Tighter regulation to safeguard buyers

TDT | Manama

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An urgent call for stronger oversight of instalment sales in electronics shops was approved by Parliament yesterday.

MPs pointed to complaints about unclear contracts and a wide gap between cash prices and pay-by-instalment totals.

The proposal by request, submitted on an urgent basis by MPs Hamad Al Doy, Mohammed Mousa, Ali Saqer Al Doseri, Abdulwahid Qarata and Mohammed Al Refai, was passed during the sitting.

Al Doy said instalment buying had expanded across local markets, “especially in shops selling electronic devices”, with demand coming from “young people and middle- and low-income families”.

He said the growth had been followed by a rise in complaints about practices that “may lack clarity and transparency”, including contract wording, disclosure of “the true cash price compared with the instalment price”, and how profit rates, administrative fees and late-payment penalties are shown to customers.

Warning

“Electronic devices are now among the essential consumer goods,” he told MPs, warning that weak rules in this area could leave consumers facing “financial burdens beyond the consumer’s actual ability”.

He said this could lead to the build-up of obligations that harms the financial stability of individuals and families.

Al Doy added that incomplete disclosure, or the use of unclear contract forms, could “lead to legal disputes and weaken trust MP Hamad Al Doy in the local market”.