as well as newspaper and cell phone subscriptions. The frequent experience in this country is that it's difficult to disengage from long-term financial commitments. Once businesses have our credit card details, we're at their mercy - sometimes billed against our will. But now, consumers can pull out of such transactions which must be nullified three days after notification. If the seller fails to honor your request, you, the consumer, are entitled to a NIS 10,000 compensation; no need to prove damages in advance. The same penalty would be awarded if a business fails to prominently display its returns, exchange or refund policies. If the procedures are displayed but not adhered to, the identical automatic fine applies. ONE OF the biggest peeves of Israeli consumers is our inability to cancel payments on credit or charge cards for goods or services. Unilateral cancellation is currently impossible because credit card firms demand confirmation and consent from the supplier, even though said supplier may be brazenly violating its side of the bargain. We've all experienced or heard stories of goods not delivered, while payments continued to be charged. From December 6, however, unilateral cancellation becomes an option. It will also be available where the supplying company goes into receivership or is bankrupt. As of January 1 retailers will no longer be able to claim that certain advertised sale items are no longer available, a situation with which many consumers are all too familiar. From the start of 2009, limited supplies of special-offer items will have to be disclosed and the number of such items (if over NIS 50 in value) specified a priori. We've all seen the signs: "Savings of up to 50%!" Well, starting next year, merchants will be compelled to tell us which items were once, say, NIS 100 and are now on sale for just NIS 50. And as of January 10, service-suppliers will be forbidden from continuing to charge clients even after the contract between the sides has terminated. This too is a prevalent consumer complaint in our marketplace. The service-provider will be legally bound to remind clients when the contractual period nears its end and inquire if they wish to continue. Check this out: All contract clauses which provide for automatic continuance past termination dates will be, from hereon, illegal. Any firm which collects payment via direct bank debit orders will now be obliged to send a periodic payment statement. Again, violation of the above could lead to NIS 10,000 in fines. There are many other significant breaks for the consumers - too numerous to catalog here. Most of this bonanza was produced by the Knesset Economics Committee under the aegis of its former chair, MK Gilad Erdan (Likud). This committee was uncommonly tenacious and diligent, and as a result Israelis are now offered consumer protections unlike anything that's ever existed in this country. So now it's up to us - the consumers. We've been empowered; the tools have been placed at our disposal. We must now be willing to use them because, rest assured, there are a lot of companies out there just hoping we've missed the revolution.