Competition Agency looking into possible violation of consumer rights by parcel forwarding company
The inquiry is looking into the company’s change of the calculation of costs from actual to volumetric weight, a method used by USA2GEORGIA in cases where the latter exceeds the former. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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The Georgian National Competition Agency is looking into a possible violation of consumer rights by USA2GEORGIA, a Georgian-based international shipping and parcel forwarding company, the state body said on Monday.
The Agency said a change in the method of calculating shipping charges of parcels delivered by the company from its warehouses in the United States to offices in Georgia - a popular service used by domestic consumers for online shopping - had allegedly resulted in “dramatically increased” shipping costs for a consumer, who subsequently submitted a complaint to the body.
The inquiry is looking into the company’s change of the calculation of costs from actual to volumetric weight, a method used by USA2GEORGIA in cases where the latter exceeds the former.
In their complaint, the user alleged parcels received from an online shopping store to the company’s US-based warehouse had been displayed late on its website, preventing the consumer from selecting the company’s optional repackaging service - intended for reducing the volume of a parcel - before it became unavailable when the package was subsequently forwarded to Georgia.
The complainant alleged the company had not informed them of the change in its process of handling packages.
The Agency said its inquiries of potential violations of consumer rights were scheduled to complete within a month - with a possible extension to a three-month period - before the ruling.
The Georgian Parliament approved a bill on Consumer Protection in a third reading with a total of 79 votes on March 29.
The newly-adopted bill establishes rules for consumer protection and prohibits “unfair commercial practices,” that violate the values of “trust and good faith.”
A consumer protection bill stipulated by the Association Agreement signed between the European Union and Georgia has passed its first hearing in the Parliament of Georgia on Tuesday.
The European Union has welcomed Georgia's adoption of the Law on Protection of Consumer Rights and the launch of its implementation, the National Communications Commission of Georgia announced on Friday.
Experts from Poland and the United Kingdom will support consumer rights protection in Georgia, helping to align Georgian legislation with the European Union (EU) acquis and put in place a modern legal framework for consumer rights protection in the country.
The Georgian National Competition Agency on Thursday said its study of the domestic glass waste collection and recycling market had identified “no risks of violation” of regulations in the sector.
Customers of USA2GEORGIA, a Georgian-based international shipping and parcel forwarding company, will not lose possession of their parcels due to payment deadlines while their complaints against the company are pending, following a ruling by Tbilisi City Court.
The Georgian National Competition Agency has confirmed the first violation of regulations in sales of hardware on the domestic market, after an electronics store sold an item without properly providing the customer with relevant information.
The results and challenges in consumer rights protection after the adoption of the Consumer Protection Law were presented by Irakli Lekvinadze, the Chairman of the Georgian National Competition Agency, in his report to lawmakers on Thursday.
The Competition Agency of Georgia on Monday said it had solved 109 issues related to protection of consumer rights out of 194 complaints it received between November and March.
Georgia’s National Competition Agency on Thursday announced it had reprimanded a Tbilisi-based veterinary clinic for failing to provide its services in the Georgian language to a customer, and ordered the business to remedy the shortfall following the latter’s complaint.