Know Your Rights Gambia

Have you been sold an item that you only realised was faulty or defective after purchase?

Have you been sold an item that was not fit to carry out the purpose for which you bought it and you had prior to its purchase, informed the seller of the intended purpose for which you bought it?

If you have, the Gambia Consumer Protection Act of 2014 grants you an avenue for redress through the Gambia Competition and Consumer Protection Commission located at Kotu.

The Commission has been given the mandate to receive complaints from the general public on allegations of the existence of a breach of any one of the provisions of the Act and one such provision is section 6 of the Act which states that consumers have a right to receive goods and services that:

- Are reasonably suitable for the purpose for which they are generally intended. For example Microwaves are generally intended to be used to heat food, thus a consumer has the right to bring a complaint against a seller that sells them a microwave that cannot heat food. It should be noted also that if a consumer informs a seller that they require a good for a particular purpose even if not the general purpose of the good and the seller usually offers to supply such a good or acts in a manner that shows that he is knowledgeable about the use of the good then the consumer has a right to expect that the goods sold will be suitable for the purpose stated.
- Are of good quality, working order and free of any defects.

Thus, if you buy a good from a seller that has breached section 6 of the Act you may make a complaint at the Commission by filing a form at a fee.

The Commission would then assess your complaint and determine whether it raises a consumer protection issue and if it does it will either refer the matter to the relevant institution or call in the buyer for an attempt at mediation.

If the matter cannot be settled through mediation then it will be forwarded to the Tribunal which is a Magistrate Court with the power to do anything necessary to address consumer’s complaints.

It is advised that consumers report matters such as this as soon as possible to strengthen their case.