The Consumer Council of Fiji says the Alternative Dispute Resolution process should be fully managed under its mandate, as it is better placed to handle smaller consumer complaints more efficiently.
While presenting its submission to the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs on the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission 2023–2024 Annual Report, Chief Executive Seema Shandil says the current system could be improved through a clearer division of responsibilities between agencies.
She says the Council’s complaint process is simple, involving receiving complaints, contacting retailers, and mediating to resolve issues before escalation.
“As I said, we could put a ceiling or threshold, like $10,000 and below could go to the Consumer Council of Fiji. That way, the FCCC will not waste resources on ADR mediation. We have discussed this multiple times, and our Act is also under review.”
Standing Committee Deputy Chair Premila Kumar also raised concerns about transparency and public trust in how consumer complaints are handled.
“But let’s talk about the transparency point of view. In your personal view, when you were analyzing this report, did you think that this report was transparent to the public? After going through the report, is it a transparent report?”
In response, Shandil says the report could have included more detailed statistics on violations and non-compliance cases, even if individual businesses are not named.
She adds that keeping the ADR process under the Consumer Council would improve efficiency and allow the FCCC to focus on serious offenders and court action.
