Nigerians have commended the sealing of the Sahad Stores in Abuja, by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), over what they tagged deceptive pricing practices.
Take similar action against other malls in shady price practices, Nigerians have urged the federal government.
The commission explained the store was sealed for lack of transparency in the way it fixed prices for products, leaving many consumers feeling cheated and robbed of their hard-earned money.
Africa Health Report recalls that the action came barely twenty-four hours after President Bola Tinubu unveiled plans to tackle factors responsible for the food crisis across the country, which has sparked a wave of reactions from Abuja residents.
In an interview with our reporter, some Abuja residents applauded the government for its decisive action and called for a checkmate of other popular malls in the city to eliminate the criminal acts indulged in by their operators.
“I had the same experience at Grand Square supermarket here in Abuja and it was not a good one at all,” said Mr. Patrick Abulu. “Imagine in these hard times, if I pick a good and it is N10 naira, I will expect to pay the same amount.
“If N3 naira is added, it means a lot to me, especially in these times of economic hardship. I so much applaud the commission for this step, but they need to checkmate other malls as well.”.
Ms. Charity Simon also shared her experience, stating, “I have had several experiences of price deception.
“This is criminal, imagine you picking up items based on the seen price and calculating how your pocket could carry just to be harassed at the pay point unit with ceiling excuses that prices were changed.”
Meanwhile, the FCCPC has said that the store would remain sealed until investigations are completed, adding, “What we have found out that these people are doing is misleading pricing and lack of transparency in the pricing, which is against Section 115 (3) of the law that says a consumer is not required to pay a price for any good or service higher than the one that’s on display.
“Section 155 states that any corporate person that contravenes is liable to a fine of 100 million naira or even more and the directors of the company themselves are liable upon conviction payment of 10 million naira each or imprisonment of six months or both.
“What we have done today is to make sure that they comply with the law. We initially called them to come and defend themselves but failed to show up. In the long run, they sent a lawyer whom we asked if he was familiar with the facts of the case. He said he wasn’t.”.
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